Creative Director

Location: Chicago USA

This role provides equal parts marketing/strategy along with creative elements with hands-on execution.  As the creative ambassador of the brand, the Director will contribute to the evolution of Wilson from Leading Equipment Provider to Leading Sports Brand by providing vision and guidance to the ongoing transformation of all MarComm tools produced and utilized by Wilson.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each
essential duty and responsibility satisfactorily:

• Accountable for the creative direction and leadership of the design team to develop and deliver relevant, original and impactful design solutions that meet client needs.
• Lead the Wilson brand language in words, images, graphics and sound.
  Establish and maintain a consistent visual style for our clients that fit within their guidelines, personality and voice.
• Manage and optimize the efficiency of the Creative Services organization.  Deliver recommendations that will allow better service to the evolving business areas.
• Deliver tools that help business directors/managers develop proper creative briefs. Follow through and deliver final toolbox.
• Assist department business manager(s) in identifying effective portfolio of suppliers.
• Install and manage the process of acquiring all creative assets from images and graphics to sound and text. Bring expertise in usage rights and sources acquisition.
• Interact with General Managers, Business Directors/Managers on all projects and activities to create clear briefs and objectives.
• Participate in the Brand Platform Group.
  

Education/Experience

• Bachelors Degree in Graphics, Marketing, or Communications.
• 5 years experience in a lead Creative Director role
• Along with 10-15 years overall creative experience, preferably in sports, footwear and/or apparel
• Marketing/brand management experience preferred
• Recent in-house, corporate Creative Director experience is mandatory; early agency experience is desired
• Experience managing projects for recognizable brands and leading teams through delivery
• Experience working across a variety of mediums in the design and production of the following MarComm elements:
      - Corporate Communications 
      - Branding
      - Product Design
      - Packaging
      - Promotion (in-store/digital)
      - POP/POS
      - Advertising
      - Collateral
• Experience in the design and production of the following digital elements: 
      - Digital Asset Management
      - Websites (internal/external)
      - B2C sites
      - CRM
• Hands on experience of web-based media marketing and communications capabilities
• Financial understanding to manage budgets

Qualifications, Skills & Abilities

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Graphic and web design principles and a good understanding of current web technologies and database functionalities (SQL)
• Capacity to navigate complexity of supporting multiple-brands, multiple-countries, & multiple-channels; ability to optimize our matrix organization and take into consideration potential divergent interests
• Ability to identify and forecast opportunities and emerging trends along with a willingness to create and drive change
• Solid attention to detail with strong organization and project management skills
• Strong communication skills to effectively present information, build working relationships, respond to questions and collaborate with cross-functional teams
• Proven ability to work under pressure, prioritize and meet multiple deadlines
• Strong knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash and associated design software
• Knowledge in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
• Must be able to provide samples of recent and relevant design projects and applicable tactics that will highlight experience in a Director level role
• Knowledge and interest in sports, as a means of developing authentic deliverables against a focused sports audience.
• Ability to travel approximately 20-30%

SUPERVISORY: 

• Retail: Will build and lead a team to support Retail which includes marketing, merchandising, and buying
• E-commerce:  Will jointly supervise Wilson e-shop managers with the Director of E-commerce

EEO - M/F/D/V