Associate Creative Director, Art Director

Job descriptions are tricky. Are we telling you what we want to hear you say about yourself, or what we want to hear us say about ourselves? Maybe both? Truth is, we’re looking for the same ACD/AD every agency is: Someone with exceptional talent, professionally and personally, with an intrinsic commitment to improving both skill sets. You’re an Art Director’s artist, a thinker’s thinker, who has experience owning a project from start to finish and managing a team or two to great effect, while also a joy to be around, obviously better than other ACD/ARTs and wholly incapable of admitting it.  

And, truth is, we don’t really think we’re like most agencies. We’re small, independent, structurally quite flat, deeply concerned for each other, abnormally transparent, pleasantly collaborative, adamantly ego-free, and currently enjoying enough momentum to believe we’re doing something right. If we’re describing you and the kind of place you belong, seems like we’d both be happiest if we chatted some more.

Responsibilities

• Actively get involved at development stages of a project offering suggestions and conceptual insights resulting in on-strategy creative solutions.
• Contribute and sometimes co-lead the creative development process in new business opportunities.
• Develop and maintain client-valued relationships as a strategic thinker, problem-solver, and arbitrator.
• Make skilled presentations to existing and prospective clients.
• Develop team structures that optimize our capabilities both to meet client expectations as well as to balance workloads.
• Inspire and motivate other creative teams to produce great work.
• Set standards and provide guidance for both our creative process and department protocols.
• Provide expectations and fairly evaluate art directors against these expectations in a timely manner.
• Assist in the education and development of creative teams.
• Provide a supportive environment for the creative group to work most productively.
• Observe the performance of all members of the creative department to encourage, motivate and improve staff performance, and to ensure consistency and uniformity in its application in accordance with agency standards.
• Develop oneself through leadership with the intent of becoming a Creative Director.

Requirements

• 8+ years relevant experience in progressively responsible roles at an agency or equivalent combo of agency and client-side experience.
• Some management experience with proven creative leadership abilities.
• 5+ years of video production experience that includes pre-production, shoots, edits, post-production, and more.
• Desire to lead and mentor team members while still executing.
• Proven ability to mentor the careers of a team of diverse art directors.
• Excellent communication skills; must be comfortable representing the work to clients in all mediums and engaging with clients at the C-suite level.
• A high degree of drive and accountability.
• Superior strategic judgment.

WIP Perks and Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, short-term disability (STD), voluntary long-term disability (LTD), and voluntary life/AD&D.

• 3% 401k contribution.

• “Unlimited” paid time off (PTO) for vacation days.

• 27 paid days off, which includes 16 holidays, a 1-week agency closure in July, and a 2-week agency closure in December.

• 2 weeks fully remote per year.

• Discretionary annual bonus.

• Each employee receives a $1,500 personal training credit annually, known as the WIP Fund, to allow for personal or professional growth in specific interest or passion areas.

About Us

We believe every brand, and person, should be a work in progress.

It’s why the founding partners opened the agency in 2016, and why WorkInProgress helps brands boldly take action, innovate, and create to prove why they exist. Then we use those actions to create the most memorable advertising.

As an independent agency, we strive to prove that an agency can care as much about a client’s business as they do. And that advertising can play a fundamental role in building and growing a company.

We’re always looking for smart, creative, and passionate people that care more about changing a company than winning awards.

Inventors more than ad people. Problem solvers more than portfolio puffery pushers. No assholes. No egos. No hiding because you can’t do the job. No selfishness. No disrespecting people or their time. Insanely talented, yet incredibly humble. In other words, one in a million. Lucky for us, we want to stay small and independent.

Our office is located in Boulder, CO, and we require employees to work from the office Tuesdays and Thursdays.