JDA Worldwide · 6 hours ago
Associate Creative Director
Indianapolis, IN
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level
6+ years expJDA Worldwide is a full-service marketing and communications firm headquartered in Indianapolis, recognized as one of the best places to work in Indiana. The Associate Creative Director (ACD) is a dynamic leader responsible for driving creative vision across teams to deliver award-winning solutions, guiding client portfolios, and collaborating closely with various departments.
AdvertisingMarketingPersonal Branding
Hiring Manager
Emily Poff, MBA, SHRM-CP
Responsibilities
Set and uphold creative standards, ensuring excellence in craft, clarity, and originality and brand alignment
Own the creative vision and execution across client campaigns, aligning work to client objectives, brand strategy, and agency goals
Lead, inspire, and mentor a multidisciplinary team of designers and writers through clear direction, hands-on leadership, and example
Serve as both player and coach—personally contributing to high-impact creative work while elevating team output
Develop and present concepts, campaigns, and deliverables to existing and prospective clients
Oversee creative development from concept through execution across digital, print, packaging, experiential, and emerging media
Establish clear creative frameworks, guardrails, and principles to ensure consistency, scalability, and quality
Balance creative ambition with budgets, timelines, and available resources
Collaborate cross-functionally with Digital, Web, Accounts, and Operations to improve creative processes and outcomes
Review and approve scopes, timelines, feedback, revisions, and final creative across internal, inter-agency, and client-facing teams
Coach, evaluate, and support creative team members, fostering professional growth, performance, engagement, and strengthen team output
Stay current on industry trends, tools, and best practices to continuously evolve the agency’s creative approach
Uphold our core values at JDA – Interpreter of Dreams, Trusted Advisors, Courageously Creative, and Ready to Fight
Qualification
Required
Team leadership and creative talent development experience
6-10 years of experience in the advertising agency, brand, or media world
Bachelor's degree in related field: fine art, design, advertising, communication, marketing, etc
A diverse portfolio that showcases a refined design eye across a variety of project types and mediums
Demonstrable high-level skill within the Adobe Suite, Figma, and other common design tools
Knowledge of UX/UI, interface design, and digital design
Preferred
Conceptual Excellence – Exceptional design thinking, visualization, and concept development skills
Strategic Thinker – Ability to connect big-picture vision with hands-on, strategic problem-solving
Brand Stewardship – Confident guardian of brand integrity with excellence across all visual and verbal execution and touchpoints
Integrated Go-to-Market Thinking – Deep understanding of brand strategy, audience insights, and how creative drives integrated campaigns, launches, channels, and performance
Strategic Evaluation – Ability to assess creative work against strategy, audience needs, performance goals, and business objectives
Conceptual Rigor – Actively contributes to the work and models excellence in execution, bringing strong point of view, original thinking, and clarity to concepts and narratives
Storytelling Craft – Ability to translate strategy and insight into compelling narratives that resonate across audiences and channels
Campaign Leadership – Owns and leads creative work from concept through launch and iteration, defining scalable campaigns and leading multi-channel execution
Video Leadership – Experience developing and directing video concepts, photography, scripts, storyboards, and end-to-end production workflows
Digital Design Leadership – Strong digital-first design expertise and leadership across web, social, paid media and emerging platforms and formats
People Leadership – Collaborative, motivating leader who builds morale and unifies teams around shared goals
Operational Focus – Ability to manage multiple campaigns and priorities while maintaining quality, consistency, and timelines
Clear Communication – Compelling communicator, articulates ideas and direction with confidence across teams, clients, and stakeholders
Adaptable Leader – Navigates change, ambiguity, and evolving priorities with composure
Ownership Mindset – Takes responsibility for outcomes and follows through on commitments
Benefits
Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance
401(k) Matching Plan
Life Insurance (100% Company Paid)
Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Insurance (100% Company Paid)
Flexible Paid Time Off
12 Paid Holidays
Sick Days
Paid Parental Leave
On-Site Fitness Center
Cell Phone Reimbursement
MacBook Pro Laptop
Free snacks and drinks in the office
Company
JDA Worldwide
JDA Worldwide is a is a national full-service advertising, strategy, media, and branding agency.
51-200 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageLeadership Team
Chance Benbow
Chief Executive Officer
Recent News
2025-05-08
2023-03-14
PR Newswire
2022-04-25
Company data provided by crunchbase