Associate Creative Director - Art

Associate Creative Director - Art

Big Spaceship · New York, United States (Hybrid) · Full-time · Posted 2026-11-02

Salary: USD 130,000–160,000

Workplace: hybrid

Department: Creative & Design

Description

At Big Spaceship, we’re explorers, not settlers. We partner with ambitious brands ready to venture into new territory, push creative boundaries, and lead rather than follow.

We’re a full-service creative shop built for brands that want to break new ground. Our diverse team of entrepreneurial spirits, creative minds, and makers brings bold ideas to life for some of the world’s most innovative and culturally connected brands. If you thrive on exploration, creative risk-taking, and charting new paths, you belong here.

We’re looking for an Associate Creative Director ready to step into their first ACD seat, supporting a premier financial services brand in the travel and lifestyle space. You’ll co-lead the development of integrated, concept-driven campaigns across digital, social, video, and emerging media, pairing big-picture thinking with exceptional craft. You’ll guide a small creative team while staying close to the work.

You’ll build on an existing brand platform to develop and launch multiple campaign activations, then help shape the brand’s next major creative refresh. The work spans everything from social-first campaigns to large-scale integrated brand launches.

You’ll partner with a Senior Copywriter (or Associate Creative Director, Copy), strategists, designers, producers, and the account team, reporting to the Group Creative Director. The environment is collaborative, fast-paced, and highly regulated, and it calls for someone who can balance bold creative thinking with thoughtful execution across multiple concurrent workstreams.

Role + Responsibilities

• Co-lead concept development and creative direction for integrated campaigns across digital, social, video, display, audio, and out-of-home
• Develop campaign ideas that build from an established brand platform while bringing fresh, culturally relevant thinking
• Help drive multiple campaign activations launching throughout 2026 and contribute to the development of a major creative refresh for 2027
• Guide and mentor art directors, designers, and junior creatives, giving clear direction and constructive feedback that raises the quality of the work
• Partner with your copy counterpart, strategists, producers, and account teams to build cohesive campaign systems from concept through production
• Shape and present creative territories, mood boards, storyboards, and production references in internal and client reviews, working alongside the Group Creative Director
• Provide creative direction throughout production, ensuring quality and consistency across every execution
• Develop platform-specific work for Meta, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, Reddit, X, and other emerging platforms
• Contribute to campaigns spanning online video, streaming, programmatic display, audio, DOOH, and potential broadcast/video production
• Navigate feedback with clients and internal partners, balancing creative ambition with business objectives and the requirements of a highly regulated financial services environment
• Present concepts with confidence and clearly articulate the strategic rationale behind the work
• Manage multiple workstreams and team members at once while holding a high bar for craft, organization, and attention to detail

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in a creative agency, including time as a Senior Art Director, with a strong background developing integrated campaigns
• Early leadership experience, such as mentoring juniors, leading pitches or workstreams, or acting as a day-to-day creative lead; formal people management is not required, but the appetite for it is
• Outstanding portfolio demonstrating concept-driven thinking and high-quality execution across digital, social, video, and integrated campaign work
• Proven experience taking campaigns from initial concept through production and launch
• Strong understanding of social-first creative and digital storytelling across platforms and channels
• Experience collaborating closely with copywriters, strategists, designers, production, and account teams
• Comfort using AI-assisted creative tools for ideation, concept exploration, and workflow enhancement
• Experience in regulated industries, particularly financial services, is strongly preferred; hospitality, travel, or other large enterprise brands are also highly relevant
• Ability to manage multiple workstreams while maintaining exceptional creative quality
• Excellent presentation and communication skills, with the ability to confidently articulate creative rationale to clients and internal teams
• Passion for creating breakthrough creative that inspires travel, drives engagement, and elevates a globally recognized financial services brand

Benefits

The salary band for this role is $130,000 - $160,000. Where a prospective new hire's base salary will fall within this band depends on several factors including their qualifications and experience, the skill level required in the role, market rates, and the salaries of existing crew members at Big Spaceship within the same role to maintain equity.

Apply

Apply at Big Spaceship

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