Creative Director needed: Are you a Unicorn or the G.O.A.T.?

(NOTE: do not apply via LinkedIn. Instructions at the bottom of the description. Thanks!)

We need a Creative Director to join our growing team.

Shiny is a strategic creative services agency based in Wilmington, DE. We focus on helping commoditized financial services brands break through by creating ruthlessly customer-centric creative that moves people to action and drives business results. We work across digital and traditional touchpoints, and both B2B and B2C.

We’re looking for a Creative Director who will lead our team to create meaningful, impactful work that drives business results for our clients while fostering a culture of collaboration, growth, and creative excellence. This role is about 70% dedicated to one of our largest clients, which the balance of time to support additional assigned clients in our portfolio.

The Creative Director (CD) reports to the Chief Creative Officer (CCO) and directly manages three (3) Art Directors (AD) and one (1) Senior Copywriter (Sr Copy).

Creative Director Job Description

The CD is responsible for driving the creative vision and strategy for Shiny’s clients. This includes inspiring and guiding the team to deliver work that exceeds expectations and solves complex business challenges. The CD acts as a mentor, strategic thinker, and champion for creative excellence.

Core Duties & Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership  

·      Develop and communicate a clear creative vision that aligns with client goals and brand objectives.  

·      Guide clients through the creative process, ensuring alignment between their business needs and our creative solutions.  

·      Balance the strategic, creative, and business aspects of client projects to achieve measurable results.  

Creative Excellence 

·      Foster a culture of innovation and psychological safety, empowering team members to take creative risks.  

·      Oversee the development of creative concepts and ensure that they hold true to the client’s brand standards and deliver on the client’s business objectives. 

·      In partnership with AD and Sr Copy, present creative ideas and strategies to clients with clarity and confidence.  

·      Personally lead the development of creative concepts and executions when needed to best support the team and deliver against the clients’ needs.

·      Lead development of creative executions in support of Shiny’s marketing efforts.

Team Development  

·      Mentor and coach creative team members, identifying individual strengths and creating personalized growth paths.  

·      Provide constructive feedback to elevate the team’s work and build a culture of continuous learning.  

·      Support team members as they lead projects and develop leadership skills.  

Client Partnership  

·      Build strong, trust-based relationships with clients, becoming a strategic partner who understands their challenges and goals.  

·      Act as a thought leader in creative strategy, helping clients navigate industry trends and innovation opportunities. 

Internal Team Partnership  

·      Build strong, trust-based relationships with Shiny team members across the agency, becoming a strategic partner who works in partnership with them to solve clients’ challenges. 

·      Act as the Creative lead in working with Project Management to assign resources to client projects and identify when external talent is needed to deliver against client work.  

Skills and Qualifications

The CD is a visionary leader and empathetic mentor who excels at translating complex business challenges into impactful creative solutions. Those who succeed demonstrate:

Strategic thinking—Ability to connect creative ideas to business objectives and measure their impact.  

Leadership and mentorship—Proven ability to inspire, nurture, and grow creative talent.  

Client Management—Strong presentation and storytelling abilities to articulate creative vision and business rationale.  

Creative expertise—Deep understanding of the creative process and design and communication principles.  

Collaboration and emotional Intelligence—Exceptional interpersonal skills to foster collaboration and build trust within the team and with clients.  

Other requirements

 Must demonstrate capacity and experience living Shiny’s core values:

-Be curious

-Solve problems

-Be fearless

-Work as a team

-Be honest. Always.

-Take ownership 

-Be optimistic

-Take action

-Celebrate diversity

Qualifications

• Excellent time management and problem-solving skills
• The ability to successfully organize, prioritize and manage multiple projects in a deadline driven environment
• A strong customer service orientation and the ability to foster long-term client and internal team relationships
• Excellent verbal communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to thrive in a collaborative agency environment
• Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, Keynote and other basic desktop applications is assumed

Experience & Education

·      Financial services experience—This role relies on an understanding of the financial service space and particularly on commoditized financial service products (i.e. credit cards, insurance, student loans, etc.) Experience with those types of businesses is strongly preferred.

·      8+ years of experience in creative roles, with at least three years in a leadership position.  

·      Strong portfolio showcasing creative excellence and measurable business impact.  

·      History of building long-term client relationships and successful creative campaigns.  

·      Bachelor’s degree in Design, Fine Arts, or related field preferred

Other Details

Shiny is an equal opportunity employer.

We offer:

·      Competitive compensation  

·      Hybrid work environment (work one or more days per week in our Wilmington, DE office)  

·      Medical, dental, and vision insurance 

·      401(k) with company match  

·      Unlimited time off  

·      Professional development budget  

·      Company-paid life and disability insurance  

·      Fully paid family leave  

·      Amazing and fun team members  

Does this sound like you? If so, we’d love to meet you! Send your resume, portfolio, and a brief video (three minutes or less please) to In this video, please share your answers to these five questions:

1. Why are you interested in this role?  

2. What do you know about Shiny?  

3. What is your ideal work environment?  

4. What are your strengths?  

5. Where do you see yourself in five years? 

6. How would you rank the importance of creativity and self-expression in your work?

Thanks!