Associate Creative Director or Creative Director

Job Description

We’re looking for a creative powerhouse to lead our New York studio through bold thinking and crafted excellence. As confident on the tools as you are directing work across time zones and geographies, you’ll thrive in a small, ambitious team and enjoy working with innovative clients on branding and packaging projects across CPG, beauty, regulated industries and alcohol.

You’ll play a key role in shaping our culture, defining brand futures and strengthening JDO’s creative reputation in the industry.

Who You Are

You’re a magnetic creative leader: bold in your thinking, generous in your leadership and trusted across the board. You drive creative excellence by holding the vision and lifting others to reach it with you. You see further – beyond the brief, beyond the project – and you bring people with you through clarity, care and conviction. You’re as emotionally intelligent as you are creatively astute, and you lead by inspiring belief in what’s possible.

Responsibilities

Creative thinking \& crafting excellence

You lead from the centre, setting the tone for creative output across key projects and accounts. You guide teams toward big ideas, brave executions and design that leaves a mark. You uphold the creative bar while creating space for others to contribute and grow. You lead by example in AI integration, guiding teams in its use for speed, scale and distinction, while protecting the soul of the work.

Strategic \& brand alignment

You connect brand ambition to creative expression. You hold the client’s broader goals in view and steer creative thinking to meet them with impact and imagination. You bring perspective, challenge constructively and help clarify the real opportunity behind the brief.

Studio process \& project delivery

You help shape how work moves: setting up teams for flow, reviewing with purpose, and stepping in where leadership is needed most. You work closely with Studio Management, Strategy and Client Partnership to ensure the creative process is structured to deliver clarity, energy and excellence.

Team collaboration \& contribution

You set the tone, creating an environment where creativity, respect and energy thrive. You are visible, approachable and generous with your time. You help the team feel proud of the work and proud of how we work together.

Leadership \& mentoring

You support and develop your team by offering clarity, coaching and belief. You empower others to take ownership, while staying present and supportive. You make space for growth and bring people with you.

Commercial acumen

You guide the commercial shape of creative delivery, from fee structure and resourcing to scoping and growth planning. You balance creative ambition with viability, and help your teams understand the value they’re creating. You protect space for great work by managing scope smartly and advocating for creative integrity with commercial understanding.

LOCATION AND FLEXIBILITY

Full-time (40 hours per week), with 3 days per week in the office

Experience

You’re likely operating at Associate Creative Director level, with a standout portfolio and the ambition to grow your impact, motivated by the opportunity to help grow a studio and its reputation. You’ve led projects end to end, set creative direction and earned trust from both clients and teams. We're of course very happy to receive applications from established Creative Directors too.

SOUNDS LIKE A FIT? LETS TALK.

Please note: No recruiters please. Regretfully, we can't always respond to every applicant, but we do try.

JDO USA

A chance to shape and grow something new

From our studio in midtown Manhattan, just steps from the Empire State Building, we partner with clients across North America. As part of this small but ambitious team, you’ll help shape the culture of the studio, building smart ways of working, setting a high creative bar and bringing our values of bravery, generosity and clarity into everything we do.

We’re part of JDO’s international network of designers, strategists and client partnership experts, working with some of the world’s most loved and influential brands. Our work spans brand and creative strategy, packaging and product design, innovation and sustainability, and experiential and campaign activation.

Whatever the brief, we create brand worlds that connect, inspire and stay relevant in an ever-changing landscape.

About Us

Independent. International. Indispensable.

JDO is an award-winning design agency, expertly helping brands deliver on their promises by creating experiences people can see, feel, and believe.

With boundless creativity and craftsmanship, we craft identities and brand worlds that drive success. Partnering with visionaries and disruptors alike, we turn brand promises into powerful belief.

Our promise to every member of our team is a career that matters. One where your talent is recognised, your growth is supported, and your individuality is celebrated.

Be part of a team that brings energy, generosity and craft into every room – and shows up for each other, every single day. Together, we design for distinction, push boundaries and stay curious, always seeking a better way.

We believe creativity thrives on diversity – of background, identity, experience and thought. We’re committed to building a workplace where everyone feels safe, seen and supported to grow.