[Hiring] Creative Director @Monks

Role Description

We're not looking for a figurehead. We're looking for a creative force who leads from the front, shapes culture from the inside out, and knows exactly what it takes to get great work made. As Group Creative Director, you will be the creative conscience of the agency, setting the standard not just by assigning work, but by understanding the work deeply enough to unblock it when it matters most.

This is a role for someone who has earned their stripes in agency life, understands the full machinery of creative delivery, and whose hands-on technical knowledge makes them a genuine resource to the people around them, not just a title above them.

What You'll Do

• Be the Practical Problem-Solver the Team Needs
  • When the team hits a wall, you're the one who knows how to climb it.
  • Step in with real, working solutions rather than theoretical ones.
  • Identify creative and technical blockers early, and resolve them before they become delays or compromises in quality.
  • Establish ways of working that give the team clarity, reduce friction, and raise the floor on output.
• Lead with Craft and Creative Authority
  • Set the visual and conceptual tone across campaigns, brands, and platforms.
  • Maintain a strong, consistent aesthetic point of view that elevates every piece of work.
  • Articulate clearly and specifically why an idea is truly great.
• Think Strategically, Create Deliberately
  • Partner with strategy and account leadership to develop sharp, provocative creative briefs.
  • Translate brand positioning, audience insight, and business objectives into creative territory.
  • Anticipate client needs before they are articulated.
• Scope, Plan, and Protect the Work
  • Bring a grounded understanding of what it takes to execute ideas well.
  • Identify early where a project might hit friction and resolve it upstream.
  • Build timelines and resource plans that protect quality without sacrificing pace.
• Communicate with Clarity and Conviction
  • A sharp communicator both internally and externally.
  • A natural storyteller who can structure a narrative effectively.
  • Skilled at reading a room and knowing when to push or reframe.
• Build and Elevate the Creative Department
  • Mentor creative teams with specificity.
  • Create an environment where junior talent is challenged and developed.
  • Set the tone for creative culture: rigorous, curious, collaborative, and ambitious.
• Own the AI Creative Frontier
  • Be the agency's lead practitioner and evangelist for AI in creative work.
  • Architect AI-assisted workflows and production pipelines.
  • Educate and upskill the creative department on AI tools.

Qualifications

• 15+ years in creative roles, with a significant portion spent in agency environments.
• Proven experience leading creative departments or large multi-disciplinary creative teams.
• A portfolio that demonstrates range across brand, campaign, digital, and experiential.
• Industry award recognition is a strong differentiator.

Requirements

• Genuine proficiency across the tools and disciplines relevant to modern creative production.
• Strong design instincts and visual literacy.
• Active, working knowledge of leading generative AI tools.
• Exceptional presenter and communicator.

Benefits

• Genuine leadership position with real creative authority.
• Work on brands that matter, alongside passionate colleagues.
• Opportunity to help define the agency's direction in AI capability and creative formats.

Company Description

Monks is the global, digital-first, data-driven, unitary operating brand of S4 Capital plc. With a legacy of innovation and specialized expertise, Monks combines an extraordinary range of global Marketing and Technology Services to redefine how brands interact with the world.

Monks was named a Contender in The Forrester Wave™: Global Marketing Services, ranks among Cannes Lions' Top 10 Creative Companies (2022-25), and remains the only partner featured in AdExchanger’s Programmatic Power Players list every year (2020-24).

We are an equal-opportunity employer committed to building a respectful and empowering work environment for all people to freely express themselves amongst colleagues who embrace diversity in all respects.