Associate Creative Director

Buffalo, NY (On-site)

$75K/yr – $90K/yrMid Level10+ years expFull time

Posted 3 months ago

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Job Summary

Drive creative leadership and cross-functional influence as an Associate Creative Director, turning strategy into impactful, executable work.

  • Own primary creative direction across projects and mentor the team.
  • Must-have: leadership experience and cross-functional direction.
  • Standout: breadth across print, digital, social, video, and experiential.

Job Description

Responsibilities

  • We’re looking for an Associate Creative Director who can balance big-picture thinking with hands-on execution.
  • Someone who can mentor a team, sell a concept, and move work forward.
  • You’ll partner with strategists, art directors, copywriters, and account leads to craft breakthrough creative rooted in evidence and built for impact.
  • You’ll play a central role in shaping the creative process by refining ideas, guiding execution, and ensuring everything aligns with business goals.
  • This isn’t a role for spectators. It’s for leaders who take initiative and deliver results.

Requirements

  • 10+ years of agency or in-house creative experience , including at least 2 years in a leadership role
  • A portfolio that shows strong conceptual thinking and flawless execution across print, digital, social, video, and experiential
  • Experience leading cross-functional teams, providing clear creative direction and actionable feedback
  • Deep understanding of brand development and integrated marketing
  • The ability to align creative to strategy and sell both internally and to clients
  • A high creative bar, with equal parts ambition, resilience, and humility
  • Strong presentation and storytelling skills, both visually and verbally
  • Mastery of timelines, budgets, and production workflows
  • Expertise in digital platforms, campaign development, and content strategy
  • Proficiency in AI-enabled creative tools and platforms, leveraging them to boost ideation, speed, and output
Gelia logo

Gelia

Gelia has an average client tenure of 23 years. That’s not a typo. Why do our clients stick with us? Because we continually evolve our services to match what they’re up against. It’s always been about growing leads and sales, but the obstacles to achievement are ever-changing.What does that look like today? Clients face disruption like never before: vetting and integrating new marketing technologies; filling more channels with more content, without more resources; managing the competing interests of building their brand and generating leads. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them through this gauntlet. Keeping our eyes on the mega trends, uncomplicating the next complex solution, and delivering on the C-Suite’s vision; all while supporting the day-to-day execution that must get done. At Gelia, we go beyond what most agencies are able or willing to do in order to help clients succeed. That means delivering a marcom plan that focuses on strategic and creative vision, while navigating the right mix of martech solutions to execute it. And, just as importantly, reporting attributable metrics in terms each stakeholder group will appreciate.

Founded in 1961
Buffalo, New York, USA
87 employees (25 in marketing)

Traffic Signals

Monthly Visitors
613
Traffic Source Mix
Search
32.5%
Direct
42%
Referral
12.5%
Social
10.2%
Paid
1.7%

Headcount Trend

Current headcount: ~87

Marketing Team

Marketing Team Size
16 (18% of company)
Median Career Experience
9 years
Median Tenure
7.8 years
Marketing Roles Posted (Last 30 Days)
1