Creative Director

Creative Director

Reports to: Global Executive Creative Director

Location: Bristol UK

Hybrid is seeking a UK based Creative Director to lead the development and delivery of ambitious creative work across brand campaigns, content and digital experiences for our higher education clients. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring someone who can move comfortably between creative direction, client engagement, and team mentorship.

While grounded in strong design craft, the position extends into workshop facilitation, film and photography art direction, and senior client engagement.

The successful candidate will bring an excellent understanding of visual communication and the confidence to lead creative discussions to both the Hybrid team + our partners.

Key Responsibilities

Creative Leadership

· Lead the development of creative concepts for brand and campaign projects

· Lead campaign ideation and narrative development

· Direct multidisciplinary teams across design, film, photography and digital

· Maintain creative quality and coherence across large campaign rollouts

· Translate strategic insights into compelling creative ideas

· Work closely with the Client Services Director to ensure prioritisation of work, project planning and team wellbeing

· Support new business development through creative input into pitches, proposals and tenders

· Support the development and guardianship of Hybrid’s own brand and internal creative output where required

Client Engagement

· Present and confidently articulate creative work to senior clients

· Facilitate creative workshops and ideation sessions with clients

· Respond confidently to feedback and evolve ideas in real time

· Act as a trusted creative partner to clients across long-term relationships

Team Mentorship

· Provide creative guidance, mentorship and oversight to designers and junior creatives in Hybrid’s Bristol and Kuala Lumpur studios

· Foster a culture of trust, creativity and constructive critique

· Know when to step in with guidance and when to empower the team to lead

· Support teams in resolving creative challenges during fast-moving projects

Travel & Production

· Travel regularly for client meetings, workshops and production shoots

· Lead on-site creative direction for photography and film where required

Skills / Experience


Essential

· Strong background in graphic design and visual communication

· Proven experience developing creative campaigns

· Experience art directing photography and video production

· Confident presenting creative work to senior stakeholders

· Ability to think creatively and respond quickly under pressure

· Strong understanding of brand systems and visual identity

· Workshop facilitation experience

Nice to haves

· Understanding of UX/UI design and digital experience

· Experience contributing to brand strategy development

· Excellent storytelling and narrative development skills

· Experience working with higher education or complex organisations

· Business leadership and acumen

Leadership Qualities

· Ability to foster an environment where creatives feel challenged and empowered to do their best work

· Comfortable articulating ideas and responding to feedback in real time

· Able to shape concepts quickly and refine thinking collaboratively

· Able to adapt quickly to evolving client needs and project challenges

· Mentor, support, and foster the growth of a dynamic design team

· Has an understanding of design trends both within the Higher Education sector, and marketing industry as a whole

· Maintaining and building client relationships, being on the forefront of new business opportunities