Creative Director job at in Alexandria, VA

Title: Creative Director

Location: Alexandria, Virginia, United States

Department: Creative

Job Description

At SimpsonScarborough, we spend our days building brands that endure, inspire, and elevate the all-important work of colleges and universities in shaping our future. Recognized as a leader in the higher education marketing industry, we are a fully remote team of approximately 70 employees working coast to coast.

We're looking for a Creative Director to establish the creative vision for a portfolio of client engagements and inspire an interdisciplinary team of writers, art directors, and designers to do their best work. This role sits at the intersection of craft, strategy, and leadership — you're not just overseeing creative output, you're setting the standard for what great looks like at SimpsonScarborough.

The Creative Director is part of our agency leadership team, forging strong collaborative relationships with colleagues across Strategy, Accounts, Digital, Media, and Research — and deep, trusted relationships with our clients. If you lead with both creative conviction and genuine care for the people and work around you, we'd love to talk.

What You'll Do

Establish the creative vision for branding, marketing, and campaign engagements — leading teams of designers, writers, and producers from concept through final delivery.

Collaborate with Account and Strategy teams to develop brand and messaging platforms, creative concepts, and integrated marketing campaigns.

Direct the development of digital and traditional deliverables including advertising, style guides, print collateral, and websites.

Lead client meetings and presentations — in person and remotely — and serve as a thoughtful, responsive partner to clients throughout the engagement.

Collaborate with the Video Studio and external partners on concept development, scripts, storyboards, photography direction, and post-production review.

Work with the Media Strategy team to design and deliver high-performing campaigns across channels.

Partner with the Research team to provide input on creative testing instruments that generate substantive, actionable direction.

Manage resource allocation, determining team composition based on project needs and parameters.

Develop or approve creative project timelines and hold the team accountable to delivering high-quality work on time and on budget.

Contribute to business development through proposals, sales presentations, case studies, and thought leadership content.

What We're Looking For

8+ years of experience developing and leading creative work at an advertising, design, digital, or in-house agency — with higher education client experience strongly preferred.

A track record of leading both people and creative engagements at scale, with the vision to inspire and the rigor to deliver.

Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills — confident in client-facing and executive-level conversations.

Strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines without losing creative quality.

Sharp analytical and problem-solving instincts; able to prioritize, delegate, and make sound decisions independently.

Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite, Miro, InDesign, Microsoft Office Suite, or comparable tools.

Bachelor's degree and/or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

Our Commitment to Inclusion

At SimpsonScarborough, we believe diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are central to our core values and critical to our long-term success. This work requires consistency, intentionality, vulnerability, and accountability. Through our efforts, we strive to make meaningful impact in our work, our workplace, and our industry.

SimpsonScarborough is an equal opportunity employer. We have a strict anti-harassment policy and a zero-tolerance non-discrimination policy. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds regardless of nationality, race, religion, gender identity, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Questions?

For all recruitment-related inquiries, please email PeopleAndCulture@simpsonscarborough.com.