Monks is looking for a Senior Art Director to take the lead in thinking up digital ads and assets for awesome brands. The position is all about harmonizing speed, style and scale to produce loads of good-looking assets at a steady pace.

Role & Responsibilities

• You’ll create style proposals, sketches, mockups and prototypes to kickstart the design for products, features and new campaigns.
• Working for the world’s most beloved brands, you’ll make sure designs are awesome and in line with expectations.
• You’ll look after the execution of the art direction and help to improve the work by offering new angles, inspiration, best practices and practical solutions.
• You’ll help translate creative/client briefs into thorough design briefs.
• Pixel perfectness is important, so you’ll safeguard quality at all times.
• Working alongside the Creative Director and the team, you’ll make sure our designs and processes are in line with the client’s objectives and expectations.

Requirements

• You’re a technically skilled designer with 6+ years of high-level experience as senior/lead designer or art director crafting digital ads and assets.
• As showcased in your portfolio, your Photoshop skills are super slick.
• You’ll need to have strong English communication skills for working with clients and colleagues around the world.
• You have experience with all stages of the design process, from conceptualizing styles to finalizing layouts and rolling out designs across markets and formats.
• Creating balanced and beautiful layouts is second nature to you.
• You also know a thing or two about templating and process optimizations.
• With an understanding of fundamentals such as typography, interaction design, flow and storytelling, you can get teams to improve the work on both an aesthetic and functional level.
• You know how to sell designs to colleagues and clients alike, and ideally have some experience doing client presentations.

#LI-CX1

Crunchyroll, LLC is an independently operated joint venture between US-based Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Japan's Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., both subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation.

About the role

As the Content Acquisitions Associate, you will secure a pipeline of content to satisfy Crunchyroll's seasonal simulcast slate and catalog lineups, while strengthening its relationships with our Japanese partners' teams and augmenting our reputation as the most trusted international distributor for Japanese anime abroad.

Core Areas of Responsibility

• Contact Japanese and international partners to receive the latest information on their production schedule and discuss opportunities to grow and foster our distribution partnership.
• Foster relationships with Japanese partners and manage account relationships, including daily business.
• Work with other departments to deliver top tier service for our partners and to ensure that contractual obligations are performed.
• Acquire in-depth knowledge of our business in each internal department to address important issues, situations, industry trends, and market dynamics.
• Maintain an open dialogue with licensors to respond to requests, bid submissions, and help implement solutions and reporting of our activities.
• Collaborate with the Content Evaluation team to assess the value of content.
• Collaborate with the Business Affairs team to close contracts and secure delivery of assets.
• Collaborate with the Marketing team to procure marketing materials needed to support successful title launches.

In the role of Content Acquisitions Associate, you will report to the Director, Content Acquisitions.

We are considering applicants for the location of Tokyo, Japan.

About You

We get excited about candidates, like you, because...

• 2+ years of experience in successful account management, partner management, business development, or licensing sales experience in Entertainment or Anime industry.
• Experience in establishing and nurturing long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships, working with a Japanese client base.
• Experience negotiating with partners to represent organizational interests.
• Experience winning a high percentage of the targeted content.
• Experience dissecting proposals and legal agreements surrounding IP.
• Native to Business level Japanese language skills (speaking/reading/writing)
• Native to Business level English language skills (speaking/reading/writing)
• Experience working within a globally matrixed organization.
• Experience building creative solutions in an evolving business environment and media landscape.

About the Team

The Content Acquisition team's two biggest partners for our business are our licensors and subscribers. The team's mission is to acquire the best content that our global anime fans want from our licensors and to develop a long-term relationship with them. We collaborate with the Business Affairs and Legal team from the contractual perspective, the team will negotiate with the licensors after receiving their evaluation until the deal is successful.

Why you will love working at Crunchyroll

In addition to getting to work with fun, passionate and inspired colleagues, you will also enjoy the following benefits and perks:

• Health Insurance through Sony Kenko Hoken Kumiai
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Allowances for Gym & Wellness, Cellphone, Meals, Commuting
• Crunchyroll Premium account
• Professional Development
• Company's Paid Parental Leave
• up to 22 weeks for birthing parents
• up to 12 weeks for non-birthing parents
• Hybrid Work Schedule
• Paid Time Off
• Flex Time Off
• 5 Yasumi Days
• Half-Day Fridays during the summer
• 3 Obon Summer Yasumi Days
• Winter Break

#LifeAtCrunchyroll #LI-Hybrid

Crunchyroll, LLC is an independently operated joint venture between US-based Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Japan's Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., both subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation.

About the role

As the Content Acquisitions Manager, you will secure a pipeline of content to satisfy Crunchyroll's seasonal simulcast slate and catalog lineups, while strengthening its relationships with our Japanese partners' teams and augmenting our reputation as the most trusted international distributor for Japanese anime abroad.

Core Areas of Responsibility

• Contact Japanese and international partners to receive the latest information on their production schedule and discuss opportunities to grow and foster our distribution partnership.
• Foster relationships with Japanese partners and manage account relationships, including daily business.
• Work with other departments to deliver top tier service for our partners and to ensure that contractual obligations are performed.
• Acquire in-depth knowledge of our business in each internal department to address important issues, situations, industry trends, and market dynamics.
• Maintain an open dialogue with licensors to respond to requests, bid submissions, and help implement solutions and reporting of our activities.
• Collaborate with the Content Evaluation team to assess the value of content.
• Collaborate with the Business Affairs team to close contracts and secure delivery of assets.
• Collaborate with the Marketing team to procure marketing materials needed to support successful title launches.

In the role of Content Acquisitions Manager, you will report to the Director, Content Acquisitions.

We are considering applicants for the location of Tokyo, Japan.

About You

We get excited about candidates, like you, because...

• 5+ years of experience in successful account management, partner management, business development, or licensing sales experience in Entertainment or Anime industry.
• Experience in establishing and nurturing long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships, working with a Japanese client base.
• Experience negotiating with partners to represent organizational interests.
• Experience winning a high percentage of the targeted content.
• Experience dissecting proposals and legal agreements surrounding IP.
• Native to Business level Japanese language skills (speaking/reading/writing)
• Native to Business level English language skills (speaking/reading/writing)
• Experience working within a globally matrixed organization.
• Experience building creative solutions in an evolving business environment and media landscape.

About the Team

The Content Acquisition team's two biggest partners for our business are our licensors and subscribers. The team's mission is to acquire the best content that our global anime fans want from our licensors and to develop a long-term relationship with them. We collaborate with the Business Affairs and Legal team from the contractual perspective, the team will negotiate with the licensors after receiving their evaluation until the deal is successful.

Why you will love working at Crunchyroll

In addition to getting to work with fun, passionate and inspired colleagues, you will also enjoy the following benefits and perks:

• Health Insurance through Sony Kenko Hoken Kumiai
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Allowances for Gym & Wellness, Cellphone, Meals, Commuting
• Crunchyroll Premium account
• Professional Development
• Company's Paid Parental Leave
• up to 22 weeks for birthing parents
• up to 12 weeks for non-birthing parents
• Hybrid Work Schedule
• Paid Time Off
• Flex Time Off
• 5 Yasumi Days
• Half-Day Fridays during the summer
• 3 Obon Summer Yasumi Days
• Winter Break

#LifeAtCrunchyroll #LI-Hybrid

Crunchyroll, LLC is an independently operated joint venture between US-based Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Japan's Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., both subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation.

About the role

In the role of Director, Business Affairs, you will report to the Senior Director, Business Affairs.

We are considering applicants for the location of Tokyo, Japan.

As the Director, Business Affairs, you will prepare proposals. You will also review and negotiate agreements related to development and production, and consortium agreements for Crunchyroll's growing slate of co-productions and original content.

You will negotiate and review agreements while balancing the appropriate financial terms, legal, and business risks. You will partner with our Productions teams, Royalty reporting, Legal, Compliance, Finance, Programming, and other partners in exploiting the rights of our content. You will consult and collaborate with internal and external partners, legal departments, producers, and our Japanese production partners.

Core Areas of Responsibility

• Negotiate and complex development and production deals and drafting of terms sheets with Japanese consortium partners, including consortium agreements, music clearance, co-productions, and merchandising licenses.
• Negotiate and draft contracts in both Japanese and English.
• Communicate the financial terms, contractual risks, and obligations to internal departments of our newly acquired/produced content, including Content, Legal, Finance, Marketing, Licensing, and Programming.
• Track deal terms and update negotiation status on internal tracking systems.
• Provide general business counsel and support in an evolving business environment.

About You

We get excited about candidates, like you, because...

• 10+ years of Japanese Entertainment Industry-based licensing, production, and business affairs experience
• 8+ years of people management experience
• Experience drafting and interpreting co-production and licensing agreements
• Native to Business level Japanese skills (reading/speaking/writing).
• Willingness to learn English (reading/speaking/writing) 
• Passion for Anime, Japanese culture, Entertainment industry

About the Team

The Business Affairs team is part of the Content team that promotes our content acquisition efforts to support Crunchyroll's global growth. We serve as the source of truth for all licensing contract terms. We are collaboratively work with multiple teams (i.e. Anime Co-Production, Content Acquisitions, Legal, Deal Management, Programming, Financial Contract Reporting) across the globe.

Why you will love working at Crunchyroll

In addition to getting to work with fun, passionate and inspired colleagues, you will also enjoy the following benefits and perks:

• Competitive Salary
• Health Insurance through Sony Kenko Hoken Kumiai
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Allowances for Gym & Wellness, Cellphone, Meals, Commuting
• Crunchyroll Premium account
• Professional Development
• Company's Paid Parental Leave
  • up to 22 weeks for birthing parents
  • up to 12 weeks for non-birthing parents
• Hybrid Work Schedule
• Paid Time Off
• Flex Time Off
• 5 Yasumi Days
• Half-Day Fridays during the summer
• 3 Obon Summer Yasumi Days
• Winter Break

#LifeAtCrunchyroll #LI-Hybrid

As a Creative Director and the leader of the AKQA Tokyo (part of WPP) studio’s Creative department, you will create and inspire work that is distinctive, unfamiliar, effective and truly remarkable to make a difference to consumers’ behavior through ideas, creativity and the use of interactive media. You will inspire and lead a team to raise their bar even higher, mentoring a team, leading by example and championing the discipline in the wider agency and beyond. 

Role Requirements

• Deliver and inspire award-winning work from both yourself and others who work with you, influencing where appropriate a dramatic change through ideas, creativity and the use of interactive media.
• Lead, direct and manage cross-disciplinary and culturally diverse set of talents, both internal and external to AKQA to deliver successful solutions and high-quality works to clients on time.
• Create ground-breaking work that positively impacts our clients, our teams and the world.
• Foster and line-manage creatives that are eager to grow their craft in art direction, copywriting or design.
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Learn new skills and stay abreast of technical and digital design developments, and successfully apply them to work practices to help improve processes and procedures.
• Act as the creative representative of the Tokyo studio within and outside AKQA network, in Japanese and in English. Work with other AKQA network creatives collaboratively on joint initiatives.
• Work closely with the strategy teams to shape briefs that empower our teams to deliver work that pushes our client's brand to the forefront of their global audience's minds
•  

Key Responsibilities

• Creative briefs
  • Contributes to strategic development of a well-defined creative brief and any additional briefing documents, speaking with the client directly when necessary. Listens to and responds to a brief, understanding where/if there are gaps. Knows what questions to ask during the briefing session in order to act upon it. Understands how to respond to a brief.

• Idea generation
  • Leads by example to consistently inspire creative colleagues to originate world- class, pioneering ideas that conceptualize world-class solutions. Generates useful, usable ideas across all existing and emerging digital platforms. Continually develops practices and processes to inspire, innovate and harness new ways of thinking.

• ◊ New business development
  • Creatively leads new business pitches. Responsible for crisp ideas and creative workflow; effective and dynamic storyteller for oral pitch presentation in both Japanese & English.

• Creative craft skills
  • Selects most appropriate supplier for required task. Successfully leads multiple suppliers, partners and clients to ensure outsourced projects are creatively delivered on time, within budget and to the highest standards. Helps to ensure AKQA continues to create unique and inspirational solutions.

• Team management
  • Manages creatives as direct reports. Provides an international and supportive working environment, based on openness, trust and regular constructive feedback on performance. Sets clear and achievable goals. Takes immediate action to address performance/conduct issues. Assesses a broad range of tasks and determines which team member should manage to ensure delivery to the highest standard. Is an ambassador for AKQA and its values at all times.
  • Demonstrates creative success in leading collaborative multidisciplinary teams, including project planning, to winning a number of industry recognized awards.

• Stakeholder management
  • Successfully manages multiple suppliers, partners and customers to ensure the best outcome for both customer and AKQA. Keeps stakeholders informed of project progress at all times and manages expectations proactively.

• Client Leadership
  • Understand client business goals and ambitions. Takes briefs from clients and successfully creates stories that communicate client’s needs and ambitions to the consumers.

AKQA Competencies

• Innovation

Seen as a transformational leader in the industry who is capable of driving change throughout an organization. Is able to articulate a compelling business case and can galvanize the team to action in face of change. Creates an environment that challenges traditional thinking, status quo, Japanese industry norms and ensures the company stays far ahead of competition and clients.

• Service                                                          

Able to deftly manage most senior client expectations, particularly those that conflict with the company’s recommendations, and can drive successful outcomes while maintaining (or even growing) the relationship. Develops strategies to build a climate of trust, openness and respect; forges strong relationships to drive successful outcomes.

• Quality                                                                        

Has the ability to set the tone for the team and believes that without the greatest work, nothing else matters. Possesses a strong bias to action and is able to consistently deliver high quality work within required timeframes. Possesses a strong bias to action and is energized by challenges; is a visible champion of excellence and perfect delivery. Is upbeat and committed to their working life and makes a positive contribution to team morale.

• Thought                                                                      

Develops long-term strategic partnerships that support business growth and financial success; aligns own and team objectives with overall business objectives. Identified as a leader of insight-driven recommendations to clients; possesses general business savvy and expertise in the industry. Possesses highly advanced writing skills to effectively present a point of view, using logic, fact and a compelling storyline via any medium. Commands the attention of the audience and can manage group dynamics during presentations to effectively engage audiences, counter objections and sell recommendations.

Please submit your resume and portfolio (PDF or website link) when applying.

At AKQA (part of WPP) we believe in the imaginative application of art and science to create beautiful  ideas, products and services. We exist to create the future together with our clients. 

AKQA’s Experience Technology Architect, with assistance from the Technical Director and  Delivery Director, will serve as the technical point of contact for clients and lead the  project team for technical perspective to achieve the best results. 

As a member of AKQA Tokyo, you will join a dynamic, globally-minded team  surrounded by some of the brightest minds in their fields. You will create world-class  experiences for both Japanese and overseas markets with Team. 

ROLE REQUIREMENTS 

• Facing Japanese customers and collaborating with global team on activities related  to the technical aspects of the project. 
• Understanding proposed customer experiences and interpreting and document  technical requirements. 
• Define technology requirements and propose solutions based on company best  practice. 
• Platform Evaluation and selection to meet client requirements 
• Research best practices and proactively getting help of local and global colleagues to shape technical solutions. 
• Support the design and implementation of frontend and backend architecture to  drive customer experiences. 
• Research and ensure best practices in accessibility, performance, and security. Evaluate existing client architectures and suggest appropriate improvements to  meet their goals. 
• Recruit and oversee technology development teams.

QUALIFICATIONS & CHARACTERISTICS 

• Bachelorʼs degree in Computer Science, IT, or related field. 
• 5+ years of experience in software development or system Implementation. 3+ years of experience delivering customer-facing services on the vendor side. Understanding in frontend frameworks like ReactJS and backend technologies or  equivalent technologies. 
• Understanding of modern cloud infrastructure such as Vercel or Netlify, and major  cloud providers like GCP, AWS or Azure. 
• Having an interest in advanced technology solutions and being proactive in  acquiring new skills. 
• A person who can be an advocate for global standard framework and development  methodologies. 

Desired Qualifications 

• Ability to independently provide services to clients. 
• Experience in e-commerce and web architecture with headless architecture. Experience participating in global projects. 
• Business level English and native level Japanese. 

At AKQA (part of WPP) we believe in the imaginative application of art and science to create beautiful ideas, products and services.

With an entrepreneurial and collaborative approach, we design adaptive digital services and applications that capture the imagination, delivering impressive returns for our clients.

As a Group Strategy Director, you will operate on behalf of our client, leading their strategic capabilities, with an acute understanding of how communications and culture, technology and psychology, intersect in the mind of the consumer.

Additionally, you are able to analyze data and insights to create a compelling story. You will frame problems in unexpected ways and be relied upon for clarity, leadership, and perspective by the internal team and clients. Serving as strategic lead on accounts and across the agency, you will use both qualitative and quantitative research to answer

questions, prove or disprove hypotheses, and mine insights.

While certain expectations around this role would require whomever fills it to live within a commutable distance, AKQA

has developed a hybrid work structure where its team can choose when to come into the Studio, providing an inclusive, supportive and collaborative culture.

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

• Partner with account leadership to grow the business and strategic acumen of the account. Will also be responsible to dig deep into specific brands to understand the consumer journey, passion points, and interests of our audiences.
• Lead strategic engagements and CX programmes with clients, supported by the local and global teams.
• Deliver strategic outcomes for clients with an equal mix of team leadership and hands-on delivery.
• Partner with the growth team to look at analytics and drive data driven opportunities.
• The ability to work well under pressure, with a high degree of flexibility and fluidity and have an objective-focused and positive approach.
• Strong customer service ethos, a commitment to quality and the will to consistently drive improvements.
• A passion for creativity, innovation and business strategy.
• A commitment to high standards of excellence and integrity.
• Excellent business acumen and sound judgement.
• Be entrepreneurial, with a collaborative, supportive and team-based approach.
• Proven track record in leading and growing strategic, creative, and technology-centered work.

QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS

• Ability to understand and lead a cross-disciplinary team through the dynamics of a client’s business and the sector in which it operates.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to partner with senior clients are essential.
• Ability to use insights to help drive the creative process in partnership with your creative peers: honing and crafting ideas through human centred insight, and selling them successfully to clients.
• Familiarity with the design, application, and analysis of a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research techniques.
• Can provide strategic direction on product and experience initiatives, identifying the key value proposition,human needs, and value to the business.
• Can clearly and persuasively communicate strategic recommendations to internal and external audiences with variable levels of understanding.
• Must have at least 12-15 years of experience in a strategic discipline, with a digital, communications or consulting background.
• Product strategy and design thinking is a requirement, with a significant amount of this experience devoted to work in digital environments.
• Brand and communications planning experience is a must, as is business strategy experience.
• Understands how business, brands and customers interact, with deep knowledge of the role that technology plays in this relationship.
• Experience in insight and idea generation, can judge ideas for their distinctiveness, relevance and effectiveness.
• Ability to translate strategic recommendations into actionable experiences, products, and services.
• Familiarity with a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research techniques, ability to design and implement measurement plans.
• Can clearly and persuasively frame and communicate strategic recommendations to senior audiences,internally and externally.
• Team player with strong leadership skills, able to manage people across multiple projects under high pressure.
• Organized, professional, proactive, clear & concise communication style, simple language & high cultural awareness.
• Track record of nurturing and mentoring junior through to senior team members.

At AKQA (part of WPP) we believe in the imaginative application of art and science to create beautiful  ideas, products and services. We exist to create the future together with our clients. 

The Technology Director is responsible for leading and growing the Tokyo technology team and client portfolio. Working alongside the local leadership team and regional Chief Technology Officer, you will own the Tokyo technology strategy, plan how to grow and service the Tokyo studio engagements and foster a high-performing technology team, while ensuring successful commercial engagements and technical program delivery.

You will build and lead a team of experts and coordinate with regional practice leaders and partners to deliver technology outcomes for the Tokyo client portfolio. As a member of the regional AKQA Technology Executive, you will also contribute to regional technology initiatives and practice development.

By deeply understanding client business challenges, experience goals, and technical requirements, the Technology Director serves as the central decision-maker ensuring world-class digital experiences powered by modern web architectures and frameworks, MarTech, and AI technologies.

This role reports to the local Delivery Director and the APAC CTO.  Primary reports for this role include Solution Architects, Technical Leads, and Principal Engineers.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Delivery Leadership

• Lead the technical setup and onboarding for web and digital product development projects.
• Own architecture reviews, code reviews, and technical risk assessments.
• Establish quality, performance, and security standards to ensure high-quality delivery.
• Lead high-complexity projects independently within client engagements.
• Drive technical decision-making and propose optimal implementation approaches.
• Be hands-on in delivering technology engagements and solutions as required, while building the Tokyo technology practice.

Proposal & Pre-Sales Support

• Lead RFP/RFI analysis, technical approach design, and proposal development.
• Own technical presentations, client communication, and estimation.
• Contribute to business growth by designing competitive, technology-driven solutions.
• Lead and coordinate bringing in regional technology colleagues and partners in order to create compelling RFP responses highlighting the best of AKQA’s capabilities
  
  

Team Management & Capability Building

• Lead and mentor architects, Technical Delivery Managers, and other technology team members.
• Define and maintain technical standards, development processes, and best practices to improve productivity and quality.
• Support hiring, talent development, performance management, and community engagement to strengthen the technology discipline.
• Ensure the team structure is maintained, and appropriately sized for the current and pipeline client engagements.
• Guide decisions on the mix of resources across the studio, including the mix of permanent and contract roles, and decisions on when to utilise partners within the AKQA and Itochu networks.
• Work with regional practice leaders to develop practice related talent

Solution Development & Innovation

• Continuously evaluate emerging technologies such as AI/LLM, MarTech tools, cloud platforms, and modern web frameworks.
• Provide technical insights that drive client proposals and product improvements.
• Collaborate with global teams to adopt and localize best practices and global capabilities.

Stakeholder Communication

• Lead technical discussions with client executives, IT leaders, and product owners.
• Promote collaboration with AKQA's regional and global team, and partnerships with partners.
• Work closely with PMs, designers, and strategists to ensure alignment across all project disciplines.

Reputation

• Involvement in AKQA's marketing and PR - focused on both potential clients and potential employees.
• Drive initiatives to connect with and attract key talent to AKQA.
• Foster and contribute to industry thought leadership.

QUALIFICATIONS & CHARACTERISTICS 

• Strong interest and ongoing learning in AI, LLMs, generative AI, MarTech, and emerging technologies
• Experience designing architecture for large-scale digital products
• Experience working within a global or distributed organization
• Public technical contributions such as conference speaking, publishing, or OSS involvement
• knowledge of modern web architecture, APIs, cloud platforms (GCP, AWS, Azure / Vercel, Netlify), and software engineering best practices

At AKQA (part of WPP) we believe in the imaginative application of art and science to create beautiful  ideas, products and services. We exist to create the future together with our clients. 

The Production Director (Communications) is responsible for leading and delivering high-quality brand and communication projects across film, content, digital campaigns, events, and integrated experiences.

As the senior owner of production, this role oversees the entire delivery lifecycle—from concept feasibility and production planning through execution, launch, and post-delivery evaluation—ensuring creative excellence, operational rigor, and commercial success.

Working closely with Creative, Strategy, Client Services, and external production partners, the Production Director ensures that ideas are produced to the highest standard, delivered on time and within budget, while building strong and trusted client relationships.

Key Responsibilities

Production Leadership & Delivery

• Lead end-to-end delivery of communication and brand projects, including film, digital content, integrated campaigns, events, and experiential executions.
• Own production planning, schedules, budgets, resourcing, and risk management.
• Ensure delivery quality, creative integrity, and consistency across all outputs.　
• Proactively identify, mitigate, and resolve production risks and issues.

Creative Collaboration

• Partner closely with Creative Directors and creative teams to assess feasibility and translate ideas into executable production plans. 
• Provide production guidance during ideation to balance creativity, quality, timeline, and budget. 
• Protect and elevate creative intent throughout the entire production process.

Client & Stakeholder Management

• Act as a senior point of contact for clients on all production-related matters.
• Lead production discussions, align expectations, and manage changes in scope or direction. 
• Communicate clearly and transparently on timelines, costs, risks, and trade-offs.

Partner & Vendor Management

• Select, brief, and manage external production partners including film production companies, post-production houses, and event vendors.
• Negotiate contracts, manage costs, and ensure compliance with legal, brand, and safety standards. 
• Build and maintain long-term relationships with trusted production partners.

Operational Excellence

• Own production budgets, cost estimates, and financial tracking.
• Ensure projects are delivered within approved scope and commercial targets.
• Contribute to proposal development, including production approach, timelines, and cost estimates.

Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Lead, mentor, and develop Producers, Senior Producers, and Production Managers.
• Establish production best practices, standards, and scalable delivery processes.
• Support hiring and team growth as the communications production capability expands.

QUALIFICATIONS & CHARACTERISTICS 

• 8+ years of experience in production leadership roles within advertising agencies, creative agencies, or production companies.
• Proven track record delivering large-scale brand, communication, or campaign projects.
• Strong experience in film production, content production, and integrated campaigns.
• Excellent client-facing and stakeholder management skills.
• Deep understanding of production workflows, budgeting, and vendor management.
• Business-level English proficiency and native-level Japanese communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications 

• Experience working in global or multi-market environments.
• Strong understanding of digital, social, and integrated campaign production.
• Experience collaborating with international creative and production teams.

Creatives at AKQA (part of WPP) apply artistry and craftsmanship to strategic insight to create and bring to life beautiful concepts that stop people in their tracks. Skilled storytellers and ideators, they work in a multidisciplinary environment to develop work that both enthralls customers and unlocks new value for our clients.

Art Directors play essential roles in the strategy, conception and design of beautiful ideas, products and services. They bring exceptional creative thought and they craft output, developing and delivering projects from the brief to end user.

As an Art Director at AKQA, you’ll conceive and develop ideas that solve important client problems. By thinking beyond briefs and imagining approaches our clients may not have asked for – or even thought possible – you’ll be helping to build AKQA’s reputation for work that is both ground-breaking and influential.

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

• Possess exceptional art direction skills and the ability to implement strategic and conceptual thinking.
• Collaborate with copywriters, strategists, UX/visual designers and technologists to develop innovative and persuasive concepts.
• Drive the development of creative ideas for new business pitches and other important agency initiatives.
• Develop pioneering ideas that deliver successful solutions.
• Be accountable for the project design deliverables and manage the quality of all design deliverables to ensure they meet AKQA standards for creative excellence.
• Embrace challenges and inspire new ways of thinking.

QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS

• Extensive hands-on experience with client work within Japan, with the ability to communicate effectively with both team members and clients in both Japanese and English.
• A compelling portfolio that demonstrates the breadth of your conceptual thinking and design craft.
• Exceptional communication skills that enable you to articulate the ‘why’ behind your concepts.
• A drive to break boundaries and craft world-changing ideas.
• Passionate, driven and obsessed about your craft, staying abreast of best practice in your field.
• Natural curiosity that allows you to find inspiration in anything and everything, with a keen eye on the future of media and technology.
• Strong industry-relevant experience.

AKQA (part of WPP) is a creative agency that transforms strategic insights into beautiful concepts through art and craftsmanship, guiding clients toward a better future.

As an Associate Creative Director, you will be expected to go beyond the brief—developing strategic approaches based on consumer insight, generating bold and innovative ideas, and presenting them as compelling narratives to clients.

At AKQA, our work extends far beyond advertising. From building brand and CX visions to designing digital and physical experiences, our projects span a wide range of disciplines. While leveraging your creative expertise built through past experience, you will also be expected to cross boundaries and take on new challenges in unexplored domains.

In particular, AKQA Tokyo is on a mission to grow our team and become Japan’s leading creative agency—one that creates a better future for brands through transformative brand experiences that go beyond traditional marketing. We are looking for passionate, ambitious new talent to join us in this journey.

Role Requirements

• Deliver and inspire award-winning work from both yourself and others who work with you, influencing where appropriate a dramatic change through ideas, creativity and the use of interactive media.
• Lead, direct and manage a cross-disciplinary and culturally diverse set of talents, both internal and external to AKQA to deliver successful solutions and high-quality works to clients on time.
• Create ground-breaking work that positively impacts our clients, our teams and the world.
• Foster and line-manage creatives that are eager to grow their craft in art direction, copywriting or design.
• Learn new skills and stay abreast of technical and digital design developments, and successfully apply them to work practices to help improve processes and procedures.
• Work with other AKQA network creatives collaboratively on joint initiatives.
• Work closely with the strategy teams to shape briefs that empower our teams to deliver work that pushes our client's brand to the forefront of their global audience's minds.
• Extensive hands-on experience in client work within Japan, with the ability to communicate effectively with both team members and clients in both Japanese and English.

Key Responsibilities

• Creative briefs

Contributes to strategic development of a well-defined creative brief and any additional briefing documents, speaking with the client directly when necessary. Listens to and responds to a brief, understanding where/if there are gaps. Knows what questions to ask during the briefing session in order to act upon it. Understands how to respond to a brief.

• Idea generation
  Leads by example to consistently inspire creative colleagues to originate world- class, pioneering ideas that conceptualize world-class solutions. Generates useful, usable ideas across all existing and emerging digital platforms. Continually develops practices and processes to inspire, innovate and harness new ways of thinking.

• New business development
  Creatively leads new business pitches. Responsible for crisp ideas and creative workflow; effective and dynamic storyteller for oral pitch presentation.

• Creative craft skills
  Selects the most appropriate supplier for the required task. Successfully leads multiple suppliers, partners and clients to ensure outsourced projects are creatively delivered on time, within budget and to the highest standards. Helps to ensure AKQA continues to create unique and inspirational solutions.
  
  
• Stakeholder management
  Successfully manages multiple suppliers, partners and customers to ensure the best outcome for both customer and AKQA. Keeps stakeholders informed of project progress at all times and manages expectations proactively.

• Client Leadership
  Understand client business goals and ambitions. Takes briefs from clients and successfully creates stories that communicate client’s needs and ambitions to the consumers.

At AKQA (part of WPP) we believe in the imaginative application of art and science to create beautiful ideas, products and services. With an entrepreneurial and collaborative approach, we design adaptive digital services and experiences that capture the imagination, delivering impressive returns for our clients. 

The Associate Design Director at AKQA will approach every brief with fresh eyes. Avoiding familiar solutions, the candidate will create and inspire work that is distinctive, effective and truly remarkable. They lead by example to consistently inspire creative colleagues to create world-class, pioneering ideas that conceptualise world-class solutions, while acting as a strategic and conceptual leader on projects. Associate Design Directors at AKQA display a cohesive understanding and can execute the principles that make innovative and effective digital communications, interface design, and interaction design.

We exist to create the future with our clients and that partnership is the basis of our practice. We work collaboratively across client teams to ensure each experience is of the highest quality and has a measurable impact on the customer and business alike.

As part of the AKQA team in Tokyo, you will work in a dynamic, globally-minded environment surrounded by some of the brightest minds in their fields. Together you will create world-class experiences for both Japanese and overseas markets.

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

• Sets creative direction throughout all phases of project work from discovery to launch and beyond with ongoing optimization
• Acts as a creative lead for one or more accounts, managing multiple tracks of work across a variety of teams
• Works internally and with clients to develop the strategy, experience concepts and establish the overarching design direction for the experience
• Produces compelling and highly usable experience solutions in response to client needs
• Communicates and represents creative vision and execution with client partners
• Continually develops processes to inspire, innovate, and harness new ways of thinking
• Inspires and leads by example, setting professional standards for the team and the department
• Actively trains, mentors, and manages junior to mid-level creatives and designers.
• Responsible for managing and guiding junior to mid-level creatives’ careers within AKQA (including regular one-on-one check-ins), writing and delivering annual performance reviews, and taking responsibility for on-boarding new employees and guiding them through a successful tenure at AKQA
• Creatively participates in new business pitches – i.e. responsible for ideas and creative work, and competently presents pitches
• Be able to guide but also prepared to be hands on with exceptional experience in industry design tools
  
  

QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS

• A minimum of 7 years’ experience in the creative industry
• Native or fluent Japanese reading and speaking ability is essential.
• All candidates must possess a portfolio showcasing a comprehensive understanding of how l their creative disciplines comes to life and how they applied their thinking, including conceptual and executional (art direction, user experience and UI design) contribute to a finished product
• Demonstrated creative success in leading collaborative cross disciplinary teams
• A solid understanding of the marketing industry at large; an ability and a desire to adapt to the changing landscape of technology
• Experience in, and enthusiasm for, creating digital platforms and products from brief to delivery and beyond.
• Experience in side-by-side collaboration with UX and development teams and leaders
• Strong working knowledge of user interface, application, mobile and responsive design
• Exceptional communication skills: Verbal, written, interpersonal and inter-departmental
• Superb professionalism and mature presence in all aspects of the job
• Thought leadership: A strong point of view; ability to contribute to the strategic development of an assignment; creative ideas and the ability to promote conceptual thinking among the team

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About Burson

Burson is the global communications leader built to create value for clients through reputation. With highly specialized teams, industry-leading technologies and breakthrough creative, we help brands and businesses redefine reputation as a competitive advantage so they can lead today and into the future. Burson is part of WPP (LSE/NYSE: WPP), the creative transformation company. Learn more at www.bursonglobal.com.

The Role:

As an Associate Director at Burson you are responsible for supporting the senior management to contribute to the company’s performance by managing client relationships and integrated communication (IC) programs, satisfying and delighting clients, generating new business and developing strong teams.  You are expected to be leader with leadership skills. You are also required to support our corporate strategy and your practice or office to help ensure superior client service, a winning culture and profitability.

CORE JOB RESPONSIBILITIES & REQUIREMENTS

Client Service:

• Manage a significant portfolio of clients and demonstrate the ability to profitably grow clients and build long term relationships
• Seek opportunities to develop senior client level relationships and serve as their trusted advisor for insights critical to their business; understand the trends and issues that impact brands, including media, business, political and cultural
• Proactively manage client expectations and quickly grasp problems, consult with senior leader(s) on the engagement team on tough decisions and assist in implementing swift action plans to ensure client satisfaction, engaging additional Burson resources where required
• Manage and lead account teams to deliver superior client service and creative groundbreaking plans and concepts by ensuring they are equipped with the right resources, tools and training
• Maintain close relationship with senior editors and journalists and respond to complex media queries
• Take an active role in issues and crisis management, media training and messaging workshops
• Understand social media and integrate digital products and services into client programs to deliver optimum results
• Ensure clients and account teams feel confident about how best to utilize new media outlets

Business Development:

• Support Directors and Senior Leaders in identifying opportunities for organic growth with existing clients and keep up with client and market changes that could lead to new business opportunities.
• Support our new business development process by actively developing business contacts through professional activities and network with professional contacts as a means of exchanging ideas and opening new client opportunities
• Introduce existing clients to Burson offices in other geographies to contribute to the regional/global growth of the company

Talent Management:

• Coach, mentor and delegate responsibilities to junior staff
• Foster teamwork and build morale and motivation within account teams ensuring that good performance and efforts are recognized
• Create an inclusive and welcoming environment that engage all individuals without bias and demonstrate flexibility in a changing work environment
• Support directors and senior leaders to help team members to identify development needs, acquire new skills and grow within the organization
• Provide continuous constructive feedback to team members- not just during performance reviews- to develop the next generation of client leaders
• Conduct learning and development programs and participate in staff retention initiatives
• Serve as a role model to the junior staff, embodying the values of the company

Financial Management:

• Know your portfolio revenue target of JPY50M～80M
• Know and meet billability targets
• Act as a conduit between finance and the client servicing team to ensure that accounts are profitably managed; understand the reason for over and under servicing
• Follow agency procedures for client budgets, budget tracking, contract approval and billing rates.
• Support senior leaders to prepare and manage annual budgets and forecasts of projected income
• Manage your team and allocate resources for agency profitability
• Understand client contracts and assist with the development of detailed scopes of work
• Ensure that contracts and terms and conditions of businesses are issued and signed by all new clients prior to the commencement of work
• Support your director to contribute to Burson’s business plans to increase market share and profits

Agency Responsibilities:

• Use Burson’s intranet and resources; keep your profile updated
• Be a brand ambassador and help recruit top talent by knowing our capabilities and network
• Write blogs and articles in your areas of expertise
• Adhere to Burson’s confidentiality and disclosure agreements and code of ethics/conduct
• Act with integrity using ethical considerations to guide decisions

*The job description is a summary of typical job functions and is not an exhaustive list of possible duties. The jobholder’s responsibilities and duties may differ from those outlined above. Other duties, as assigned, may be part of the job.

At Burson, diversity, equity and inclusion are not just values; they are strategic imperatives that fuel our future in an industry built on the art of understanding, connecting and developing relationships. We believe that a diverse workforce is essential for inspiring bold ideas, fostering constructive dialogue and cultivating meaningful experiences that drive innovation and creativity. It also enables our agency to thrive and deliver brilliant work.

For more information, visit www.bursonglobal.com

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