Associate Design Director

LOCATION: Canada and US

Critical Mass has a great new opportunity for a Design Director who does not shy away from the word "production," to join our team. Through encouraging design best practices and leadership, you will play an instrumental role in growing our agency’s production design studio, its pertaining capabilities, and client opportunities. As an experienced Design Director, you have an enviable design pedigree, visual problem-solving skills, and creative approaches to lead your team and develop strong relationships with clients and partner agencies. Fast on your feet, you identify with the maker side of creativity and are adept at juggling multiple projects and their deadlines—for yourself and your team—to exceed the needs and goals of all stakeholders.

You understand quantity can never replace quality and strive to meet the demands of both through your experience building efficient practices, which bridge the gaps between vision and execution. Finally, you understand the realities of a creative studio and thrive in an ever-changing environment.

You will:

Lead

• Lead, mentor and grow the Production Design team toward quality, consistency, and excellence by understanding skill sets and personalities of team members to find areas for opportunity and ensure projects are cast with the best talent
• Lead the performance review process with regular team meetings, portfolio reviews and 360 bi-annual feedback.

Collaborate

• Collaborate within Critical Mass to build the reputation of our Production Design Studio and educate other Leaders on the benefits of a robust production design focus.
• Collaborate with other team leads and members of Wander Studio.
• Collaborate with world class in-house brand studios and their leads.
• Collaborate with partner agencies to help drive creative excellence through modular system frameworks.

Create

• Create production solutions elevating our abilities to create.
• Create business cases when work goes live.
• Create compelling stories to support new business, pitch on opportunities, and organically help shape new opportunities within your craft.
• Create regular opportunities to stay current within the tech stack of production design tools, including platforms focused on creative automation and latest trends in the design and advertising industry.
• Create a positive environment where creativity and positivity can flourish every day.

You have:

• 10+ years relevant experience in a high-velocity production studio, digital design production shop, and/or agency organization.
• Advanced proficiencies within Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, with practical knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite’s ecosystem of content creation software.
• Experience building and mentoring highly productive teams.
• Experience in high-scale output and design and a proven track record driving new initiatives through an organization.
• Experience with content at scale technologies.
• Experience working in a dynamic, fluid, and ever-changing environment.

• Please include a link to your portfolio with your application.