Design Director

The role

A design director post at the brand consultancy Interbrand in New York. You would lead creative teams on major client engagements, set the creative direction and coach staff, designing brand systems that hold together across physical, digital, social and newer touchpoints.

What you'll do

• Interrogate client briefs with strategy and account teams to find distinctive creative angles
• Lead the creative platform on projects, building systems that stay consistent across web, mobile, social, retail, packaging, events and new channels
• Identify and frame potential signature moves for a brand, test whether they can be delivered and push the team to think bigger
• Build relationships with senior clients and partners, leading co-creation sessions that shape decisions
• Develop and coach team members and make room for original thinking, including across channels and the whole customer journey
• Set up how creative work flows, including team rituals and review cycles
• Own delivery, managing scope, budget, timelines and risk
• Give clear, decisive critique and keep work ready for production
• Present work persuasively, connecting human insight, commercial value and experience
• Follow new tools, methods and practices, and help assess design software, AI tools and other emerging technology, judging when they add value
• Contribute to proposals, investment cases and awards entries
• Work with the Brand Economics team to understand impact and set creative priorities

About you

• A record of leading creative work on significant client engagements
• A portfolio showing systems thinking across channels, including one identity system working in very different contexts
• Proficiency with emerging creative tools and an understanding of the part AI plays in creative work
• Clarity about what makes work distinctive and why it matters, and a sense of the gap between good and great
• The ability to generate creative routes that produce commercial value and memorable experiences
• Skill in building systems that are coherent yet flexible
• The ability to work across disciplines and weigh vision against feasibility
• Leadership that develops people, helps the team understand decisions and guides how they use new tools while keeping craft standards
• The ability to tell a persuasive story about the work and adjust the message for different audiences
• Ownership: working autonomously, anticipating risk, structuring teams and timelines, and delivering at scale

What's on offer

• Health, vision and dental insurance
• Family-forming benefits
• 401(k)
• Employee stock purchase programme
• Annual education assistance
• Health and wellness discounts
• Spending and saving accounts
• Holiday, sick and personal days
• Paid parental and medical leave
• Life, AD&D and disability insurance
• Employee assistance programme

The process

• A CV and portfolio are required; a cover letter and LinkedIn profile are optional
• The form asks about U.S. work authorisation, sponsorship needs and whether you are in the New York area or would relocate
• Anyone who needs the information in another format, or would rather apply by email, can write to [email protected]

The details

• Salary: $120,000 – $150,000 base
• Location: New York; hybrid, three days a week in the office
• Level: director

How to apply

Apply through Interbrand's careers site, or email [email protected] if you can't use the form.