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Associate Creative Director (New York, Minneapolis or San Francisco)

New York | Minneapolis | San Francisco

This full-time role at Hotwire is hybrid and open to our New York, San Francisco or Minneapolis office location. 

About you:

You thrive at the intersection of strategy and creativity, seamlessly transforming research into compelling ideas. Your keen eye discerns fleeting tactics, enabling you to unify disparate efforts into cohesive, impactful programs. You breathe life into insights, guiding your team through the creative journey.

Your exceptional problem-solving abilities allow you to envision the broader landscape, elevating simple tactics into standout executions in today's digital arena. You grasp the synergy between data and creativity, recognizing that the most effective ideas are those that are both innovative and measurable.

While you oversee daily design operations, your focus extends to engaging with account teams and clients, actively seeking new opportunities. Staying abreast of industry trends, you ensure that both you and your team remain ahead of client expectations.

If this resonates with you, read on...

About us…

We are the pre-eminent global tech communications and marketing consultancy. We are a group of expert communicators and marketers who are fanatical about tech and are here to help businesses ignite their possibilities. Our local experience and global scale allow us to deliver bold but pragmatic guidance to tech companies all over the world.

When you work with us, we connect and support you in a way that allows you to achieve limitless success and career growth. For years now, we’ve been named a Best Place to Work by PR Week, PRNews and Crain’s New York.

We are curious, ambitious and connected, but most of all we are one team working together to be the global alternative. 

We are looking for an exceptional person to join our North America team as an Associate Creative Director

The Associate Creative Director (ACD) embodies the voice of ideas within our team. You will ensure all creative work aligns with research, insights, and strategy, adhering to the team's blueprint. Organized, thorough, and inspiring, you transcend standard client requests, striving to deliver exceptional work that captivates audiences.

As an ACD, you empower your team to develop their own ideas, fostering confidence and growth. You provide the necessary tools and guidance for team members to present and advocate for their work, stepping in to support presentations when needed. Your leadership includes managing direct reports, shaping their careers, and guiding them toward achieving personal and professional goals.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Lead 3-4 projects concurrently, consistently meeting or exceeding client and account objectives, and receiving positive client feedback.
  • Spearhead the ideation, conceptualization, and design of various initiatives, including experiential marketing activations, social campaigns, digital content, paid advertisements, websites/microsites, photoshoots, and industry events.
  • Identify and pursue new business opportunities, collaborating with account and strategy teams to pitch creative ideas that align with client goals and industry trends.
  • Support the development of proposals and presentations for prospective clients, showcasing the team’s strategic and creative capabilities.
  • Foster strong relationships with existing clients to uncover additional opportunities for growth and expansion.
  • Conduct dynamic brainstorming sessions, fostering creativity and engagement within the team.
  • Analyze target demographics and trends to inform client strategies effectively.
  • Develop accurate budgets and estimates, ensuring concepts are feasible within financial parameters.
  • Serve as the creative lead, liaising with clients and delegating tasks to team members appropriately.
  • Drive project timelines, creating work-back plans to ensure timely delivery.
  • Mentor and manage junior team members, providing effective skills training and professional development.
  • Align goals and key performance indicators with overarching strategies and research to guide program progression.
  • Coach team members on attention to detail, time management, and accuracy, emphasizing their importance in reporting and measurement.
  • Oversee time management for yourself and your team, ensuring alignment between budgets and project scopes.
  • Develop expertise in clients' businesses, understanding their technologies and objectives to offer strategic recommendations and bring plans to fruition.

You’ll Bring:

  • Professional proficiency of Adobe Creative Suite
  • Excellent Copywriter
  • Strong photography principles
  • On-trend design skills
  • Conceptual Design
  • Generating scaled layouts
  • Experience managing the development of:
    • UI / UX Design
    • HTML / CSS
    • Photography
    • Video Shoots
    • Video Editing
    • Motion Graphics
  • Hands-on experience not just managing, but truly mentoring and motivating direct reports and
    cross-functional teammates.
  • Experience supporting teams with robust reporting and measurement functions.
  • Strong attention to detail and proficient organization.
  • Understanding of working in excel with data input.
  • Problem solving skills and solution-oriented approach

Why Us:

  • Flexibility – We understand that life doesn’t always fit around the 9-5; and that work/life integration is crucial.
  • Global Reach & Opportunity – You will have the opportunity to work within global teams and travel within the US and globally to connect with clients and colleagues.
  • Great Benefits - Strong benefits package includes paid time off, holidays, sick leave, cultural celebration days off, paid time off for community involvement, medical, dental and vision insurance, disability and life insurance, 401K match and a paid 6-week sabbatical after every 4 years of continuous employment. Hotwire offers a variety of bonus opportunities to include business development, annual company bonuses and referral bonuses. Additional benefits include wellness allowance, internet, and phone reimbursement.
  • Development Opportunities – A strong learning and development program with training opportunities at all levels.
  • Autonomy – The freedom and support to be limitless, and the opportunity to own your career and create the future you want.
  • Variety – No day is the same as the last. Both within our own walls, and with our clients, we navigate change daily and there’s always an opportunity to stretch your skills, learn something new, seek out a new challenge, and gain expertise.
  • Our Amazing Team – We are connected, ambitious, and friendly. We don’t step on toes to get ahead, we build each other up, develop and teach each other and understand that each person’s individual success is a win for all.

We engage in Thoughtful Working, empowering our talent to determine the best way to work for our clients, our team and Hotwire every single day.

Compensation Range: $86K-$145K, depending on level of experience

The range listed is just one component of Hotwire’s total compensation package for employees, which includes bonus opportunities and a variety of benefits mentioned above. Hotwire takes into consideration a candidate’s education, training, and experience, as well as the position’s work location, expected work to be performed, required travel (if any), external market and internal value, and internal pay alignment when determining the salary level for potential new employees. A potential new employee’s salary history will not be used in compensation decisions.

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