About the Role

As Creative Director for one of the largest automotive companies in the world, you will work with the GCD and ECD on the evolution of all creative and marketing expressions for the brands and sub-brands. You will be collaborating with a team of creative practitioners that develop work for broadcast, print, digital, experiential engagements, asset production, and future innovation opportunities, working in both traditional and non-traditional mediums. In practice, this means steering the team towards excellence while also actively participating in hands-on creative development and production. This pivotal position requires you to navigate multiple responsibilities, serving as both creator and supervisor simultaneously. You have exceptionally high standards in your work, elevating craft and inspiring impact in your team and their skills. You bring a progressive creative instinct and bold vision to the work and you know how to nurture teams and talent to do the best work of their careers. You will always be across multiple projects.

Also pivotal to your success in this role is having a strong partnership with the other discipline leads and contributing to an environment of teamwork and mutual understanding. You will need to work collaboratively and inclusively across brand, strategy, product, content and integrated marketing teams through a variety of opportunities while also supporting your ever-growing creative team. Of equal importance is your influencing prowess with clients while being humble and adaptable. 

Key Responsibilities

• Creative Leadership and Accountability: 
• Partner with the Group Creative Director and other Creative Directors in elevating creative expression of the client brand to new levels of creative excellence.
• Provide creative direction and inspiration to projects and teams. Guide the conceptual and aesthetic direction of campaigns, experiential or design projects. 
• Provide input into the allocation of creative resources and talent to ensure optimal team performance and project success.
• Encourage accountability across your creative teams through stellar management, building strong morale and cultivating a positive creative environment.
• Active contributor for ideation on all projects and pitches for our key client brands.

Client Interaction and Building Trust: 

• Work closely with senior and day-to-day clients to understand their vision and objectives. 
• Present creative concepts and ideas persuasively. Foster strong relationships with clients, ensuring their needs are met and expectations exceeded.

Client Strategy and Business Growth: 

• Work closely with senior business leaders to shape growth strategies for creative services and team up with cross-functional teams to tackle client goals, challenges, and opportunities.
• Maintain and manage positive client relationships, serving as a reliable creative ally, and guaranteeing client satisfaction and retention.
• Collaborate with clients to devise creative strategies and solutions that align with their business objectives and catalyze results.

Innovation and Creative Process: 

• Contribute to the creative process from concept ideation to production, ensuring high-quality, consistent, and innovative work. Critique all major deliverables, ensuring they meet our standards. Participates and presents work in Creative Leadership reviews of in-production work.
• Drive innovation and creativity, setting new industry standards and ensuring that the company's work is smart, creative, and innovative.
• Support and aid the GCD in the development of our creative practice, with a focus on evolving processes in our own ways of working and creation.
  
  

Quality Assurance: 

• Provide clear, focused, feedback to your creative teams regarding improvements that could be made to the work, the department and the agency.
• Oversee the creation of high-quality, impactful work, from campaigns to design to assets at scale to experiential work and more.
• Ensures that the work is best-in-class and award worthy.
  
  

Qualifications:

• 10+ years experience working for a wide range of clients and brands, with a background in art direction. Automotive experience is required.
• Extensive experience with production and post-production for automotive is required.
• Experience and interest in working with generative AI tools.
• A strong desire to build and nurture diverse teams and perspectives, empowering the voices that are both close and abroad. 
• You think way beyond traditional ad formats and budgets, with an exceptional creative background. 
• Ability to think clearly and contribute constructively to discussions and strategy during the entire creative process, from concept through production.
• Self-motivated, hard working, and works well in a fast-paced environment. 
• A people first mentality and experience in mentoring a best-in-class creative team.

Your Work Style:

• Highly creative and imaginative with a strong visual and design aesthetic.
• Collaborative approach to getting the work done.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to connect creative ideas with business objectives.
• Self-motivated, resilient and adaptable, able to thrive in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.

Working Conditions:

• The role may involve long hours and tight deadlines, requiring flexibility and a commitment to maintaining high standards under pressure. Collaboration with teams across different locations and time zones is frequently necessary. Some travel will be necessary.

At Monks, we believe in fostering an environment where a diversity of perspectives can thrive. We proactively work to design hiring processes that promote equity and inclusion while mitigating bias. We celebrate diversity and are committed to building a team that reflects the communities we serve. We welcome and encourage qualified applicants, from all backgrounds, who are excited to contribute to our mission.  

This role is subject to our Return to Office (RTO) policy. If you reside within a commutable distance of one of our office locations, you will be expected to work from the office a set number of days per week. The specific details, including the number of required office days, will be in accordance with the company’s then-current RTO policy, which is subject to change from time to time.

#LI-HYBRID

#LI-ZZ1

THE OPPORTUNITY

Copywriter

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

• A bachelor’s degree, English or writing emphasis preferred
• Portfolio showcasing conceptual skills
• One-plus years of experience in an agency setting, solid creative writing skills and a digital landscape expertise
• Proficiency with Microsoft, Adobe Creative Suites
• Demonstrated business acumen, ability to be a team player, establish an information hierarchy, work independently under guidance from Creative Director and other senior team members

 CORE SKILLS

A conceptual copywriter for the Retail Team must possess an essential set of core skills that distinguish themselves for the unique needs of Automotive Retail copywriting. An overview follows:  

IDEATOR

Most certainly, a skilled iterator is needed. One that can work quickly and efficiently under duress of deadlines. One that can also pivot ideation on request under extreme time-constraints [before & after regular business hours]. Strategic direction can quickly change, and is often subjected to market conditions, and global/current events. 

PERSISTENCE/STAYING POWER

As a result, the Retail Copywriter must possess staying power: the ability to keep digging in the well for ideas and solutions to any ever-changing directions. The Retail Writer must have the fortitude to remain committed to the project for the long haul...to endure not only unexpected direction changes, but multiple expected “tweaks & revisions” from the multiple layers of internal agency & client reviews.  

ADAPTABILITY

No doubt, being skilled in adapting to the situation at hand, is needed, almost as much as work that can be shared with clients. For automotive retail copywriting is not just about the big idea. It’s also about the ability to create desire through the description and portrayal of features & benefits. And it’s most certainly often about creating a sense of urgency and a call to action.  

Few, if any copywriting positions call for this disparate and unique combination of writing skills, in addition to subtleties of tone needed on different types of assignments: New Product Launches, Regional or National Sales Events, Disaster Relief, Community Support, Regional-Centric Product Campaigns, or Multi-Cultural Campaigns.  

MULTI-TASKER

Indeed, these multiple writing skills are held to a premium, because they are relied upon and leveraged day-in, and day-out. For the Retail Copywriter must also be skilled in multi-tasking several assignments at once, and often, with pressing & overlapping deadlines (each with their own unique requirements). Deadline management skills are as much needed day-to-day, as the ability to deliver useful ideas.  

Clearly, the Retail Copywriter must skillfully assimilate as much information through briefs & requests. Drilling down to key points and key facts for big idea nuggets, is a skill every Retail Automotive Copywriter must possess.  

FOCUS & CLARITY OF PURPOSE

Similarly, information needed may be incomplete, incomprehensible, or both. Knowing what information you need, is just as important a skill as knowing what information you don’t need. Clarity of purpose & intent breeds efficiency…most useful in the Retail Creative Team where creativity is on demand and always under duress of deadlines.   

Regarding information, it is important to note that useful information can make the difference between an idea that captures the imagination, creates desire and motivates action...and an idea that fails in one or all of those end-goals.

ARTICULATE & SUCCINCT

Sharing ideas is an everyday part of the job. The ability to succinctly articulate the how-what-why of an idea is a skill and quality that every Retail Copywriter should possess. Whether conveying ideas to your Art Director, Manager, Agency Colleagues or even Clients, the Retail Writer’s ability to sell the work is just as important as the ability of the actual idea itself to sell the consumer. And given the existence of multi-layered approval gauntlets [internal & client], the ability to be clear, concise, and articulate in conveying ideas is both useful and appreciated.  

RETAIL COPYWRITER SKILLSETS

• Quick-to-Concept & Script 
• Ideator
• Perform under Deadline  
• Organized
• Buttoned-Up   
• Information Assimilator
• Multi-Tasker 
• Articulate & Succinct
• Concepting to budget
• Persistence & Staying Power
• Adaptability
• Purpose & Focus
• Work-Smart
• Articulate & Succinct 
• Cut through Clutter
• Brand, product and legal guideline compliance