Head of Creative

Search Solutions EnrollmentStudent SuccessBrandingInstitutional StrategyDigital Advertising Case Studies Rice UniversityOhio Wesleyan UniversityThe University of MississippiKettering UniversityFlorida Southern CollegeUniversity of Texas at TylerSee All About The Role The Head of Creative sets the creative standard across three studios — Concept Development, Content & Production, and Performance Creative — and is accountable for how the work comes together across all of them. This is a player-coach role, and the play is division-wide. You lead the Studio Owners, who own craft and quality inside their own studios, while you own how the studios sync: where handoffs happen, where dependencies collide, and whether the combined output meets client expectations. You’ll set narrative and visual standards company-wide, lead a multi-disciplinary creative organization that moves fast and produces work that feels fresh, and hold the seams together where studio work integrates. Creative excellence matters here, and so does what it delivers for clients. What You’ll Own Creative Vision + Standards Set the creative vision and quality bar for the division, building in each Studio Owner’s craft standardsOwn the framework used to evaluate creative output across all three studios, so creative excellence means the same thing everywhereServe as the company’s single point of accountability on creative — client expectations, market shifts, and cross-studio handoffsOversee campaigns, launches, and creative systems that span more than one studioPut AI-assisted creative tools and emerging tech to work to improve speed and quality of output Multi-Craft Leadership + Mentorship Lead the three creative craft lanes — Concept Development, Content & Production, Performance Creative — and hold them to the standards aboveResolve conflicts, handoffs, and dependencies between studiosKeep storytelling, design, and campaign deployment under one creative authority instead of competing silosCoach and develop the creative team, setting the bar for craft and cross-functional collaborationBuild a culture of energy, ambition, and craft that Studio Owners carry into their own teamsProtect the team from scope chaos and hold the line on labor margins Business Strategy + Cross-Discipline Partnership Own creative margin performance across the divisionDesign systems and workflows — including AI-assisted ones — that address efficiency and capacity pressure Work with brand strategy and research leadership to refine the systems to turn positioning and audience insight into briefs the team can build fromPartner with digital experience and web teams so brand systems carry cleanly into digital environmentsCoordinate with paid media and activation teams so campaign systems scale across audiences and platformsAct as a senior creative voice in high-stakes client presentations, new business pitches, and scope development Team Management Lead, coach, and develop the creative team to foster high performance and professional growthSet clear expectations, provide ongoing feedback, and deliver timely performance evaluationsBuild a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvementIdentify development opportunities and support team members in reaching their career goals What You Bring Bachelor’s degree in marketing, advertising, graphic design, fine arts, communications, or a related field, or equivalent life/work experienceMaster’s degree (MFA/MBA) welcome, but a proven portfolio and track record leading teams matter most7+ years of creative leadership, brand marketing, or multi-channel campaign development experienceExpert-level storytelling, campaign architecture, and multi-channel production skills, applied to large creative teams and agency-wide initiativesTrack record of pulling design, copy, video, digital, and social into one cohesive operating modelExperience diagnosing and improving team-level profitability — pricing, scoping, staffing mix — not just maintaining a margin that’s already healthyExperience driving efficiency and capacity through process and technology, including AI-assisted tools, as an alternative to headcount growth, particularly for teams under sustained workload pressureExecutive-level knowledge of brand management and integrated marketing strategy, and how creative output connects to business priorities and customer experienceAbility to energize creative teams and raise craft standards in a fast-paced, pragmatic agency environmentStrong communication and time-management skills, along with comfort switching between multiple technology platforms, given the remote environmentAbility to sit at a desk and work on a computer for extended periods Why This Role Creative is a value multiplier at Carnegie, and this is the person who makes sure three strong studios add up to one coherent creative organization. You’ll have final say on how work comes together across studios, three Studio Owners to lead and hold to a shared bar, and room to decide how AI and new ways of working reshape the division’s capacity and speed. Whoever takes this on owns both the work that reaches clients and the business behind it — margin, efficiency, and how well the whole division runs, not just how good any one piece of it looks. About Carnegie For more than 30 years, Carnegie has been a leader and innovator in higher education marketing and enrollment strategy, offering groundbreaking services in the areas of Research, Strategy, Digital Marketing, Lead Generation, Slate Optimization, Student Search, Website Development, and Creative that generate authentic connections. Learn more about who we are, what we do, and what we care about. No phone calls or unscheduled visits to the office, please. Carnegie is an equal-opportunity employer.