Design Jobs Board

Tommy UK WE ARE TOMMY, ARE YOU?

We are looking for a Design Director to join our busy London office, working across all accounts and in conjunction with our LA and Singapore offices. The right candidate will be able to effectively interpret business needs and client briefs and will collaborate with our Creative Director to turn them into compelling creative solutions.

Often working under tight deadlines and overseeing multiple projects at once, the Design Director must be a skilled manager of creative and production. Un-precious about your ideas, you are keen to work in an environment where everyone has a voice and ideas can come from anywhere.

Working closely with the Creative Director, you must be an effective communicator, especially when it comes to relaying creative concepts to design teams and company stakeholders. You take criticism well and welcome others into the ideation process, understanding that we’re all working towards the same goal.

Coming from a design background, our Design Director will know the Adobe suite inside out and be as confident directing others as working hands-on herself/himself. Equally motivated by a brief scribbled on the back of a napkin as by one supported by rich strategy and insights, the right person will capably work from scratch, producing moodboards, styleframes and rationales with which to guide and inform members of the team and clients alike.

Being able to show high quality, cutting edge design work for clients in sectors such as entertainment, FMCG/drinks and sports is important. And, although not essential, you will likely have experience and understanding of photoshoots and the filmmaking process. You will know what’s good and come with a network of connections across the design studio spectrum.

An understanding of, and interest in, the modern social landscape is essential. A demonstrable grasp of how to optimise design for in-feed is vital. As is an in-depth knowledge of the nuances of each platform that make them unique. You will know your lenses from your challenges and understand how they work and why. You don’t necessarily have to have performed anything on TikTok but it may well break the ice should you come in for an interview.

RESPONSIBILITIES

This is a very hands-on role. At the same time, our new Design Director will know when to delegate, empower, and direct. The ideal candidate is a team-builder who is ready to lead our studio into the future and who values diversity and a broad experience. There will be a need to grow the team in the months and years ahead. Daily you will be expected to:

• Distill abstract business concepts and client needs into elegant creative solutions
• Take responsibility for the creative vision and the standard of output across team members who work under you
• Work in close collaboration with the Creative Director to meet the creative team’s incredible concepts with stunning design and vision, collectively lifting the quality of the final output
• Pitch ideas confidently and present the creative vision clearly to clients, as well as communicate in the same manner to members of the creative team
• Manage up – challenge and sell-in concepts and ambitions to the directors in order to push the agency forward, never settling for complacency and safety
• Support the Head of Production and resource planning to get build great teams, delivery excellent work, and get staff the right experience for their progression
• Have strong people management and leadership skills in order to hire, develop, and inspire the creative team
• Make the personal development of your team a daily priority, ensuring opportunities for growth are seized
• Ensure that all of the organization’s or client’s creative output/visuals are consistent with the overall brand
• Lead multiple projects from conception to completion in accordance with deadlines
• Collaborate with other team members and stakeholders
• Challenge and help both the design and creative teams to produce award-worthy work

ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

The successful candidate will have extensive and demonstrable experience as a senior level designer (circa 5 years minimum), be highly conceptual, and come with a big ol’ bag of tricks by way of references, approaches, and contacts.

• Extensive supervisory experience (including leadership, team-building, and delegation) leading and managing a creative team
• Ability to work with clients and internal stakeholders to understand detailed project requirements and determine a plan that will ensure they met or exceeded
• Excellent interpersonal skills to clearly and effectively communicate the creative vision, concepts, ideas, and solutions to stakeholders, internal teams, and clients
• Ability to work effectively in a team, including interpreting abstract ideas into solid design implications
• A solid grasp of art and design history (design, photography and the visual arts, pop culture, and counterculture), fluency in current technology, politics, and a deep understanding of the zeitgeist of social tastes and current affairs
• A commitment to collaborating and communicating closely with teams and other stakeholders via a distributed model to regularly deliver design solutions for approval
• The ability and willingness to embrace the challenges that multi-location, multi-timezone teams bring
• An open attitude to receiving feedback and constructive criticism
• A dedication to guiding and fostering the Personal Development Plans of each member of your team

GET IN TOUCH

If you think you’ve got the skills, talent, and style to be our new Design Director, get in touch with us by clicking Apply by Email. Send your CV and portfolio along with a cover letter email explaining why you are the best person for the job. Please include your salary expectations.

We’re committed to furthering equality and diversity in the creative industry, so we’ll be especially happy to see applications from diverse or underrepresented backgrounds.

Tommy believes the advertising industry should reflect the world to which it speaks. Local applicants legally allowed to work in the UK and able to work in our London office only, please. If you’re a recruiter, please don’t call us. We’ll call you.