HEAD OF CREATIVE: GLOBAL MARKETING AGENCY
Designer – Creative (Integrated), Art Director – Creative (Integrated), Creative Director – Copy / Art / Design – Creative (Integrated)
Cape Town – Western Cape
Lead. Create. Raise the Standard.
We have a dazzling, on-site opportunity in Cape Town for a meticulous, conceptually driven Head of Creative to lead the creative studio at a fast-growing, AI-native creative production and marketing agency with global operations and an impressive international client portfolio
Working across luxury beauty, skincare, wellness, healthcare, finance and consumer brands, you’ll lead a talented team of creatives while remaining hands-on in the work itself – setting the benchmark for exceptional design, mentoring and developing designers, championing AI-powered creative workflows, and delivering beautifully crafted, strategically driven work across every digital and brand touchpoint.
As the agency continues consolidating its global creative operations in Cape Town, you’ll play a key role in building the studio into the group’s creative centre of excellence.
This is a rare opportunity for a senior creative who understands that outstanding design is about far more than aesthetics. We’re looking for someone who can connect creative thinking to business outcomes, build and inspire a high-performing team, embrace emerging technologies, and help shape the future of an ambitious global agency from its growing Cape Town studio.
You’ll Thrive in This Role If You…
- Love creating exceptional work just as much as leading others.
- Hold yourself (and your team) to exceptionally high creative standards.
- Are passionate about typography, layout, visual systems and meticulous execution.
- Embrace AI as a creative tool and are excited to integrate it into modern design workflows.
- Take ownership, solve problems proactively and thrive in a fast-paced agency environment.
- Enjoy balancing creative leadership with hands-on execution.
Responsibilities
Creative Direction & Execution
- Lead all creative output across the agency – social, web, email, paid media, key visuals, retail signage, PDP content, presentations, and brand collateral
- Maintain hands-on design work while directing the team; this is a player-coach role
- Set and enforce quality standards for typography, layout, colour, composition, and brand consistency
- Develop and expand brand systems for clients operating within tightly defined global guidelines
- Build out visual territories, key visuals, and campaign-level creative for major beauty, skincare, and CPG brands.
Team Leadership & Development
- Manage and mentor a team of 4–5 creatives
- Build internal training, review processes, and quality control systems
- Develop team capabilities in video production, motion design, animation, and post-production
- Create a culture of craft, accountability, speed, and creative ambition.
AI Studio Oversight
- Oversee the AI Studio function, guiding a dedicated team member in AI-first creative production
- Steer the taste, visual direction, and quality of AI-generated outputs
- Integrate AI workflows into the broader creative process: key visuals, social content, UGC, performance creative, and video
- Stay current with emerging AI creative tools and push the team to adopt them meaningfully.
Strategic & Client-Facing Work
- Collaborate on creative briefs with an understanding of marketing strategy, business objectives, and client positioning
- Engage directly with clients: present work, absorb feedback, and build trust
- Partner with the marketing team to ensure creative output is strategically grounded
- Contribute to business development by elevating the quality and storytelling of the agency’s portfolio.
Operational Leadership
- Optimise creative timelines and deliverable workflows in coordination with the Operations Manager
- Serve as a senior leader in the Founder’s absence, working alongside the Head of Operations and Head of Development
- Build and maintain the agency’s creative infrastructure: templates, asset libraries, file organisation, and review processes
- Contribute to company culture, team cohesion, and the agency’s identity.
Requirements
The successful candidate must have/be:
- Industry relevant experience/Visual Communications qualification
- 10+ years of professional design experience, with significant time in agency environments
- Experience across B2B, DTC, service-based businesses, healthcare/medical, beauty, and CPG verticals
- Demonstrated experience managing, mentoring, and scaling creative teams
- Strong background in digital-first design: social media, web, email, paid media, PDPs, and digital signage
- Experience with client-facing work – presenting creative, managing feedback, and building long-term relationships
- Exceptional typography, text layout, and understanding of font families and type systems
- Ability to create beautiful work within tightly constrained brand guidelines
- Proficiency in Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, and presentation tools
- Working knowledge of AI creative tools and workflows (image generation, video synthesis, content rendering)
- Strong understanding of marketing strategy, campaign planning, and how design serves business objectives
- Self-directed and operationally savvy – taking ownership
- Comfortable with high-velocity work environments and a founder who is meticulous, energised, and direct
- Excited to build; build a team, build an agency portfolio, build the agency’s own brand
- Curious about AI and genuinely excited about integrating it into creative production
- English is your primary language.
Bonus Points If You Have…
- Experience working with luxury beauty, skincare, healthcare, wellness or consumer brands.
- Motion graphics, animation or video production experience.
- Experience leading AI-native creative production or implementing AI workflows within an agency.
- Experience working with global clients across multiple markets.
Please submit a PDF/link to a relevant portfolio along with your CV on application.
City: Cape Town
Level of Expertise: Senior
Remuneration: Negotiable
Consultant: Christine
Reference Number: #Chris2620
