Director of Design

Job description:

Design Directors are vital to the conceptual and creative foundations of all our projects and in pushing clients to make transformational work they’ve never considered before. You’ll be responsible for leading our projects from the front, challenging expectations with bold thinking and bringing cutting edge craft and culturally charged ideas to everything you touch.

You’re confident leading teams and always create effective relationships with those around you.

You can deliver visually brilliant and emotionally resonant work that aligns with strategic and commercial goals. You can inspire with the ‘why’ as much as the ‘how’. You’re curious about multiple client sectors and are able to see the creative opportunity in every brief, convincing your teams of your vision. You have the dedication to deliver a successful project through to the end.

You are already a lead designer, art director or the best senior designer you know and are looking for a step-up that combines fearless ideas with best-in-class design.

Responsibilities:

• Create conceptually brilliant ideas, narratives and shoot concepts.
• Deliver progressive and innovative designs, executed at the highest level.
• Lead a growing team of designers and become a central component of our creative culture.
• Own projects from beginning to end and take responsibility for their outcome.
• Synthesise the vision of our Creative Directors, Designers, Strategy, Motion and Copy teams and bring campaigns, identities and storytelling to life.
• Develop new business proposals with our pitch team.
• Work across all our clients: from campaigns to identities, films and digital innovation.
• Set the standard in the department for levels of design, attention-to-detail and ingenuity.
• Make compelling and persuasive presentations, convincing stakeholders of your vision.
• Mentor, inspire and guide more junior members of the team, knowing when to delegate and how to nurture talent in others.
• Communicate effectively and concisely, knowing how to challenge a brief correctly.

Key skills & requirements:

• Proven creative experience: at least 7+ years hands-on experience at a leading agency.
• Inspiring conceptual thinking for campaigns and brand identities.
• A portfolio demonstrating progressive design with a broad, flexible approach.
• Proven leadership experience: you freely move between teams and collaborate with ease, removing blockers to push a project forward efficiently.
• An ability to work independently under tight deadlines, as well as the stamina and determination to deliver longer term projects.
• Think big and small: show bold creative ambition but also obsess over the crucial details.
• Be a natural team player: remain open to feedback, welcome other perspectives and also share constructive criticism of your own.
• Balance multiple work streams at once but be able to spot the top priorities.
• Be an articulate and confident presenter, creating compelling decks from scratch.
• Be proactive, energetic and self-motivated with a reputation for going beyond the brief.
• Be connected to creative culture and emerging industry trends, but also have a point of view that considers the world outside of design.
• Be able to use a variety of typical design programs (Adobe CC suite, Figma).
• Beneficial skills: art direction experience, photo/film shoot experience, an ability to draft storyboards and narratives, creative coding, or 3D software (C4D, Blender, Unreal Engine).

Stereo benefits:

Holidays:

• 23 days holiday (basic).
• Extra day off on your birthday.
• Extra day off per year of service (up to 5 years).
• Summer hours (half days) on Fridays through July & August.
• Studio closed over entire Christmas period.

Learning & Culture:

• Flexible hybrid working model (3 x mandatory days in the studio: Tues, Weds & Thurs).
• Monthly Stereo Sessions (learning opportunities with guest speakers).
• Annual training budget: spend how you like.
• Annual summer & Christmas parties.
• Twice a month team lunch.
• Travel offsite for briefs and research when needed.

Wellbeing & Health:

• 1 x paid volunteer day per year.

Additional Benefits:

• New business bonus based on a % of the profit of a project (up to 1 year).
• £1,000 recruitment bonus for bringing friends into the business full-time.