Associate Creative Director at The Social Lights in Minneapolis, MN

The Social Lights are a band of creative and energetic problem solvers who love nothing more than helping brands and individuals powerfully connect to their consumers, utilizing the power of social media. In other words, our superpower is decoding culture and creating social fandoms.

An Associate Creative Director at The Social Lights is equal parts idea magician and mentor. You’re a maker and a motivator. You’re a creative expert as well as a culture expert. You know the feed, you know the speed, you know what’s trending and what’s tired. You understand how to push ideas, teams and clients towards greatness.

Associate Creative Directors are responsible for taking monthly content briefs and turning them into socially relevant ideas for our clients. ACDs make posts, stories, reels, carousels and whatever else comes next. Whatever it is, you’ll do it with a sense of craft and creative excellence. As social media continues to change, you’re excited to change with it. This is your chance to help set the tone for what the future of social looks like at the agency.

Key Responsibilities

Content Planning

• Own the creative process from start to finish: concept ideas, build decks and sell to clients
• Provide platform-specific content recommendations and ideas that leverage cultural trends, platform trends, or resonant consumer insights
• Actively identify trends in the industry to help our clients innovate and elevate above the competition
• Share content creation and concepting/brainstorming best practices with the content team and broader agency

Content Ideation

• Set the example during the brainstorming process. Leading and mentoring teams along the way
• Conceptualize breakthrough ideas that align with the overarching social strategy and help our clients achieve their objectives, ultimately driving their business forward
• Interpret creative briefs or real-time opportunities to develop creative concepts based on insights, trends, and business objectives
• Effectively present ideas to internal teams and clients, anticipating questions that may arise and problem-solving in real-time as needed

Content Creation

• Work with strategists and creative directors to create original monthly content for clients
• Direct teams that bring ideas to life, nurturing them from thoughts and concepts to real-world expressions including storyboarding, shooting, direction, editing, and/or managing external production vendors and partners
• Demonstrates platform fluency and expertise, helping guide best practices and content innovation
• Know the right tools to build creative content (Adobe, Creative Suite, Figma, Canva, Edits, etc.)

Agency Thought Leadership

• Promote and encourage a positive workplace culture dedicated to serving clients first and delivering high-quality work on their behalf
• Instill an agency-wide culture of curiosity, productivity, and proactivity, particularly related to content/engagement trends and innovation.

People Management

• Coach and guide content team members
• Support other team members in ongoing content team education and learning initiatives

*This job description is not designed to cover or encompass a comprehensive listing of required activities, duties, or responsibilities. Specific functions may change, or additional ones may be assigned during the course of employment

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• 5-10+ years of experience, preferably in an agency setting
• A portfolio demonstrating creative leadership excellence
• Fluent in (and a student of) social media trends
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• Client presentation expertise
• Quick to solve problems, improvise or propose solutions to barriers that may arise
• Able to thrive in ambiguity
• Stellar writing, editing and proofreading skills
• Proficient in MS Office software and G suite
• Excellent time management, organization, and prioritization skills
• Comfort using AI, but more importantly, knowing when not to use it

Benefits

• Medical Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Voluntary Vision Insurance
• HSA with Company Contribution
• 401k with Company Match
• Paid Time Off
• New Macbook Pro + AI Tools
• Summer Hours + Flexible Work Options
• Pet-Friendly Office
• Paid Parking