Creative Director at SimpsonScarborough | Alexandria, VA

Creative Director

Alexandria, VA (Remote)

Salary Not AvailableSenior Level8+ years expFull time

Posted 2 months ago

Job Summary

Own the brand and campaign creative engine, turning strategy into assets with cross-functional ownership across branding, advertising, and client-facing delivery.

Creative leadership: steer vision, teams, and timelines from concept through delivery across digital and print assets.
Cross-functional ownership: align with Strategy, Media, and Research to shape platforms, testing, and performance.

Job Description

Establish the creative vision for branding, marketing, and campaign engagements — leading teams of designers, writers, and producers from concept through final delivery.
Collaborate with Account and Strategy teams to develop brand and messaging platforms, creative concepts, and integrated marketing campaigns.
Direct the development of digital and traditional deliverables including advertising, style guides, print collateral, and websites.
Lead client meetings and presentations — in person and remotely — and serve as a thoughtful, responsive partner to clients throughout the engagement.
Collaborate with the Video Studio and external partners on concept development, scripts, storyboards, photography direction, and post-production review.
Work with the Media Strategy team to design and deliver high-performing campaigns across channels.
Partner with the Research team to provide input on creative testing instruments that generate substantive, actionable direction.
Manage resource allocation, determining team composition based on project needs and parameters.
Develop or approve creative project timelines and hold the team accountable to delivering high-quality work on time and on budget.
Contribute to business development through proposals, sales presentations, case studies, and thought leadership content.

8+ years of experience developing and leading creative work at an advertising, design, digital, or in-house agency — with higher education client experience strongly preferred.
A track record of leading both people and creative engagements at scale, with the vision to inspire and the rigor to deliver.
Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills — confident in client-facing and executive-level conversations.
Strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines without losing creative quality.
Sharp analytical and problem-solving instincts; able to prioritize, delegate, and make sound decisions independently.
Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite, Miro, InDesign, Microsoft Office Suite, or comparable tools.
Bachelor's degree and/or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

SimpsonScarborough

👋 Meet your new brand champions.We're the higher ed marketing agency built to outthink, outshine, & outdo, because smarter strategy leads to lasting impact.

Founded in 2006

Alexandria, Virginia, USA

72 employees (23 in marketing)

www.simpsonscarborough.com