The role in brief...
The Creative Group Head helps to shape the creative environment and culture in the agency where great ideas are born and can thrive. Working closely with the Creative Director and other Group Heads, they stimulate creative energy and nurture the creative talent within the agency, inspiring great work, and evangelising for it when it leaves the Creative Department. They are responsible for the overall quality, timeliness and cost of the work produced by their team.
Working with...
Internal: Agency management and leadership teams; Creative teams; Group Creative Directors; Executive Creative Directors; Account Management teams; Planning Directors; Creative Services and production staff. New Business Team; HR/Talent Team
External: Client marketing team; Print producers; Commercials directors; Commercials producers.
Responsible for...
- Leading their creative group and taking line management responsibility for the staff – usually copywriters, art directors and designers. Being accountable for their performance and providing them with professional development opportunities.
- Nurturing a positive and inclusive culture in the team, and monitoring and overseeing the achievement of the agency’s DEI standards.
- Ensuring that team members remain current in the use of all relevant design technology, including AI where this is useful. This involves keeping up to date with all developments in this area.
- Taking responsibility for the standard of creative output of the team and making sure that it aligns with the agency and client’s strategy. Acting as the brand guardian across the team’s accounts, ensuring that work is both creatively outstanding and effective, but also adheres consistently to required brand guidelines and budgets.
- Pitching ideas and campaigns to existing and potential clients.
- Directing the production of creative outputs e.g. advertisements, TV commercials, mailings, social media content, etc.
- Working effectively with the wider agency and client teams, across multiple accounts. Foster a collaborative culture within the creative team and across departments, ensuring clear communication and alignment on projects.
- Reporting key team data to the Creative Director, the agency’s senior leadership and human resources departments.
Those who succeed are...
- Good at providing motivational feedback to the teams under them. Most ideas they are presented with they will have to reject.
- Good at trying to build on ideas with techniques such as ‘yes and’.
- Strong in their creative craft and have a proven reputation.
- Successful in executing work and bringing it to market.
- Able to lead, motivate and manage others from the front. This includes guiding, mentoring and motivating creative people at all stages of their careers.
- Discerning creative judges and advocates for great work.
- Strong communicators, confident at presenting, pitching and selling conceptual work, explaining what makes great work and how it meets the brand’s needs. Able to look across a range of channels, and they stay up to date with all the latest ways consumers can be reached, for example AI, games on phones.
- Able to receive, manage, and respond appropriately to feedback from the Creative Director, clients, research, and agency colleagues.
- Bold in pushing to deliver the best work possible
- Knowledgeable and passionate about their client’s business, with a clear understanding of the brand’s values and where and how advertising contributes to its success.
- Tenacious and resilient under pressure and up against deadlines.
- Aware of the need for greater diversity in their teams to get greater diversity of thought.
- Focused on the personal and professional development of their team. They will have a view on what skills their people need – for example the latest idea generation techniques – and the knowledge/inspiration – for example annual pass at Tate Modern, attending Createch or reading books of D&AD award winners
Where they come from, and where they go...
Creative Group Heads come from a variety of backgrounds, most typically having gained considerable experience as Copywriters or Art Directors and demonstrated an aptitude for managing and mentoring other staff. Some continue their creative partnership and take on the role as Joint Group Heads. They may go on to become Creative Director, with the same responsibilities taken across the whole agency.