Senior Director of Creative (Hybrid)

This is a hybrid role based out of our corporate office in Ann Arbor MI.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Senior Director of Creative will be a visionary and strategic leader responsible for shaping and executing the creative direction of the brand across all marketing channels. This role will lead and unite the Media Design and Copywriting teams to deliver compelling consistent and high-performing creative that drives brand growth product awareness and associate and consumer engagement.

As a senior leader in the marketing organization this person will bring deep expertise in brand and product storytelling visual design and integrated campaignswhile also ensuring cross-functional collaboration with Product eCommerce Retail and Executive leadership. This position will require a passion for the automotive aftermarket space leading teams and knows how to elevate a brand through powerful creative in todays fast changing AI shifting digital first universe. This leader must have a passion for developing teams through mentoring coaching and rolling up their sleeves to model success.

CORE FUNCTIONS

Creative Strategy & Brand Leadership

• Own and evolve the visual identity voice and storytelling across the companys leading brands in both domestic and international markets.
• Set the long-term creative vision in alignment with company goals global consumer insights and product strategies.
• Guide the development and documentation of scalable brand systems that ensure consistency across all touchpointsfrom packaging and social to in-store and digital with flexibility for regional nuances and localization needs.
• Leverage global customer market and cultural insights to develop creative that connects authentically with target audiences and inspires action.
• Champion the role of creativity as a business driver to fuel brand awareness engagement and revenue growth across multiple geographies.

Team Leadership & Development

• Build lead and mentor a high-performing multidisciplinary global creative organization including Design Copywriting Media and Content Production teams spanning multiple time zones and regions.
• Establish clear goals provide actionable feedback and cultivate a culture that values creativity agility and excellence across global teams.
• Create career development plans provide training and maintain team structures that support long-term growth retention and cross-cultural collaboration.
• Inspire a bold idea-driven culture that encourages innovation and pushes creative boundaries while respecting cultural diversity and regional perspectives.

Campaign & Content Development

• Lead the conception and execution of omni-channel marketing campaigns for product launches seasonal moments and brand storytelling tailored for both global and local markets.
• Ensure creative assets are compelling on-brand audience-relevant and optimized for various channels including social video email web print and in-store with regional adaptations as needed.
• Partner with eCommerce and Performance Marketing teams to balance brand expression with performance KPIs in both mature and emerging markets.
• Guide the development of high-impact photo and video content both in-studio and on-location that brings our products and lifestyle to life in culturally relevant ways across international markets.

Operational Excellence & Budget Management

• Build scalable creative workflows that accelerate speed-to-market while maintaining quality and brand consistency across global markets.
• Manage team resourcing project intake and capacity planning to meet evolving business needs.
• Own and manage the creative departments annual budgetincluding headcount agency/vendor costs tools and production using a global lens on cost-efficiency and ROI.
• Continuously evaluate the cost-effectiveness of internal vs. external resources and optimize accordingly leveraging global talent and vendor networks.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Strategic Partnerships

• Collaborate with Marketing Media Product Management Industrial Design eCommerce Sales and Retail teams to align creative strategies with business objectives and regional market needs.
• Act as a trusted creative partner to stakeholders across the organization translating business needs into breakthrough creative that resonates globally while honoring local cultures.
• Work closely with media and legal teams to ensure campaigns meet performance compliance and operational standards including international regulations and localization requirements.
• Build and manage relationships with external agencies freelancers and production vendors to scale capabilities and creative impact cross diverse international markets.

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS

Education and Experience

• Bachelors degree in Design Marketing Advertising Communications or related field required; Masters degree preferred.
• Minimum of 12-15 years of experience in a creative leadership role ideally within an in-house brand in consumer branded products; including 7 years of management experience required.
• Proven track record leading and scaling global creative teams especially across design media (photo/video) and content development.
• Deep expertise in brand storytelling visual design systems and creative strategy in a digital-first landscape with a strong understanding of performance metrics and conversion-focused creative.
• Experience in the automotive aftermarket industry or passion for vehicles and customization is strongly preferred.
• Global or international experience developing and executing creative strategies that resonate across different regions cultures and customer segments.

Skills Abilities and Knowledge

• Exceptional creative judgment with a portfolio of successful brand campaigns and storytelling initiatives.
• Strong understanding of current creative and consumer trends particularly in digital video and eCommerce environments.
• Outstanding leadership communication and collaboration skills across technical and non-technical teams.
• Deep knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite project management platforms (e.g. Asana Wrike ) and content management tools.
• Ability to balance big-picture strategy with hands-on execution.
• Familiarity with regional compliance and creative standards across North America EMEA APAC and LATAM.
• Proven track record of success in leading teams driving innovation and delivering results.
• Assertive adaptable and demonstrates initiative in a fast-paced environment with competing priorities.

Travel

This position requires light to moderate travel.

COMPETENCIES

• Builds Organizational Capability: Able to develop the skills knowledge processes technology resources and organizational structure within an organization to enhance its overall performance and competitiveness in line with the overall strategy; Evaluates an organizations strengths and weaknesses identifies gaps between the current state and the desired future state and then develops a plan to address those gaps; Identifies the skills needed to support the desired capabilities and provide training programs and other opportunities for employees to develop those skills.
• Brand and Business Acumen: Knows the purpose of each function and how they play a role linked to the organizations strategy; Knows key components of how businesses work and how organizations make money; Keeps up with current brand and portfolio product/services knowledge along with possible future trends in the organization and external competition; Uses knowledge of business drivers and how strategies and tactics play out in the market to guide actions.
• Critical Thinking: Ability to interpret evaluate and analyze facts and information from multiple perspectives; Looks for underlying causes or thinks through the consequences of different courses of action; Breaks problems into component parts and creates solutions; Able to make connections between logical ideas to see the bigger picture.
• Situational Adaptability: Picks up on situational cues and adjusts in the moment. Readily adapts personal interpersonal and leadership behavior; Understands that different situations may call for different approaches; Can act differently depending on the circumstances.
• Strategic Mindset: Sees ahead clearly; can anticipate future consequences and trends accurately; has broad knowledge and perspective; is future oriented; can articulately paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities and likelihoods; can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans.
• Thought Leadership: Leverages their deep knowledge on specific areas of the business to generate alternative views innovative ideas and insightful points to discussions that influence and inspire others; Effectively contributes to strategic discussions; Leads others in the thinking around a given topic along with influencing others to think differently about a specific topic; Has authentic curiosity and is open to listening to others and learning more; Is sought out by others in the company and/or industry for insights and advice.

SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Manager: Plans organizes evaluates and directs the employees within the department function. Has direct reports.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

This position is subject to Sedentary Work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift carry push pull or otherwise move objects. Sedentary work involved sitting most of the time. Walking and standing are required only occasionally.

Physical Activities

This position is subject to the following physical activities: talking hearing lifting bending and standing.

Visual Acuity

The worker is required to have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; expansive reading.

Working Conditions

This position operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment.

Required Experience:

Exec