Creative Director

Rhinegeist Brewery•Cincinnati, OH

10d•Onsite

About The Position

Rhinegeist Brewery is seeking a transformational Creative Director to lead and manage its Creative and Content team. This role is responsible for setting the standard for creative quality across all brand touchpoints, translating brand strategy into visually compelling and culturally relevant work. The ideal candidate will elevate the team's thinking, understand the 'brief behind the brief,' and thrive in ambiguity. This position is based in Cincinnati, OH, and is a full-time, salaried role.

Requirements

Ability to manage a team and a body of work across multiple brands.
Strong creative point of view—distinct, modern, and built from a deep understanding of brand and culture.
Understands the brief behind the brief and what is needed even when it isn't directly stated.
Elevates others—mentors naturally, pulls the team's thinking up, thrives in ambiguity.
Brand systems thinker—builds creative frameworks and standards that scale while enabling flexibility across touchpoints.
Collaborative by design—builds from shared vision, not singular authority; earns trust across functions and peers.
Equally confident directing voice, content, experience, and digital creative.
Bachelor's degree in Design, Visual Communications, Marketing, or related field; equivalent experience considered.
8-10 years of creative experience with experience managing direct reports and leading a team.
Portfolio demonstrating brand evolution—work that moved a brand forward, not just maintained it.
Experience directing creative across multiple touchpoints: packaging, digital, content, and experiential.
Demonstrated ability to build creative standards and systems that others can execute consistently without having to lead the entire process.
Experience working in or alongside brand marketing and digital growth functions.

Nice To Haves

Beverage, CPG, or lifestyle brand experience strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead, manage, and develop the Creative and Content teams, setting clear expectations, mentoring talent, and fostering a culture of craft, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Elevate the team's thinking and output by building shared standards and pushing for high-quality work.
Hold teams accountable for brand quality across packaging, digital, content, experiential, and trade touchpoints.
Improve team workflows, intake processes, and planning to support the pace and volume of work.
Partner to understand brand strategy, positioning, and GTM priorities, translating them into creative direction.
Partner with the Digital Growth Director on creative executions across digital channels, ensuring brand integrity.
Own the stewardship of the Rhinegeist brand's creative expression: visual identity, design systems, tone of voice, and governing standards.
Drive brand evolution towards modern, culturally relevant work that connects with consumers beyond traditional craft beer positioning.
Ensure creative consistency across all brand touchpoints: packaging, campaigns, content, events, digital, and trade materials.
Present creative work to Executive Leadership and the Board of Directors.
Establish and maintain creative standards, brand guidelines, and quality benchmarks.
Build scalable creative systems (templates, toolkits, design language) for broader organizational use.
Manage agency and vendor relationships, ensuring brand standards and quality in external production.
Apply creative rigor to voice, content, experience, and emerging brand expressions.