Head of Creative Development

 

Halifax, Nova Scotia

 

Hybrid (2 days a week in office)

 

We have partnered with a Canadian-based marketing agency that is part of an independent Network of Agencies strategically located across the world to provide global reach and capabilities.

 

They are seeking a hands-on Head of Creative Development to lead a team of conceptual thinkers, brand builders, and storytellers responsible for defining the creative vision behind our clients’ campaigns, brands, and design systems. This leader will shape the big ideas that drive our marketing initiatives, oversee the visual, written and conceptual standards for the organization, as well as guide the creation of compelling, insight-driven brand creative experiences.

The ideal candidate is a conceptual heavyweight—able to translate business problems into resonant creative ideas that scale across channels, formats, and markets. They are a visionary with a strategic mind, a strong understanding of brand-building, and a relentless commitment to creative excellence.

You will partner closely with the Head of Creative Production to ensure that the ideas your team develops are executed flawlessly, consistently, and at scale across multimedia outputs.

 

Responsibilities

 

Creative Leadership & Team Management

• Lead and mentor a team of conceptual creatives, designers, copywriters and UI experts. Provide creative direction and feedback that elevates concepts, design systems, and visual narratives.
• Foster an environment that encourages experimentation, bold thinking, and high-quality conceptual work.
• Develop the creative strengths of the team, helping them grow into sharper strategists and stronger designers.

Brand & Visual Standards

• Own the development and evolution of brand identities, ensuring consistency, clarity, and strategic alignment across all touchpoints.
• Define and enforce creative guidelines, visual systems, campaign frameworks, and brand toolkits.
• Oversee brand architecture, brand refreshes, and new visual identity development.

Concept Development & Creative Strategy

• Lead conceptual development for major campaigns, ensuring ideas are original, insight-driven, and aligned with business goals.
• Partner with marketing and strategy stakeholders to translate briefs into compelling creative territories and storytelling directions.
• Guide the early stages of creative thinking—concepts, moodboards, narratives, design explorations—before production involvement.
• Leverage audience insights, market research, and competitive analysis to shape strategic creative directions.

Collaboration & Cross-Functional Partnership

• Work hand-in-hand with the Head of Creative Production to ensure concepts scale effectively across digital, video, motion, and AI-enhanced outputs.
• Collaborate with stakeholders, and leadership teams to align creative directions with business strategy.
• Present concepts to stakeholders with confidence and clarity, building trust and excitement around creative visions.

Innovation & Future Thinking

• Stay ahead of trends, and emerging creative technologies—including taking a leading stance towards the use of AI to support conceptual exploration.
• Introduce new storytelling frameworks, creative methodologies, and ideation techniques to keep the work innovative and relevant.
• Evaluate tools and processes that enhance ideation, design thinking, and conceptual development workflows.

 

 

Qualifications

 

• 8–12+ years of experience in creative design, brand development, visual identity, or conceptual creative roles.
• Experience leading design teams in an agency, studio, or in-house creative environment.
• Outstanding conceptual thinking abilities and a strong portfolio of brand and campaign work.
• Expertise in brand systems, visual identity creation, creative strategy, and multi-channel campaign design.
• Strong command of Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, and conceptualization tools (including familiarity with AI ideation platforms).
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate the “why” behind creative decisions.
• Ability to guide teams through structured creative thinking—from insights to ideas to visual articulation.
• Strong understanding of the current design landscape, trends, and modern storytelling methods.
• Highly organized, collaborative, and able to manage multiple conceptual directions at once.
• Experience partnering with production teams to translate concepts into execution pipelines.
• Familiarity with research-driven creative strategy and brand positioning.
• Experience developing global or multi-market brand systems.
• Background in integrated campaigns across digital, print, social, video, and experiential.

 

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a growing agency based in Halifax.

 

The company offers a competitive annual salary, group term life insurance, medical and dental benefits and long-term disability coverage, RRSP contributions, wellness allowance and much more!

 

If this sounds like the ideal position for you then apply today!

Our client is committed to fostering a workplace that prioritizes inclusion, respect, and equal opportunity for all. We encourage applications from women, Indigenous peoples, racialized individuals, people with disabilities, those of diverse sexual orientations or gender identities, individuals from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, newcomers, and those who can contribute to the richness of our community through their unique perspectives and lived experiences. We value diversity and believe it enhances the growth and success of our organization. All qualified applicants are welcome to apply; however, preference may be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.