Creative Director

Role: Creative Director - Generative AI & Design | Beauty AI Studio

Location: Mumbai, India

Work Timings: 6:30am to 3:30pm  

About the role:

This is an opportunity to join Beauty AI Studio (BAIS), OLIVER's creative solution designed specifically for Unilever's Beauty & Wellbeing portfolio, as Creative Director — setting the creative standard for Gen AI-powered beauty content across multiple markets and some of the world's most iconic beauty brands, including Dove, TRESemmé, Pond's, and Simple, to name a few.

Based in the BAIS Maker Hub in India with a hybrid working arrangement, you'll be the creative authority at the heart of the Hub — ensuring every asset produced meets the premium beauty aesthetic that Unilever's brands demand, regardless of the market it's made for. You'll interface directly with in-market brand teams, BAIS client service leads, project managers, and Comms Strategists — translating brand vision and market insight into creative direction that the Hub's production teams can execute with precision, consistency, and craft.

We support flexible working and are open to different arrangements. We offer reasonable adjustments throughout the process.

The Creative Director is the creative conscience of the BAIS Maker Hub — accountable for the quality, consistency, and beauty aesthetic of all Gen AI-assisted creative output produced for Unilever Beauty & Wellbeing across multiple markets. This is a director-level role that combines daily programme management and team guidance with senior creative authority: setting the standard, defending it rigorously, and building the capability of the team around you to meet it every time.

You'll provide strategic creative direction across the Maker Hub's output — from social-first content and hero campaign films to retail and e-commerce assets — ensuring Gen AI tools are used with intention, human creative oversight is never compromised, and the visual language of each Unilever brand is upheld across every deliverable. With deep expertise spanning copywriting, art direction, design, print, advertising, and broadcast creative, you'll lead these disciplines across the organisation as required — designing creative solutions that meet Unilever's business needs at a strategic level, not just a production one. You'll work closely with in-market brand teams and BAIS client service, project management, and Comms Strategy functions to ensure creative direction is grounded in brand strategy, market insight, and platform relevance — and that the Hub's output reflects the highest standards of beauty aesthetics across skincare, haircare, and wellness categories.

What you will be doing:

The role combines senior creative direction with daily programme management: setting quality benchmarks for AI-assisted production, leading creative reviews across all active workstreams, and ensuring Gen AI tools are used with rigorous human oversight. The Director also serves as the most senior creative point of contact on key accounts, presenting work with authority to senior Unilever stakeholders and building trust in AI-assisted creative production at the highest level.

The role requires deep beauty sector expertise — specifically across skincare, haircare, and wellness — alongside advanced proficiency in Gen AI image, motion, and design tools, and broad creative leadership across copywriting, art direction, design, print, advertising, and broadcast. The successful candidate will interface with in-market brand teams across multiple markets, partner with client service, project management, and Comms Strategy functions, and mentor the Hub's creative and production talent. This is a senior leadership position that demands both aesthetic precision and operational clarity — the ability to hold a premium creative standard at scale, drive Gen AI innovation across the programme, and develop the team and frameworks that make consistent, high-quality beauty content possible.

Creative & Technical Leadership: 

• Set and own the creative standard for all Gen AI-assisted output produced by the BAIS Maker Hub — holding quality across social, digital, e-commerce, print, advertising, broadcast, and campaign assets for Unilever Beauty & Wellbeing brands across multiple markets.
• Provide strategic creative direction to the Maker Hub's production teams — translating brand briefs, market insight, and beauty aesthetic principles into clear, actionable creative direction that teams can execute consistently at scale.
• Lead creative reviews across all active workstreams — evaluating output against brand standards, beauty aesthetic benchmarks, and platform requirements before delivery to in-market teams or clients.
• Establish and maintain creative quality benchmarks for Gen AI-assisted production — defining what premium beauty looks like across skin texture, colour grading, light quality, product rendering, and brand tone for each Unilever brand.
• Lead creative insight development and creative input to toolkits as required — ensuring the Hub's creative frameworks and assets are strategically grounded and practically usable across markets.
• Design creative solutions to meet client business needs at a strategic level — applying knowledge across copywriting, art direction, design, concept development, print, advertising, and broadcast creative.
• Identify and resolve creative quality issues proactively — providing clear, constructive direction that elevates output without disrupting delivery momentum.
• Oversee the creative development of all collateral material produced by the Hub — from origination and concepting through to final execution.

Programme Management & Account Leadership:

• Provide daily programme management and team member guidance across the Maker Hub — ensuring creative workstreams are well-directed, priorities are clear, and production teams are supported to deliver to the required standard.
• Oversee multiple accounts or the largest, most complex client accounts within the BAIS programme — and serve as the most senior creative point of oversight on certain accounts where required.
• Act as a significant communicator and creative lead for large strategic client accounts — presenting work with authority, building trust with senior Unilever stakeholders, and representing the creative quality of the Hub at the highest level.
• Manage the creative health of accounts proactively — identifying risks to quality, consistency, or client confidence early and resolving them decisively.

Gen AI Creative Direction:

• Direct the Maker Hub's use of Gen AI tools within the creative process — establishing best practices, prompting frameworks, and quality control processes for AI-assisted content production across beauty categories.
• Evaluate and integrate emerging Gen AI tools and techniques into the Hub's creative workflows — assessing their impact on output quality, production efficiency, and brand integrity.
• Set clear parameters for where Gen AI enhances creative output and where human craft and oversight must lead — ensuring the team applies rigorous judgement to every AI-assisted deliverable.
• Drive innovation in Gen AI creative approaches across the BAIS programme — sharing best practice, leading knowledge sessions, and continuously raising the capability of the Hub's creative and production teams.

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Interface with in-market brand teams across BAIS markets to understand local beauty culture, brand priorities, and market-specific creative requirements — ensuring Hub output is culturally relevant and brand-consistent in every market it serves.
• Partner with BAIS client service leads, project managers, and Comms Strategists to align creative direction with strategic intent, delivery timelines, and client expectations.
• Collaborate with Comms Strategists on campaign and content development — ensuring creative execution reflects the strategic platform and resonates with target audiences across each market.
• Build trust with Unilever brand stakeholders in Gen AI creative applications — presenting work with authority, explaining creative decisions clearly, and demonstrating the value of AI-assisted production without compromising brand equity.

Team Development & Studio Leadership

• Mentor and develop the creative and production talent within the BAIS Maker Hub — building capability in Gen AI tools, beauty aesthetics, and creative craft across the team.
• Foster a culture of creative rigour, continuous learning, and responsible AI adoption across the Hub.
• Contribute to the hiring and onboarding of creative talent within the Maker Hub — helping to build a team with the skills, mindset, and aesthetic sensibility the programme requires.
• Oversee studio-level creative governance — ensuring consistent application of brand guidelines, quality standards, and AI usage protocols across all active workstreams.
• Lead the organisation's practice in print design, advertising creative, and broadcast creative — setting standards and sharing expertise across the wider OLIVER network as required.

What you need to be great in this role:

Creative Leadership and Beauty Craft

• A portfolio that demonstrates senior creative leadership on premium beauty brands — a sophisticated, proven understanding of beauty aesthetics across skincare, haircare, and wellness categories is essential for this role.
• Proven ability to set and hold a high creative standard across a production team — with experience leading creative reviews, elevating output quality, and defending creative decisions to senior beauty brand stakeholders.
• Deep sensitivity to beauty aesthetics: colour grading, skin and texture rendering, light quality, product photography, and the visual language of premium beauty across digital, social, and e-commerce formats.
• Extensive experience across print design, advertising creative, and broadcast creative within the beauty sector — with the authority to lead these disciplines across the organisation as required.
• Strong working knowledge of copywriting, art direction, design, and concept evaluation — able to lead and judge creative work across disciplines, not just within a single specialism.
• Experience leading creative insight development and contributing creative input to beauty brand toolkits and strategic frameworks.
• Experience translating beauty brand strategy and market insight into creative direction and creative solutions that address client business needs at a strategic level.
• Confidence presenting and defending creative decisions to senior client and brand stakeholders, including cross-market teams.

Programme Management and Account Leadership

• Proven experience providing daily programme management and team guidance within a studio or in-house environment — with the organisational clarity to manage multiple accounts or the largest client accounts simultaneously.
• Experience serving as the most senior creative point of oversight on complex, large-scale accounts — and acting as a significant communicator with senior client stakeholders.
• A track record of managing client relationships on large strategic accounts: building trust, managing expectations, and sustaining creative confidence at the most senior level.

Gen AI and Technical Expertise

• Strategic integration of Gen AI tools across studio projects and creative operations — with a track record of improving output quality, production efficiency, and creative innovation.
• Experience setting Gen AI governance, quality standards, and prompting frameworks at studio or programme level.
• Advanced knowledge of Gen AI motion, image, and design tools — including text-to-video, image-to-video, AI-assisted compositing, and upscaling workflows.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and equivalent design and production applications.
• Strong critical evaluation of AI outputs — understanding where AI genuinely enhances craft and where it introduces errors, inconsistency, or brand risk.

Cross-functional and Stakeholder Leadership

• Experience working across client service, project management, and strategy functions within an in-house studio or agency environment — with the ability to align creative direction to strategic, operational, and commercial requirements simultaneously.
• Experience interfacing with in-market brand teams across multiple markets — understanding how to adapt creative direction to local cultural and market contexts without losing brand consistency.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills — able to articulate creative vision clearly to diverse audiences across functions and markets.

Experience:

• Senior creative leadership experience within the beauty sector is a requirement for this role — candidates without beauty brand experience will not be considered.
• Experience leading creative output across multiple markets simultaneously — with an understanding of how beauty aesthetics and platform requirements vary across markets.
• Experience managing or directing Gen AI-assisted creative production within a studio or in-house environment.
• Familiarity with social, digital, e-commerce, retail, print, advertising, and broadcast media platforms and the content requirements specific to each.

Gen AI & Agentic Thinking

• Strategic integration of Gen AI across studio projects and operations — with experience setting AI governance and quality standards at studio or programme level.
• Experience driving AI innovation across a creative team — sharing best practice, running knowledge sessions, and building collective capability in Gen AI tools and prompting practices.
• Agentic leadership for complex creative and operational challenges: a systematic, goal-oriented approach to breaking down problems, identifying optimal creative paths, and delivering with consistency and precision.
• Thought leadership on AI's role in beauty creative — able to articulate its value, limitations, and future direction to clients, brand teams, and internal stakeholders with authority.
• Strong understanding of responsible AI adoption — ensuring human creative oversight, brand integrity, and ethical application are maintained across all Gen AI-assisted output.

Formal qualifications are welcome. Equivalent experience counts. Experience can be gained through work, study, volunteering, or self-directed learning.

If you're excited about this role but don't meet every requirement, we encourage you to apply.

Ready to define what premium beauty looks like in the age of AI — and build the team and standards that make it happen? Apply to the role with your CV & your portfolio and let's talk.

Req ID: 17066

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