Associate Creative Director

IW Group is looking for an Associate Creative Director with a copywriting background who is passionate about advertising, culture and finding unexpected ways for brands to connect with people.

This is a hands-on creative role for someone who can develop strong ideas, write sharp copy and help lead campaigns from early concept through execution. You’ll primarily work on social-first and integrated campaigns, with opportunities to develop work across commercial, video, digital and radio.

You follow social platforms, creators, entertainment, technology and emerging behaviors, and you’re able to distinguish between simply participating in a trend and finding an original, brand-relevant way into it.

Working closely with the Creative Director, art directors, designers, strategists, account teams and producers, you’ll help raise the quality of the work, mentor more junior creatives and contribute to a creative culture built around curiosity, collaboration and experimentation.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Creative Concepting & Copywriting

• Develop big, original creative ideas rooted in strategy, audience insight and culture.
• Concept and write social-first campaigns designed for the way people actually consume and share content today.
• Write across a range of formats including social content, video, commercials, radio, digital experiences, presentations and occasional print or collateral.
• Help ensure ideas remain strong from initial concept through production and final delivery.

Social & Cultural Fluency

• Understand the nuances of creating work for platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and other emerging social environments.
• Bring a strong understanding of Gen Z culture and behavior, particularly how younger audiences engage with brands and advertising.
• Have an awareness of—or genuine curiosity about—AAPI audiences, communities and culture, and a desire to continually deepen that understanding.
• Identify cultural opportunities that can inspire timely, relevant and original creative ideas without relying on stereotypes or surface-level trends.

AI & Emerging Technology

• Actively use generative AI tools as part of the creative process to brainstorm, visualize, prototype and communicate ideas.
• Be comfortable generating rough visual mockups, storyboards, treatments or other creative explorations using AI tools—you do not need traditional design software expertise.

Creative Leadership & Collaboration

• Provide clear, thoughtful creative direction and feedback to writers, art directors, designers and other members of the creative team.
• Mentor junior creatives and help them strengthen their conceptual thinking, craft and presentation skills.
• Be responsive to client and internal feedback, able to quickly understand what is being asked, identify the underlying issue and evolve the work.
• Manage multiple projects and workstreams simultaneously, balancing competing priorities, deadlines and rounds of feedback while maintaining creative quality.

• Maintain a high level of attention to detail across copy, presentations, scripts, social content and final deliverables.
  Present creative concepts internally and to clients with clarity, confidence and persuasive storytelling.

 MINIMUM JOB REQUIREMENTS

Education & Experience

• 6+ years of professional creative experience, with a strong foundation in copywriting and conceptual advertising.
• Previous experience working at an advertising agency or similarly fast-paced creative environment required.
• Portfolio demonstrating strong conceptual thinking and copywriting across campaigns, particularly social, video and integrated work.
• Experience developing ideas from initial brief through presentation, production and launch.
• Experience presenting creative work internally and to clients.
• Experience mentoring or providing creative direction to junior team members.
• Bachelor’s degree in Advertising, Communications, Journalism, Marketing or a related field preferred, or equivalent professional experience.

Skills and Abilities

·      Exceptional conceptual thinking and copywriting skills.

·      A genuine passion for advertising, creativity and culture.

·      Strong understanding of social media platforms and social-first creative.

·      Naturally curious about people, culture, technology and why audiences behave the way they do.

·      Highly detail-oriented, with strong proofreading instincts and an ability to catch inconsistencies before work reaches the client.

·      Able to manage multiple projects at different stages of development without losing track of details, deadlines or deliverables.

·      Responsive, adaptable and comfortable working through multiple rounds of client feedback.

·      Able to distinguish between subjective feedback and a larger strategic or creative issue, then find the strongest solution.

·      Strong grasp of brand voice, storytelling and campaign development.

·      Fluency with—or enthusiasm for learning—generative AI and emerging creative tools. Ability to generate or direct rough visual mockups using AI in order to communicate an idea; traditional design software expertise is not required.

·      Strong presentation and communication skills.

·      Self-motivated, collaborative and comfortable taking initiative.

·      Willingness to experiment, learn new things and challenge familiar approaches.

COMPANY CULTURE

·      Connectors: IW Group is a company founded with community at our core. We believe in building meaningful community and encourage teams to connect with causes and missions that fuel their passions.

·      Foodies: You can often find our teams sharing a meal. We love to explore new cultures and experiences through food. When we are in-office together, Tuesday and Wednesday, IW Group sponsors lunch catered by local restaurants.

·      Explorers: IW Group encourages teams to follow their creative hunches. Whether it be testing new tech, visiting edgy art galleries, or discovering local coffeeshops, we want our teams to stay constantly curious.

·      Entrepreneurs: We have a strong entrepreneurial spirit! We encourage teams to drive new initiatives, work with growing startups, and drive their own growth with the company.

SUCCESS FACTORS

·       Passion for work and IW Group service offerings

·       Work well as part of a team, with a diverse array of people

·       Cultural awareness, acuity, and sensitivity

·       Flexibility

·       Ability to work under pressure and manage stress efficiently

·       Highly motivated

·       Demonstrate sound work ethic

·       Ability to understand other people's points of view with empathy and compassion

·       Accept constructive criticism

HYBRID WORK MODEL

·       IW Group has adopted a hybrid work model. Teams set their own in-office schedule but are requested to work in-office at least twice per week.

·       While performing the responsibilities of this role, the employee will spend most of the time working indoors, in the IW Group office, client office, or other identified location.

·       This role may require extended work hours (including weekends) to complete certain projects, with or without advance notice.

·       This role may require work outside of the office (i.e., client events).

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

·       While performing the responsibilities of this role, the employee is required to talk and hear. The employee is often required to sit and use their hands and fingers, to handle or feel. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, reach with arms and hands, climb or balance, and to stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. Vision abilities required by this job include close vision.

·       These physical demands are representative of the physical requirements necessary for an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this role.

NOTE: This job description isn’t exhaustive; roles and responsibilities may evolve. We provide reasonable accommodations to support employees with disabilities.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Reasonable accommodation can be made to enable people with disabilities to perform the described essential functions of this role.