Creative Director - Web jobs in Richmond, VA

WE ARE / SuperJoy.  A community of creative innovation. A content creation hub in overdrive that takes ideas and gives them color. We’re a collective of artists, editors, animators and producers. Always seeking out innovative production thinkers, makers and doers.

THE TEAM / As the studio Creative Director you will be responsible of the creative output of the studio and lead our staff artists and makers as well as our extensive freelance roster to deliver world class creative. You will inspire the team to further raise the bar and see possibilities for all our opportunities and embrace new technologies that allow us to change the game. You’ll lead the growth and development of our creative talent pool both staff and freelance. You will collaborate with producers to ensure they are setting up our artists for success in executing projects to budget and schedule. You’ll develop and foster relationships with brand clients and agency creatives alike. You’ll be the leading voice in our team meetings representing the artistry and craft for our product across motion design, editorial, finish, live action production & photography. 

This role will report into SuperJoy’s Head of Production.

Make you wanna bring your JOY? Read on for more detail.

YOU ARE / A storyteller with roots in animation/motion design, extensive experience in post production and interest in telling stories in live action. You have a strong and strategic POV on how to craft a visual narrative and the ability to clearly communicate that POV to the team and company. You are a proven leader who knows how to assemble, motivate and develop teams to deliver to their highest potential while working within project confines crafting elegant solutions to difficult challenges. You’re a master of delegation selecting and supporting others to lead the work when necessary, but rolling up your sleeves and doing the work as needed. You evangelize our success within your extensive network and have influence with industry leaders and clients alike. Most importantly, you are a champion for our creative output in service of creating the best work possible and driving revenue as a result.

YOUR IMPACT / You'll:

• Bring an established voice as a thought leader on the SuperJoy team to enhance the creative culture and success of the company.
• Leverage extensive experience creative directing animation projects, post projects and ideally film & photo production experience to artfully lead content across all studio capabilities.
• Lead the creative quality of the work product for the studio by conceiving, building upon and/or visualizing forward-thinking ideas that push the creative boundaries of our projects for both established clients and business development opportunities. 
• Employ trusted tactics to lead, inspire and mentor SuperJoy staff artists, as well as freelance designers, illustrators, and animators on a project level. 
• Manage and develop the careers of 10 staff artists.
• Establish & maintain partnerships with agency/client creative leaders and teams to understand their overall goals & vision for the craft & projects.
• Translate that vision in assembling and guiding our teams to execute accordingly.
• Bring established contacts and further develop our freelance network to find the best creative film / advertising production talent in the industry.
• Direct the SuperJoy Brand, the creation of SuperJoy pitch materials (treatments, motion tests, style frames, etc.) and presentations to agency/client.
• Lead the creation of design, style frames, and motion concepts for a variety of content.
• Partner with the studio Head of Production to lead business development opportunities.
• Guide and share winning tactics to balance the duties of solving creative challenges while satisfying the demands and timelines of agency/clients associated with producing exceptional work.
• Lead the team to work in a collaborative, creative and fast-paced environment with like-minded individuals.
• Mitigate project challenges and roadblocks and jumping in as needed.
• Develop and implementing growth opportunities for staff artists.

YOU HAVE:

• Proven track record as an articulate, wildly creative and a keen storyteller at leading industry studios.
• 10 year experience in creative studio most recently as a creative director and previously as a senior lead designer and 2D/3D animator generalist, fluent in all Adobe Suite products, AfterEffects, and Cinema 4D. Familiarity with other Maxon products, Redshift, XParticles, ZBrush, etc. Working knowledge of all post production tools and workflow including audio. Unreal workflow and knowledge of cinema cameras and lighting is a huge plus!
• A portfolio/reel of work that demonstrates the ability to direct award winning work utilizing teams of designers and animators, editors, VFX artists for a variety of content types including animation, live action, editorial, vfx & still photography.
• Established thought leadership & passion for the craft and groundbreaking, award winning work in the space.
• Must be efficient, detail-oriented, organized, and able to manage large teams under pressure and tight deadlines.
• Ability to lead agency and client creative teams through a broad range of projects, receive client feedback, translate to creative direction for the team to revise and provide response in a timely manner respectful of project deadline.