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Senior Art Director

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Hill & Knowlton is a strategic and creative partner to drive breakthrough opportunities for growth and value creation, advance corporate strategy, and build reputation capital and resiliency. We’re a proven partner for business and brand transformation. A full-service global firm, we provide strategic communication, marketing and corporate affairs solutions distinguished by intelligence and creativity. Hill & Knowlton is part of the Burson Group and WPP (NYSE: WPP), the creative transformation company. 

About Hill & Knowlton

Hill & Knowlton is the global strategic communications leader for transformation. We help brands, businesses, and leaders build reputation, manage risk, and create breakthrough opportunities for growth. Founded in 1927, today’s Hill & Knowlton operates 70 offices in over 30 countries, providing advisory, public relations, and creative solutions to local and global clients. Our global team offers integrated strategic services, grounded in deep sector expertise, and enabled by creativity and intelligence. Headquartered in New York, Hill & Knowlton is part of WPP, one of the world’s largest communications services groups.

The Role:  

H&K Canada is in search of an experienced Senior Art Director who will bring conceptual thinking, big ideas, and the craft of art direction to our campaigns. 

The ideal candidate will have experience working on Integrated campaigns with earned, owned, and paid ideas that will break through the noise. They will be a conceptual thinker and problem solver, with the agility to collaborate across creative teams. They’ll also be someone with design skills, who can craft compelling imagery, can lead production discussions, and knows what it takes to sell award-winning ideas.  

You will work alongside Creative Strategy, Content + Publishing, Digital Planning + Optimization and Data + Analytics to develop earned-first, award-winning and innovate ideas for transformative, industry-leading clients across our portfolio, including Interac, Nespresso, Adidas, Snap, Campari, Mazda, and KitchenAid.

The Work:  

  • Your days will include development of campaign concepts (45%), strategic planning and client development (15%), tactical copywriting (25%) and team/agency mentorship and collaboration (15%). 
  • As a Senior Art Director you will be responsible for the following: 

Craft  

  • Develop sophisticated/complex creative concepts for sustainable campaigns, platforms and activations. 
  • Present and sell work to full internal teams and clients, developing trust with both audiences. 
  • Lead a multi-disciplinary team (art, copy, design) to develop and deliver creative concepts and ideas that are founded in insights, across all platforms for existing clients and new business pitches. 
  • Own the brand voice and storytelling for our clients across social, digital and PR channels.  

Leadership  

  • Plays a role in the research, planning and development of comprehensive Communications Marketing campaigns with the support of an Executive Creative Director. 
  • Proactively identify and pursue creative opportunities “beyond the brief” to deliver unexpected ideas to existing and prospective clients. 
  • Provide inspiration and direction to the team throughout the process, from brief through production. 
  • Recruit, mentor and manage more junior creatives, providing feedback, guidance and support. 
  • Foster a positive creative culture and nurture creative talent across the agency.  

If you have a history of creating outstanding campaigns based around Earned Media campaigns, we’d love to see your portfolio and start a conversation.  

Experience that contributes to your success:  

  • 7-10 years of creative writing experience in a professional setting (advertising, brand, digital, social media, communications, publishing/content, public relations, etc.) 
  • Portfolio; killer examples of your own writing for a variety of mediums that is clear, coherent, and compelling – ideally, these are examples of your own writing that bring to life ideas that you have created 
  • Curiosity; socially aware and up to date on current events and affairs. You’re always interested to find what is breaking in culture before it breaks in culture 
  • Humility; you support other people’s ideas like they were your own. You can take direction with grace and the next step with confidence. 
  • Desire to work in a diverse and inclusive organization as an active participant in culture initiatives, training opportunities and employee resource groups.  

Hill & Knowlton is dedicated to employment equity, welcomes diversity in the workplace and encourages applications from all qualified applicants. If you require any accommodation during the recruitment process, please reach out to us. 

We thank all applicants for their interest; only those selected for an interview will be contacted. 

 Hill & Knowlton is more than an agency. It’s a collection of thousands of brilliant, collaborative and driven employees – all united around a single vision of transforming our clients, our company and the world. 
 
Across 70 offices in 30 countries our people are the heartbeat of our business. Bridging countless cultures, backgrounds and lived experiences, we are drawn together by a common drive and a collaborative spirit – called to our craft each day by the desire to deliver the best work.   
 
And at H&K, diversity, equity and inclusion are not just values; they are strategic imperatives that fuel our future in an industry built on the art of understanding, connecting and developing relationships. We believe that a diverse workforce is essential for inspiring bold ideas, fostering constructive dialogue and cultivating meaningful experiences that drive innovation and creativity.  

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