Head Of Creative

Head of creative: Creative Leadership  ·  Team Development  ·  Strategic Design Department: Creative Reports to: Founder & Managing Director Location: Cape Town, South Africa Employment type: Full-Time, Permanent Direct reports: 4–5 (Junior Art Directors, Art Director, Senior Art Director, AI Specialist)    The role We’re looking for a Head of Creative to lead our Cape Town-based creative studio. This is a senior leadership position with hands-on creative execution. You will direct, you will design, and you will build. You will take ownership of a team of talented, early-career designers and develop them into a high-performing creative unit. You’ll set the bar for craft, drive timelines, optimise output, and work to expand the team’s capabilities into video, animation, post-production, and AI-driven creative workflows. You will also oversee our emerging AI Studio function, guiding a dedicated team member who is building AI-first creative processeshelping refine their visual taste and channelling AI capabilities into scalable production workflows for key visuals, social assets, UGC, and performance creative. This is not a pure management role. You need to be exceptional at the work itself. You need to obsess over typography, layout, systems, and craft. You need to build beautiful things and teach others to do the same. Critically, you must bring deep marketing context. We are a marketing agency. The strategy behind how design is used as a communication tool is central to everything we deliver. You need to understand why we’re making something, not just how it looksand bring that thinking into every brief, every review, and every client interaction. When the Founder is travelling, you will work closely with the Head of Operations and the Head of Development to lead the company. This role has a clear trajectory toward senior leadership. What you'll do Creative direction and executionLead all creative output across the agencysocial, web, email, paid media, key visuals, retail signage, PDP content, presentations, and brand collateralMaintain hands-on design work while directing the team; this is a player-coach roleSet and enforce quality standards for typography, layout, colour, composition, and brand consistencyDevelop and expand brand systems for clients operating within tightly defined global guidelinesBuild out visual territories, key visuals, and campaign-level creative for major beauty, skincare, and CPG brandsTake creative riskspush the agency’s portfolio into bold, distinctive territoryTeam leadership and development Manage and mentor a team of 4–5 creatives (junior art directors through senior art director level)Conduct skills assessments and identify gaps relative to active scopes of workHire to fill open positions, starting with an immediate junior art director backfillBuild internal training, review processes, and quality control systemsDevelop team capabilities in video production, motion design, animation, and post-productionCreate a culture of craft, accountability, speed, and creative ambitionAI studio oversight Oversee the AI studio function, guiding a dedicated team member in AI-first creative productionSteer the taste, visual direction, and quality of AI-generated outputsIntegrate AI workflows into the broader creative processkey visuals, social content, UGC, performance creative, and videoStay current with emerging AI creative tools and push the team to adopt them meaningfullyHelp position our agency as a leader in AI-native creative productionStrategic and client-facing work Collaborate on creative briefs with an understanding of marketing strategy, business objectives, and client positioningEngage directly with clientspresent work, absorb feedback, and build trustPartner with the marketing team to ensure creative output is strategically groundedContribute to business development by elevating the quality and storytelling of the agency’s portfolioOperational leadershipOptimise creative timelines and deliverable workflows in coordination with the operations managerServe as a senior leader in the Founder’s absence, working alongside the head of operations and head of developmentBuild and maintain the agency’s creative infrastructuretemplates, asset libraries, file organisation, and review processesContribute to company culture, team cohesion, and the agency’s identityTeam structure You will lead the creative team within a compact, senior-oriented organisation: Direct reports: 2 Junior art directors (one is an immediate backfill, your first hire)1 Art director1 Senior art directorAI SpecialistYou will collaborate closely with the head of operations (who manages project timelines), the head of development (web and technical builds), and the marketing team (2 x full-time). The founder works directly with you on creative direction, strategic accounts, and company leadership. Compensation and benefits Commensurate with experience and capabilityOpportunity to shape and grow the creative department from the ground upClear leadership trajectory within a fast-growing, internationally operating agencyDirect partnership with the founder on high-profile client work and agency strategy