Creative Director

Position: Creative Director

Department: Creative
Reports to: Managing Director

Office: Singapore

We are creative problem solvers.Cowan is an integrated consumer brand agency helping clients reimagine brands to face dynamic business challenges. Across strategy, innovation and design, we help brands realise their potential. For 35 years, since our humble beginnings in Melbourne, we have been an Asia-Pacific branding pioneer. Not only have we witnessed dramatic and transformational change, we have also made it happen across our 5 offices including Singapore, Vietnam, Sydney, Melbourne and London. Today we proudly serve as long term, trusted advisors to some of the most impactful local and global consumer brands.

Associate Creative Director - Advancing and setting the standard for great work

Owning the creative process from start to finish to deliver inspirational, effective work for our clients and their brands. Inspire and lead the team - being hands on when required. Recruit, coach and develop talent. Build exceptional client relationships based on strategic partnership. Proactive in agency leadership, understanding the commercial context of the business. Provides unwavering and consistent support to the Creative Director.

**CREATIVE RESPONSE & STUDIO CONTRIBUTION**
- Own the creative and brief response from start to finish. Inspire and lead by example in game-changing conceptual thinking across multiple creative mediums, demonstrating what great work looks like and setting the standard for the strongest possible response to a brief across the full breadth of our creative capabilities.
- Challenge and stretch the brief to deliver work that is bold, brave and on brand, masterfully using our methodology and strategic and creative tools, leveraging all creative capabilities, bringing "what if" thinking to bear.
- Leads a brand or client with an expert level of understanding of the consumer and market insights and the brand equities and how they can be flexed across the full spectrum of capabilities.
- With the CD's, actively create a buzzing and energetic studio atmosphere, innovate and improve ways of working improve ways of working, lead inspiration sessions.
- Create internal creative challenges and lead the team and individuals to enter and contribute to studio events, competitions and awards.

TECHNICAL UNDERSTANDING & CRAFTING
- Absolute commitment to crafted creative expression across all mediums. Has proven experience in elevating strategic creative beyond the expected across multiple mediums.
- Challenges the team to employ new technologies and craft inspiration to bring their ideas to the next level.
- Ensures training and development of the team in their personal mastery of a technology or craft, partners individuals for skills sharing.
- Expert in role specific software, ensures others are upskilling and closing gaps, able to train others.
- Thoroughly understands implementation and execution and ensures all recommendations to clients can be implemented.
- Trains others on IP, protects the work and our clients, ensuring any potential issues are flagged.

**BRAND EXPERTISE**
- An informed advocate for the brand with deep strategic, creative and commercial understanding. Know where individual briefs fit into the bigger picture and brand challenges - understands the role of creative in supporting longer term goals and objectives, ensures creative solutions that advance the brand.
- Masterful understanding of the brand equities, HWA's and challenges, able to direct other's work against this criteria.

**TEAM WORKING & PROJECT MANAGEMENT**
- Leads a wide range of projects in a highly professional and flexible manner, manages time conflicts and competing projects skillfully and with good judgment, navigating constraints in resources and conflicts in deadlines while maintaining quality work. Where and when necessary, periodically aligns with the CD to ensure the work is hitting the mark and integrates feedback.
- Drives the values-led agency agenda, facilitating strong collaboration and alignment within the creative and account teams.
- Is a skillful people manager and insists on an environment of positive exchange and collaboration.
- Oversees resources allocation and holds the team accountable on hours budgeted.
- Ensures periodic studio training on best practices in file management and storage.

PRESENTATION & COMMUNICATION SKILLS
- Possesses the gravitas to engage with senior clients. Is an engaging and inspiring presenter, captivating our client's imagination.
- Consistently has a compelling strategic and brand-led point of view on work, is able to rationalise the work to the client and also able to objectively share their feedback to the team for discussion and consideration. Is able to read the room and adapt and respond to the mood of the meeting. Coaches others to do the same.
- Champion the elevator pitch, ensures sharp presentations and removes any waffle, trains others on creating tighter