Career guide
Creative Director Job Description: Duties, Skills and Template
A creative director job description says the person will own the creative work and the team that makes it. It usually lists setting the creative direction, leading art directors, copywriters and designers, approving work, presenting to clients or leadership, protecting the brand and hiring and developing talent, plus many years of creative experience and a portfolio of work they led.
Key takeaways
- A creative director job description covers setting creative direction, leading the creative team, approving work, presenting it and developing people.
- Agency creative director postings mention clients, pitches, creative reviews, awards and agency growth, while in-house postings mention one brand, internal partners and consistency at volume.
- Most creative director postings ask for many years of creative experience, leadership of art directors and copywriters, and a portfolio of work the person led.
- A creative director sits above associate creative directors and below an executive creative director or chief creative officer in the usual agency ladder.
- BLS counts creative directors in the art directors occupation, so its pay data covers both titles together.
Hiring managers can copy the template; candidates can use the rest to read a posting and see what kind of creative director the company needs.
What does a creative director do?
A creative director owns the creative work and the people who make it. They set the direction, decide which ideas go forward, raise the quality of the work, present it to the people who approve it and build the team. The creative director career guide covers the path into the role.
Day to day that means running creative reviews, briefing and coaching teams, presenting to clients or executives, working with strategy and production, and spending time on hiring.
Creative director job description template
Copy this, cut what doesn’t apply and fill in the brackets.
Creative Director About the role [Company] is hiring a Creative Director to lead creative work for [clients in X / our brand across channels]. You'll set the creative direction, lead a team of [number] art directors, copywriters and designers, and partner with [account, strategy and production / brand, product and growth leaders]. You'll report to [Executive Creative Director / Chief Creative Officer / VP Brand / CMO]. What you'll do - Set the creative direction for [accounts / the brand] and hold a high bar for ideas and craft - Run creative reviews: push ideas, give clear feedback, decide what goes forward - Present work to [clients / executive leadership] and defend the idea - Lead, hire and develop art directors, copywriters and designers - Partner with strategy, account, media and production teams from brief to launch - Protect and evolve the brand's look and voice across every channel - Manage creative resourcing, timelines and production budgets with [producers / project managers] - [Agency] Lead creative on new-business pitches and help grow client relationships - [In-house] Build processes that keep quality high at volume What you bring - [10+] years in creative roles, including [3+] leading teams - A portfolio of work you led, with your role clear - Experience across [integrated campaigns, social and video, brand identity, digital] - Confident presenting and selling ideas to senior decision-makers - A record of developing creative talent - [Agency or in-house] experience in [category] is a plus [Pay range, location and work model, benefits]
What are a creative director’s main responsibilities?
The core responsibilities are direction, quality, people and presentation. The posting’s order tells you which matters most to that team.
| Responsibility | What it means day to day |
|---|---|
| Creative direction | Choosing and shaping the idea, setting tone and standards |
| Creative reviews | Reviewing teams’ work, giving feedback, deciding what moves on |
| Presenting | Selling work to clients or leadership and handling pushback |
| Team leadership | Hiring, coaching, staffing teams on projects, reviews |
| Cross-team partnership | Strategy, account, media, production, product, legal |
| Brand stewardship | Consistency and evolution of look and voice |
| Budgets and resourcing | Production budgets and team time with producers |
How do agency and in-house creative director roles differ?
An agency creative director serves several clients and is judged on ideas, client relationships, pitches and recognition. An in-house creative director serves one brand and is judged on consistency, volume and business results across many internal teams.
| Agency creative director | In-house creative director | |
|---|---|---|
| Who the work is for | Clients | One brand |
| Biggest pressures | Pitches, client approval, margins and hours | Volume, stakeholders, consistency |
| Recognition | Awards and press matter in the agency world | Business results and brand health matter more |
| Team | Creative teams of art director and copywriter pairs | Designers, writers, video, often agencies too |
| Reports to | Executive creative director or CCO | VP Brand, CMO or a head of creative |
In agencies, awards such as the One Show, D&AD and Cannes Lions are part of how creative leaders build reputations. For the wider differences, see in-house vs agency marketing.
What qualifications does a creative director need?
Most postings ask for a long record of creative work, several years leading teams and a portfolio of work you directed. A design, art, writing or communications degree is common but rarely decisive. Creative directors usually come up from art direction or copywriting through senior and associate creative director roles.
| Requirement | Typical wording |
|---|---|
| Experience | “10+ years in creative roles” (more for senior agency roles) |
| Leadership | “3+ years leading art directors, copywriters and designers” |
| Portfolio | “Work you led, with your role clear” |
| Presenting | “Comfortable presenting to clients or the C-suite” |
| Range | “Integrated campaigns, social, video, brand identity” |
Where does a creative director sit in the team?
A creative director usually sits above associate creative directors and below an executive creative director or chief creative officer. Large agencies add group creative directors between CD and ECD. Our creative director titles page lays out the whole ladder.
How should a candidate read a creative director posting?
Look for the setting (agency or in-house), what it’s missing (big ideas, consistency, team building) and who the role reports to. Then pick three portfolio pieces that prove the gap you’d fill. Expect the interview to probe how you give feedback and sell work; our creative director interview questions show the common ones. For pay, the creative director salary page shows the BLS data.
FAQ
What’s the difference between a creative director and an art director?
The art director owns the visuals of a project; the creative director owns the idea across art and copy, and the team. See art director vs creative director.
Does a creative director still make work?
Some, especially in smaller teams. Most of the job is directing, reviewing and presenting, so time spent making shrinks as the team grows.
How many years does it take to become a creative director?
It usually takes many years and several promotions through senior and associate creative director roles. Timelines vary a lot by company size and setting.
What’s a creative director in fashion?
A fashion creative director leads a label’s collections and its look as a whole, which is closer to running the product than running marketing. This page covers the marketing and advertising version.