Creative Director

Company: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Location: Cary
Posted on: April 7, 2025

Job Description:

Location: Hoboken, NJ - London, UK - Bognor Regis, UK - Oxford, UK (hybrid) Our mission is to unlock human potential. We welcome you for who you are, the background you bring, and we embrace individuals who get excited about learning. Bring your experiences, your perspectives, and your passion; it's in our differences that we empower the way the world learns. About the Role: We are seeking an experienced and visionary Creative Director to lead our creative team and drive the visual and narrative expression of our brand. This role is central to crafting compelling, consistent, and innovative brand experiences across all channels, including digital, print, events, and multimedia platforms. As a strategic leader and creative expert, you will oversee concept development, creative execution, and brand storytelling while collaborating closely with brand strategy, marketing, product, and leadership teams to align business goals with outstanding creative output. How you will make an impact:

• Creative Strategy & Vision
• Define and articulate the company's creative vision and oversee its execution across all brand touchpoints in deep collaboration with the head of brand strategy
• Lead the creative development of brand narratives, campaigns, and marketing assets that resonate with target audiences
• Collaborate with leadership strategy and customer needs to ensure that creative aligns with business objectives
• Develop quarterly and annual creative roadmaps that support business growth objectives
• Identify opportunities to differentiate our brand in competitive markets through innovative creative approaches
• Leadership & Team Management
• Lead and inspire a multidisciplinary creative team, including designers, motion graphic artists, copywriters, and video editors
• Directly manage 5-7 in-house creative professionals while overseeing freelancers and agency partners
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, and workflows for efficient creative production
• Mentor and develop team members, fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration, and continuous learning
• Conduct regular performance reviews and create professional development plans for team growth
• Manage creative department budget, including resource allocation and vendor negotiations
• Build and maintain relationships with freelance talent and creative agencies for scaling production needs
• Creative Development & Execution
• Oversee all creative output, including brand campaigns, digital marketing, websites, social media, events, and product-related content
• Lead creative briefing processes, ensuring clear objectives and requirements for all projects
• Facilitate creative brainstorming sessions and concept development workshops
• Review and provide constructive feedback throughout the creative development process
• Approve final creative work, ensuring high-quality standards and alignment with brand identity
• Ensure timely delivery of creative assets across multiple projects and campaigns
• Collaboration & Cross-Functional Leadership
• Partner with content marketing, brand and events, product marketing, and field marketing to understand and deliver on campaigns
• Collaborate with external agencies, production vendors, and freelancers for specialized creative needs
• Present creative concepts and campaigns to senior leadership and key stakeholders
• Work closely with digital marketing teams to optimize creative assets for performance in paid media and website
• Collaborate with product teams to ensure consistent user experience across digital properties
• Partner with regional marketing teams to adapt global creative for local markets and cultural contexts
• Brand Governance & Innovation
• Ensure compliance of brand guidelines and consistency of application across all media and regions
• Develop and implement creative quality control processes and approval workflows
• Stay ahead of industry trends and emerging technologies to ensure cutting-edge creative innovation
• Lead periodic brand audits to identify opportunities for refinement and evolution
• Drive experimentation with new creative formats, platforms, and storytelling techniques What we look for:
• Experience & Expertise
• 10+ years of experience in creative roles, including 5+ years in a senior creative leadership position
• Proven experience leading large-scale brand and marketing campaigns across multiple channels
• Expertise in brand strategy, integrated marketing, and multi-platform content creation
• Demonstrated success managing and developing diverse creative teams, including in-house staff, freelancers, and agency partners
• Experience overseeing end-to-end creative production processes from concept to execution
• Track record of building or evolving successful brand identities
• Experience working with B2B and/or SaaS companies preferred
• Skills & Competencies
• Exceptional conceptual thinking, creative vision, and storytelling abilities
• Strong leadership and team development skills with a passion for fostering creative excellence
• Mastery of Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects) and familiarity with project management tools
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with experience pitching ideas and delivering executive-level presentations
• Superior aesthetic judgment and attention to detail
• Strong project management abilities with experience juggling multiple deadlines and priorities
• Ability to translate business objectives into creative strategies and measurable outcomes
• Experience in budget management and resource allocation for creative departments
• Collaborative mindset with ability to work effectively across departments and with external partners
• Knowledge of digital marketing best practices and channel-specific creative requirements
• Portfolio Requirements
• Candidates must submit a portfolio demonstrating strategic thinking, creative direction, and campaign execution
• Portfolio should include examples of work across multiple media formats (digital, print, video, etc.) About Wiley Wiley is a trusted leader in research and learning, our pioneering solutions and services are paving the way for knowledge seekers as they work to solve the world's most important challenges. We are advocates of advancement, empowering knowledge-seekers to transform today's biggest obstacles into tomorrow's brightest opportunities. With over 200 years of experience in publishing, we continue to evolve knowledge seekers' steps into strides, illuminating their path forward to personal, educational, and professional success at every stage. Around the globe, we break down barriers for innovators, empowering them to advance discoveries in their fields, adapt their workforces, and shape minds. Wiley is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. We evaluate all qualified applicants and treat all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or based on any individual's status in any group or class protected by applicable federal, state or local laws. Wiley is also committed to providing reasonable accommodation to applicants and employees with disabilities. Applicants who require accommodation to participate in the job application process may contact tasupport@wiley.com for assistance. We are proud that our workplace promotes continual learning and internal mobility. Our values support courageous teammates, needle movers and learning champions all while striving to support the health and well-being of all employees, for example we offer meeting-free Friday afternoons allowing more time for heads down work and professional development. We are committed to fair, transparent pay, and we strive to provide competitive compensation in addition to a comprehensive benefits package. The range below represents Wiley's good faith and reasonable estimate of the base pay for this role at the time of posting roles either in the UK, Canada or USA. It is anticipated that most qualified candidates will fall within the range, however the ultimate salary offered for this role may be higher or lower and will be set based on a variety of non-discriminatory factors, including but not limited to, geographic location, skills, and competencies. Wiley proactively displays target base pay range for UK, Canada and USA based roles.
  

Keywords: John Wiley & Sons Inc., Durham , Creative Director, Executive , Cary, North Carolina