New York, United States

Creative Director - UX Focus

At AKQA, we believe in the imaginative application of art and science to create beautiful ideas, products and services. With an entrepreneurial and collaborative approach, we design adaptive digital services and applications that capture the imagination, delivering impressive returns for our clients.

Creative Directors at AKQA inspire and lead a creative team to make a difference to consumers’ behavior by influencing change through ideas, creativity and the use of interactive media. Your role is to make a difference to digital communications, products, platforms, ecosystems,  marketing and advertising, and to inspire the best global brands. 

ROLE REQUIREMENTS:

• Directs the effort to develop creative concepts and implementations in a cross-disciplinary manner 
• Works with planners and strategists to establish strategic and creative approaches for a given assignment
• Sets creative direction and strategic guidance throughout the duration of client team projects 
• Displays a cohesive understanding, and Ability to execute Innovative + Effective Design
• Continually develops and inspires colleagues to innovate and harness new ways of thinking
• Sets the Tone on professional standards for the team and the department. Inspires and leads by example, Evangelizes and represents AKQA externally through various leadership opportunities, conferences, speaking and writing engagements
• Leads and manages 10 – 15+ creatives on an on-going basis
• Acts as a Career Manager, guiding creatives of all levels within AKQA, including regular one-on-one check-in’s, writing and delivering annual performance reviews and takes responsibility for on-boarding new employees and guiding him/her through a successful tenure at AKQA
• Works in conjunction with the Client Services team to actively build a strong relationship with a given client
• Contributes significantly in growing breadth of business with existing clients
• Creatively leads new business pitches 
• Is responsible for the ideas and the creative work and articulating a compelling story

QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS:

• A minimum of 12 years’ experience working with a focus on experience design
• A solid academic background in and a mastery of one or more of the following disciplines:
• User experience: information architecture, interaction design, content strategy
• Creative development: digital design, front-end development in HTML, CSS, or other front-end development technologies
• Exceptional communication skills: verbal, written, interpersonal and inter-departmental
• Thought leadership; a strong point of view; ability to contribute to strategic development of an assignment; creative ideas and the ability to promote conceptual thinking among the team
• A strong ability and experience in leading, directing and managing a group of cross-disciplinary teams
• A solid understanding of digital media as well as the marketing industry at large; an ability and a desire to adapt to the changing landscape of technology
• Ability to provide creative directions as well as overall leadership for strategic and account direction
• Ability to establish client relationship and act as a creative leader for the client

AKQA is an Equal Opportunities Employer, we believe that diversity is vital to AKQA’s ability to provide our clients with the best recommendations and are committed to fostering a varied and inclusive work environment. Your race, color, ancestry, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability or veteran status have no bearing on our hiring decisions. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.