Sales and Marketing Director jobs in Chicago, IL

Summary

Creative Director, Experiential (Human Experience)

You are a multi-talented creative thinker and doer adept at creating surprising ideas, strategic creative leadership, and experiential innovation across multiple brands. You are known for beautifully crafted work that breaks through in both physical and digital spaces. You have an approach to creative direction and leadership that inspires your team to go for it and clients to anticipate your team’s presentations.  You’re at your best when you’re elevating people and the work to be better than anyone thought they could be.

You have an elevated eye for design, a knack for leading and a love for crafting strategic selling stories. Your portfolio highlights experiential and activation work across passion points including music, food, sports, or entertainment. You know what it takes to get samples in the hands of consumers and how to throw the best events because you know how to truly partner with strategy, account, and production to make amazing experiences happen. Start to finish, time and time again.

You project a clear creative vision and the ability to lead, delegate to and mentor creatives while also guiding outside creative partners to bring impactful work to life with flawless production. You not only lead the team to their best ideas, but you also consistently promote a clear process and set the standards that support team creative excellence and efficiency while keeping the work on brand and culturally relevant and remarkable.

If this is you, we’d love to have you collaborate with some of the world’s most loved and progressive brands, including Amazon, Southwest Airlines, Edward Jones, Nature’s Bakery, Zappos, and Capital One.

Requirements:

• 10 years experiential creative experience
• 5-year minimum leading creative vision across team of art, copy, 2D & 3D design
• Confidence in building trusting client relationships
• Master of the brands, technology and categories your work thrives in
• Strong presentation skills both written and verbally
• Adept at new business creative development and presenting pitches
• Ability to provide clear feedback and direction to art and copy and design
• Production skills in collaborating and leading internal and external vendors
• Generous mentor to all creatives in your team with ability to bring out the best in their talent
• Keen observer of popular culture, technology trends, design, storytelling/writing and cutting-edge content and brand experiences
• Thoughtful partner to account, strategy, and project managers to craft the best creative solutions for both individual projects and the team as a whole
• Responsible for ensuring all projects assigned to their creative team are created and produced to completion within the agency’s creative standards
• Partner to ECD in leading creative vision, creative strategy and fresh, innovative work for all assigned clients

· Travel up to 25% visiting clients, prospects and/or brand activation

Responsibilities

The Company is one of North America’s leading sales and marketing agencies specializing in outsourced sales, merchandising, category management and marketing services to manufacturers, suppliers and producers of food products and consumer packaged goods. The Company services a variety of trade channels including grocery, mass merchandise, specialty, convenience, drug, dollar, club, hardware, consumer electronics and home centers. We bridge the gap between manufacturers and retailers, providing consumers access to the best products available in the marketplace today.

Position Summary

The Creative Director (CD) directs the creative vision for the business and strategic planning.  CD will partner with account leaders in strategic thinking to define project assignments and develop and execute creative solutions. They manage the creative standards, both art and copy, while leading the creative team. They will oversee assigned projects and new business opportunities, ensuring they are the best demonstration of the agency’s capabilities.  They will develop and assess individual team member’s technical skills, professional techniques, training needs, and professional growth. 

Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities

• Establishes, manages, and maintains the creative direction and goals for specific projects ensuring they fit the Client, the brand, and the business objectives.   
• Develops the team’s knowledge and understanding of the Client’s business and marketing needs and situations. 
• Hires, coaches, mentors, and develops team members; assigns projects to achieve.
• Achievable workload balance
• Effective challenges for each member’s skill level
• Career development as professionals.
• Fiscally responsible for job budgets, meeting deadlines, and utilization of all team members.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Direct Reports

Hires, retains, trains, coaches, guides, directs, and develops direct reports using company-wide processes, tools and resources

Indirect Reports

May delegate work of others and provide guidance, direction and mentoring to indirect reports

Travel and/or Driving Requirements

Travel is not an essential duty and function of this job. Driving is an essential duty or function of this job. 

Minimum Qualifications

Education Level: (Required) Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience

Field of Study/Area of Experience:  Advertising, Graphic Design, Communications or Journalism, or related field

- 8 years of experience in industry with at least 2 years in the arena of sales promotions and 5 years consumer products, media, or agency experience

- Prior experience managing copywriters or directing art/design (advertising, promotion, and interactive media)

Skills, Knowledge and Abilities

• Well-organized, detail-oriented, and able to handle a fast-paced work environment
• Excellent written communication and verbal communication skills
• Ability to make oral presentations
• Strong computer skills including proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook, and web-browsers
• Ability to complete multiple duties with accuracy shifting from one to another with frequent interruptions and competing deadlines
• Good interpersonal skills
• Team building Skills

Environmental & Physical Requirements

Office / Sedentary Requirements

Incumbent must be able to perform the essential functions of the job.  Work is performed primarily in an office environment. Typically requires the ability to sit for extended periods of time (66% each day), ability to hear the telephone, ability to enter data on a computer and may also require the ability to lift up to 10 pounds. 

Additional Information Regarding The Company Job Duties and Job Descriptions

Job duties include additional responsibilities as assigned by one’s supervisor or other manager related to the position/department. This job description is meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed; it is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required for the position. The Company reserves the right at any time with or without notice to alter or change job responsibilities, reassign or transfer job position or assign additional job responsibilities, subject to applicable law.  The Company shall provide reasonable accommodations of known disabilities to enable a qualified applicant or employee to apply for employment, perform the essential functions of the job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment as required by the law.

Important Information

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of associates so classified.

The Company is committed to providing equal opportunity in all employment practices without regard to age, race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, physical or mental disability, or any other category protected by law. As part of this commitment, the Company shall provide reasonable accommodations of known disabilities to enable an applicant or employee to apply for employment, perform the essential functions of the job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment as required by the law.