Creative Director

Creative Director

Job Description

Callahan is a values-based company. We value generosity, trust, respect, curiosity, courage, excellence, optimism and quality. We expect everyone on our staff to live these values in the way they approach their work and in the way they treat our client partners and one another.

We are dedicated to our staff and strive to provide the best work environment in the industry through our policy of open communication, providing opportunities for personal fulfillment, rejoicing in each other’s successes, and recognizing the need to balance work and personal/family life.

Department:   Callahan on-site at Toyota Creative Agency and Print Solutions (CAPS)

Reports to:     CAPS Executive Director

Location:        Client office in Plano, TX           

Job Summary

The Creative Director is responsible for leading creative and content development solutions for CAPS and its clients within Toyota Motor North America (TMNA). Is instrumental throughout the course of the design, development and implementation processes, ensuring the integrity of the creative vision meets or exceeds the clients’ expectations.

The Creative Director (CD) works with and assists team members, helping them with strategic and creative content creation, from conception to production. The CD also ensures concepts are on strategy, and creative executions meet quality and brand standards. This includes working with the legal department to provide legal review of brand compliance of all TMNA projects. The CD will also be responsible for hands-on concepting and design work, executing a large portion of the work themselves.

Responsibilities

1.    Conceive and create campaign concepts and marketing communications/design solutions that fulfill strategic business objectives. Presents creative work to internal team and clients, to ensure mutual agreement towards the correct direction of the project. Articulate and defend conceptual, creative and directional choices, internally and in client presentations.

2.    Reviews creative product from the end user’s perspective; leads staff to think like the customer.

3.    Develop and deliver thought leadership and creative solutions that strengthen clients’ market distinction and leadership position. Ensure creative execution meets quality and brand standards.

4.     Assist TMNA/CAPS leadership team in growth of creative/digital/video/traditional and electronic projects. Assist in the development of new business pitches and presentation materials as needed.

5.    Lead, motivate, and inspire the creative team to develop strategic, innovative, creative ideas and well-crafted creative executions. Actively contribute to a culture of innovation, excellence and accountability. Keep up to date on current trends and apply new technologies and ideas to client work.

6.    Maintains close working relationships with account teams, clients and freelance resources to optimize creative output. Assists account team in the development of project budgets and schedules, ensuring high-quality products are submitted on a timely basis. Works with freelancers and other external resources in coordinating the schedule creation/production of creative work including print, email, digital units and video to ensure on-time, on-budget, high-quality deliverables.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s of fine art degree or equivalent
• 8 years of advertising experience in an agency setting or internal creative department
• 5 years of management experience
• 3 years experience in a creative leadership role
• Experience working on large cross-channel projects in a variety of media
• Experience with all types of digital development including web, online ads, email and mobile apps

Skills Required

• Excellent presentation skills and communication abilities at all levels of both internal and client organizations
• Ability to lead by example
• Must be dependable, detail-oriented and possess the ability to multi-task and handle multiple projects simultaneously
• Action-oriented, strategic thinker, organized, and positive
• Strong knowledge of traditional marketing/advertising, as well as overall digital principles
• Proficient in InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects and Keynote
• Technical expertise and strong email/digital design skills
• Strong design aesthetic and expertise in typography
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong work ethic, ownership, and accountability for business
• Ability to collaborate and work as a team player with great initiative
• Skilled in finalizing layouts and creating assets for digital and print communication needs
• Supports the execution of new creative ideas and marketing campaigns with internal and external creative partners
• Ability to maintain consistency of image quality for images from multiple sources
• Simple HTML coding skills and knowledge of e-commerce, relevant Google and Microsoft products a plus

Callahan is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We encourage differences in age, color, disability,

ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical

and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran

status and other characteristics that preserve a culture of diversity and inclusion.