Branding Team Lead

What to ExpectWonderist Agency is a full-service marketing agency that supports 1,200+ dentists around the country. We pride ourselves on ditching the old fashioned marketing model of stock photos and templated sites. We strive to tell our clients’ stories with bespoke brands, impactful photo and video shoots, and stunning website design (Here is a great example of our work: www.palmandpoppy.com) We’re a team of 90+ passionate marketers with our headquarters nestled in sunny San Diego. While many companies simply check the required boxes when it comes to culture, a well-balanced team and positive office culture has been the core of our success from the start. We have embraced a hybrid work model where local team members come in at least two days a week. This allows us to work from home and have flexibility, without altogether forgoing the excitement and moments of collaboration and inspiration you can only get from in-person time. Not to mention, we genuinely enjoy spending time together and socializing. We celebrate new ideas and prioritize a culture of trust and respect where team members can grow and take risks. Each quarter we host events under our four cultural pillars; health & wellness, personal & professional development, social good, and social. We are proud to have been named: San Diego Business Journal’s Best Places to Work in: 2018, 2021-2023, Inc 5000 Regionals Fastest Growing Companies in: 2021, 2022, 2024-2026, San Diego Business Journal’s Fastest Growing Private Companies list in 2019, 2020, 2022-2024. Inc Best Workplaces list in: 2024, 2025, and 2026, and Inc. 5000 for the last 8 years (2019-2026)! If you work at Wonderist, you likely enjoy a challenge, appreciate autonomy, actually care about clients, and are looking for a team that you can enjoy being part of. Job DescriptionWonderist Agency is seeking a strategic and results-driven Branding Team Lead to lead brand design work and own the Branding team's operations, including capacity planning, quoting, client assignment, process, and people development. If you're passionate about creative leadership and team management, and you have a knack for challenging and evolving creative workflows, we want to hear from you! Essential FunctionsWhat You’ll Do Creative LeadershipCreative Direction & Quality: Set the creative bar for the Branding team. Give clear, actionable direction on brand identities and print collateral so every deliverable meets Wonderist's standards and the client's goals.Brand Strategy: Translate client goals, audience, and market position into a brand direction to execute. Push the work past templated dental branding so every brand feels original.Brand Presentations: Represent the Branding team with clients. Lead brand presentations and strategy conversations for key accounts, present creative rationale clearly, navigate complex feedback, and guide clients to confident decisions.Professional Development: Stay current on brand design and industry trends. Bring new ideas and techniques back to the team and help decide which ones become part of how you work.AI Integration: Lead AI adoption on the Branding team. Identify where AI-assisted tools can speed up concepting, production, and team operations, build them into SOPs, train designers to use them well, and hold AI-assisted work to Wonderist's standards for quality, originality, and accuracy. Partner with the director on agency-wide AI initiatives. Team OperationsCapacity & Workload: Keep workload realistic and deadlines on track. Use capacity data to make quoting and client assignment calls, and adjust priorities before issues reach the client.Process Ownership: Keep the team's workflows documented, current, and connected to the departments around it.Reporting & Insights: Own the Branding team's data in Monday.com, turn it into clear insights for leadership, QBRs, and team planning, and represent the Branding team in company meetings.People Leadership: Build a skilled, engaged team. Lead with clear expectations and consistent feedback, coach designers on client presentations and feedback conversations, address performance concerns early, and grow senior designers into more ownership over time.Hiring & Onboarding: Help build the team as it grows. Partner with the director and HR to define roles, review portfolios, and interview candidates, and get new designers productive quickly. Core CompetenciesWhat You'll Bring to the Role Leadership & InitiativeOwnership & Accountability: You'll own your work and your team's outcomes from day one. You solve problems every day and hold yourself and the team accountable for results.Decision-Making: Make confident calls with incomplete information, explain your reasoning, and adjust when new information comes in. Problem-Solving & AdaptabilitySolutions-Oriented Problem-Solving: Get ahead of problems and move quickly to fix them when they happen. Gather the right information, find the root cause, and come with a recommended solution.Comfort with Ambiguity: Comfortable with ambiguity and building structure where none exists. Adapts quickly and recognizes when a process or plan needs to change.AI Fluency: Curious and hands-on with AI tools, with sound judgment about when AI improves the work. Organization & Process ManagementSystems Thinker: Naturally organized and energized by turning messy workflows into clear, repeatable ones. Keeps a close eye on the details that keep projects on schedule. Communication & People SkillsStrong Communication: Personable, professional, and responsive. Explains complex information clearly and adjusts the message for clients, designers, and leadership.Client Presence: Calm, credible, and confident with clients. Reads what a client needs, holds a creative position under pushback, and keeps the relationship strong.Empathetic People Leader: Reads team dynamics, adapts communication styles, and connects with different personalities. Gives feedback with clarity and care, and creates an environment where people feel heard and valued. Alignment with Company ValuesAbility to Uphold Wonderist Agency's Commitments/Core Values: Takes pride in work and is committed to being an agent of positive change. We need someone who takes any project, big or small, and puts everything they have into it. Mistakes are okay. Sloppiness is not. Biggest Challenges For This PositionBalancing hands-on design with people management, hiring, and process ownershipHanding off responsibilities to designers while staying accountable for quality and resultsManaging complex client feedback with professionalism while protecting the creative directionKeeping brand work original within a niche industryQuoting accurately and assigning clients so no designer is overloaded and deadlines still holdBringing AI into the team's process without compromising originality or quality Performance MetricsThe success of this role will be measured by: Design DeliverablesBranding turnaround time relative to deadlinesRounds per project and efficiency of revisionsClient satisfaction rating on post-project surveysQuality improvements identified and resolved through brand audits Team OperationsQuoting accuracy (quoted vs. actual time)Team capacity utilization and PTO/OOO planning accuracySOPs created or updated, including AI-assisted workflowsQBR materials delivered complete and on timeTeam retention and engagementNew hire time-to-productivityResponsibilities successfully delegated to other designers Soft SkillsWonderist RequirementsProblem solving mindsetSelf starter who takes ownership without heavy oversightGenuine client first orientation, caring about outcomes and not just deliverablesAdaptable under a fast pace and comfortable with shifting prioritiesDetail oriented and organizedDriven, with follow through on commitmentsConfident and self disciplinedCollaborative, a real fit for a social, in-person leaning team culture This Role’s RequirementsDelegates with trust and follows up without micromanagingStays steady in difficult conversations with clients and direct reportsEnjoys teaching and developing others, including on new tools and AIDiplomatic across departments, especially when priorities competeHolds a high creative bar while staying realistic about scope and deadlines Hard SkillsBrand Identity Design, AdvancedAdobe Creative Suite, AdvancedFigma, IntermediateAI-Assisted Design Tools, IntermediatePrint Production, ModerateWeb Design Principles, ModeratePresentation Skills, AdvancedGoogle Workspace, AdvancedProject Management Tools (Monday.com preferred), ModerateCapacity & Resource Planning, ModerateQuoting & Project Scoping, ModerateSOP & Process Documentation, ModerateDigital Marketing, Moderate Personality MustsOur perfect fit understands the difference between "yes, and…" and "yes, but…" You bring a positive attitude, high standards, and the drive to deliver. Client service can mean going the extra mile, and you rise to the occasion with beautiful work that exceeds client expectations. As a leader, you set the tone for the team: steady under pressure, generous with what you know, and ready to work alongside your designers. Confidence, self-discipline, and a congenial, curious mind are things we love and admire. Minimum Qualifications5 or more years of client-facing brand design experiencePrior experience managing a design team, or equivalent experience leading projects, mentoring designers, or serving as a de facto leadExperience leading client presentationsStrong portfolio demonstrating high-caliber brand workExperience with a project management tool for tracking workflows and team priorities (Monday.com preferred)Bachelor’s or master’s degree in design or related field preferred Bonus Points for Applicants With…(if you don’t have these but are organized and want to learn, we want to hear from you!)Experience in dental or healthcare designBackground in animation, illustration, or multimediaExperience leading AI adoption or building AI-assisted workflows for a creative team