As Creative Director, you lead and motivate the creative studio by being a role model. You inspire others with the passion to deliver the group vision by demonstrating commitment and consistency of leadership. You will respect and value all contributions, while continually setting the bar high to deliver excellence. By taking the time to direct and evaluate work, you always develop and drive the quality of our creative output.

You have a real understanding of the commercial needs of a design studio as well as the creative inspiration that a good creative team needs. You are aware of the realities of the cost of time and ‘right people, right project’. 

Helping to set the financial and strategic goals of Parker Williams and Sun Branding Solutions, you are part of the management team to inspire and deliver the vision for our multi-disciplined branding and packaging group. Along with the senior team at Parker Williams and the client services leads, a key part of your role is to develop and grow major clients via identified objectives, helping to achieve business growth and maintain profitability.

In detail

Reporting to the Executive Creative Director, you are the full time (5 days a week) Creative Director who leads the creative work of your wider team in our northern studio with the support of your Design Heads and Senior Designers. 

• You are directly responsible for setting and raising the creative credibility of Parker Williams and the Sun Branding Solutions group, both internally and externally. You are the full time representative of the Executive Creative Director when she’s not available.
• You identify areas for learning and develop a substantial knowledge of the appropriate sector.
• You will be expected to travel to Bentonville at least once every three months to liaise directly with the Walmart client and help maintain a strong creative relationship. You will also need to travel between the two UK studios to ensure that all work (and the team) are at their best.
• You will manage creative work from the northern studio across all clients.
• The Walmart day-to-day design work will be managed in the Yorkshire studio. You will need to keep manage it closely to ensure it meets the creative needs of that client, liaising with the Bentonville office on a regular basis. You will attend Walmart Creative Design panels to help present the work (remotely).
• You will manage and inspire the whole design team in the northern studio.
• Together with your client services and creative leads, actively participate at the briefing stages to develop accurate interpretations of the client briefs.
• Brief the appropriate members of the team at the appropriate time in the project and recommend appropriate design resource. Work with the client services lead to cost and run projects to budget.
• Ensure strong creative direction and provide ongoing guidance on all those projects under your supervision to both the design teams and production teams.
• Make sure the creation of design work and digital files produced by your team members meet the criteria set by Parker Williams.
• Excellent interpersonal skills are a must. You need a clear creative vision whilst remaining open to other peoples’ ideas. You must be strong and resolute, but, at times, sensitive and diplomatic.
• When freelance specialists are working in the studio, you and your team must ensure that they understand and adhere to Parker Williams processes and protocols.

You and the Creative team

Your experience in the industry, design skills and strategic thinking are what give you the ability to excel as an inspiring and respected creative leader. 

• Manage individuals assigned to you, including their induction programme, performance, progression, growth and personal well-being.
• Be involved in recruiting for your team and other members of the studio where appropriate.
• Art direct your designers in creating design work that not only answers the client’s brief but is within an allocated budget.
• Push your team to deliver above and beyond creatively.
• Act as overall mentor to younger members of the studio, and take a key interest and influence in their personal creative growth.
• Stay connected to all the projects your team is working on and adjust your involvement as needed.
• Appraise members of your team when appropriate following a 360° appraisal system.
• Work with the studio schedule and client services team to allocate resource to your client projects, taking into consideration client pressures, individual work load and capabilities.
• Be on hand to advise when additional resource is needed.

Client relationships with client services team

Together with the Executive Creative Director, you create positive experiences for clients so that they keep coming back to us, wherever they are working. Where your projects require it, you have open and frank conversations with your clients, challenging them and sharing solutions for their concerns about the creative work. 

• Support and work closely with your client services leads on individual clients and projects, creating a strong client management and relationship team.
• Use your strategic experience & agility to identify and solve problems on specific client business, branding and design issues and challenges.
• Be decisive and proactive in your actions and take decisions with your client services leads – informing or consulting with the senior team as you see fit for the issues at hand.
• Persuasively present creative work to clients, taking a lead role in conversations with clients about how the work fits with the client’s brief (occasionally sharing requested routes we disagree with in order to make your case).
• Take an active role in client meetings and conversations working with your client services and creative leads in articulating the design strategy and the implications of different strategic choices to clients, defending work and guiding decisions as needed.
• Working closely with your creative planning team, fully understand and utilise the Parker Williams Bright Thinking tools and techniques - key to making recommendations on strategy to clients and to assist the team in growing and maintaining client business.
• Clearly and regularly communicate information about your clients, good or bad - better to be open earlier if there any problems.
• Co-own the lead client relationships with your client services and creative leads, actively engaging in conversation with clients to better understand their business and priorities.
• And shmooze where necessary!

Business development opportunities and PR

As you are close to the client team, business development and PR opportunities may arise. Become familiar with Parker Williams and Sun Branding Solutions credentials and be able to articulate the group offer effectively. 

• Work with group business development and marketing teams to instigate any business development and PR opportunities.
• Attend new business client briefings and take a lead creative role in new business pitches.
• Partner business development teams at client credential meetings.
• Know and continually improve the Parker Williams and Sun Branding Solutions group credentials to be able to sell the group and its services effectively.

Relevant key competencies 

• Customer focus
• Working with others
• Problem solving
• Delivering Results 

plus your five personal competencies 

• Quality orientated
• Commercial/market awareness
• Strategic thinking
• Managing and leading others
• Innovative