Creative Director

Role Summary:

The Creative Director will lead and inspire a team of creatives, developing high-impact, award-winning advertising campaigns for a diverse portfolio of clients. This role demands a strategic thinker with exceptional creative vision, a deep understanding of the African market, and a proven ability to translate marketing objectives into compelling creative executions across multiple channels. The Senior Creative Director will champion creative excellence, mentor team members, and contribute to the agency's overall growth and reputation.

Key Responsibilities:

• Creative Leadership: Establish the creative vision and direction for campaigns, ensuring alignment with client objectives and brand strategy. Lead brainstorming sessions, provide constructive feedback, and inspire the team to push creative boundaries.
• Concept Development: Develop original and innovative creative concepts that resonate with target audiences and achieve measurable results. Oversee the execution of these concepts across various media, including digital, social, and traditional channels.
• Client Collaboration: Build strong relationships with clients, understanding their business needs and marketing goals. Present creative ideas effectively, manage client expectations, and ensure client satisfaction.
• Team Management: Lead, mentor, and develop a team of creatives, fostering a collaborative and supportive environment. Provide regular feedback, coaching, and career development support.
• Creative Strategy: Interpret marketing briefs and translate them into actionable creative strategies. Develop single-minded propositions and guide the team in their execution.
• Innovation: Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices. Introduce innovative creative approaches and solutions to keep the agency's work cutting-edge.
• Quality Control: Maintain high standards of creative excellence, ensuring all work meets agency and client expectations. Oversee the quality of all creative output, from concept to completion.
• Project Management: Manage creative projects effectively, ensuring they are delivered on time and within budget.

Role Requirements:

• Education: Bachelor's degree in graphic design, Advertising, Marketing, Visual Communication, or a related field.
• Experience: Extensive experience (typically 10+ years) in a creative leadership role within an advertising agency, with a proven track record of developing successful campaigns.
• Skills:
  • Exceptional creative vision and conceptual thinking abilities.
  • Deep understanding of the African market and cultural nuances.
  • Strong leadership, mentorship, and team management skills.
  • Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
  • Proficiency in design and production across all media (digital, social, print, etc.).
  • Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet tight deadlines.
  • Strong understanding of marketing principles and communication strategies.
  • Ability to articulate creative ideas clearly and persuasively.

Company Overview:

The Ogilvy Africa Network is the largest agency network on the continent, serving over 40 countries with a team of 900 people across Central, East, and West Africa. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, Ogilvy Africa works with a prestigious portfolio of clients, including AB InBev, Airtel, Bajaj, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Equity Bank, European Union, KFC, Mastercard, NCBA, Nestle, Philips, PwC, Total Energies, UNICEF, Unilever, and WWF, among others.

Ogilvy Africa's unique operating model, One Ogilvy, allows for seamless omnichannel experiences for clients' consumers. The agency leverages data, content, and technology to create impactful campaigns and strives to be the best-practice agency model for developing and emerging markets. With a history of winning top regional and global awards, including Cannes Lions, Clio Awards, Dubai Lynx Festival, SABRE Awards, Loeries, and WARC, Ogilvy Africa is a leading force in the industry. Ogilvy is a global network of WPP and was recently named the #1 creative network in the world by WARC (2023). Ogilvy believes in diversity as a competitive advantage and is committed to a fair and inclusive hiring process.

Ogilvy Beliefs:

• People need regular OS upgrades: Even the best OS will be obsolete tomorrow unless it's constantly upgraded. The same is true for people.
• We need more cows than milkmen: We are a culture of practitioners, not managers. We contribute before we comment.
• Creative about creativity: Creativity is, and will always be, our differentiator. Creativity now includes the holy trinity of Data-Content-Tech.
• Diversity is a competitive advantage: New profiles, new skills, and new styles of leadership make us a stronger company.
• Collaborative advantage > Competitive advantage: Find partners who are on top of their game at the skillset we need. It’s the only way to scale at speed without pretending to have all the answers.
• Team > Individual: You get a lot more done when everyone stops worrying about who gets credit at the end. Teams succeed, individuals fail.
• Fail often, fail fast: We see the intrapreneur in all our people and encourage a culture of pilots. Test, succeed, and scale; or fail fast, learn from the failure, and start something new.