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Associate Creative Director

Chicago, IL

We create cultural resonance for brands. Creativity That Matters is work that shatters the stratosphere. That’s why our quest to discover what’s next is endless — because the only thing we’re afraid of is the status quo. We make culture our personal playground. We launch far past the expected. We chase curiosity, deep into the shadows. We will never be just another agency. And we’ve got the audacity to prove it.

We Are TMA.

Job Overview:

TMA is looking for an Associate Creative Director who is an integrated brand marketing pro to join our agency in Chicago, IL. The Associate Creative Director must be a brand steward, and will live to give brands voice and relevance, and bring them to life through integrated marketing.

The Associate Creative Director is growing into a leadership role – and will comprise the roles of creative visionary, teacher, strategist, problem solver, and motivational speaker. The net result will be masterful brand voice across every marketing touchpoint and work that resonates with exactly the right people.

About You:

You’re a collaborator, a leader, and a mentor. You are big picture while juggling minutiae. You generate ideas and excel at problem-solving. You have an innate ability to motivate a crack team of creative ninjas and generate topflight creative because you push until it’s great and then you push some more. And you can sell it like a champ.

Responsibilities:

  • Support the Creative Director to drive the client relationship, planning and multi-discipline brand marketing deliverables
  • Collaborate with extended team of account services, strategy, creative, production, and traffic to extract necessary insights from research, build creative briefs, and provide both conceptual and design direction
  • Participate in Client brand planning
  • Direct and mentor a creative team of art directors and copywriters to consistently deliver on brand strategy and message
  • Drive strategic brainstorming sessions and assist the team’s creative leadership in directing creative execution that creates best-in-class creative and exceeds Client objectives
  • Lead by example.
  • Protect the integrity of design and brand image through graphic design and strong collaboration with other department leads
  • Sell the team’s ideas in Client presentations
  • Maintain up-to-date knowledge of the marketplace and competitive landscape our Clients operate in, in addition to cultural, design, and business trends
  • Assist CD with P&L responsibility
  • Maintain a flexible work schedule, as weekend and extended workdays are sometimes necessary

Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree in a directly related field (advertising, graphic design, visual arts, etc.)
  • 6-8+ years of agency experience as a graphic designer or art director
  • Previous experience as an Associate Creative Director preferred
  • Proven mentoring, supervisory, and team-building skills
  • Strong working knowledge of brand development, the creative process, and integrated marketing, including broadcast, video, audio, print, and some aspects of experiential (sponsorship) and digital (content)
  • Ability to provide clear creative direction and provide timely and helpful feedback to improve creative processes to keep deliverables on time and on budget
  • Understand how to appeal to diverse cultural markets
  • Ability to build and maintain solid relationships with Clients and internal teams
  • Strong problem-solving, communications, and relationship-building skills
  • Proven ability to brainstorm in large groups and develop big ideas from beginning to end
  • Excellent presentation skills and salesmanship are a must
  • Self-motivation and ability to motivate others to creatively and strategically solve multiple problems at once, under quick deadlines
  • Fluent in current Adobe Creative Suites Applications (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)
  • Computer proficiency in Microsoft suite of products
  • Knowledge of PowerPoint and Keynote a plus

TMA Perks & Benefits:

  • Continuous training, educational programs, speaker series and workshops  
  • Culture events throughout the year
  • Communities to connect with
  • Competitive vacation plan, sick days and personal days to prioritize your mental health
  • Parental leave  
  • Comprehensive Medical, Dental and Vision plans 
  • 401K Retirement Savings Plan  
  • Employee Stock Purchase Plan

 

Compensation for this role includes:

Base salary range of $90K-$110K

**Salary offered will vary based on multiple factors including but not limited to candidate’s years of experience, qualifications, skillset, certifications, and geographic location (to account for comparative cost of living). Salary decisions are dependent on the circumstances of each hire.

 

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