Creative Lead

The Messina Group • Washington, DC

5d • $100,000 - $125,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

TMG is seeking a Creative Lead to serve as the firm's senior in-house creative resource. This role spans hands-on motion and digital design, direct client-facing work, and firm-wide creative support. The ideal candidate is proficient in various design formats, from animated GIFs and HTML5 banners to pitch decks and client reports. This person will also help shape TMG's creative service offerings by participating in new-business conversations, scoping creative deliverables, and identifying opportunities for growth with existing clients. This is a hands-on design, business development, and firm-wide creative support role that may require flexible hours to meet deadlines. Applicants must submit a portfolio demonstrating a range of high-quality design work, including technical proficiency, strategic thinking, and versatility across formats.

Requirements

• Strong motion design skills with demonstrated experience producing animated GIFs, HTML5/rich-media display ads, and short-form animated or video content for paid and organic social.
• Advanced presentation-design skills in PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Keynote, with the ability to turn dense or technical content into clear, polished decks quickly and under deadline pressure.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, After Effects) and/or Canva.
• Experience developing content for Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, and programmatic/display ad platforms, including familiarity with platform-specific ad specs and file-size constraints.
• Proven track record owning client relationships end-to-end — not just presenting finished work, but leading client conversations, fielding pushback in real time, and being trusted by internal teams to represent TMG's creative point of view without oversight.
• Comfort scoping creative deliverables for proposals — translating a client ask into formats, timelines, and level of effort.
• Ability to work across multiple internal teams and stakeholders at once, prioritizing competing requests without losing quality or missing deadlines.
• Strong portfolio showcasing brand, campaign, motion, digital, and presentation/deck design work.
• Able to work independently and collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders.
• 7+ years of experience in graphic design and motion/animation, preferably in an agency, brand, or campaign environment.
• Demonstrated client ownership: candidates should be able to speak to specific instances of leading a client relationship solo, including moments of pushback or difficult feedback.

Nice To Haves

• Experience contributing to new-business pitches, proposals, or scopes of work.
• Working knowledge of HTML5 ad-building tools (e.g., Google Web Designer) for building rich-media banners.
• Proficiency in photo editing, retouching, and color correction to enhance asset quality.
• Familiarity with captioning and subtitle standards for accessibility in digital content.
• Working knowledge of Digital Asset Management (DAM) tools for organizing, tagging, and versioning creative files.
• Basic understanding of HTML/CSS and how design translates into front-end development.
• Experience collaborating with web developers, ensuring that creative assets work across devices and platforms.
• Comfort working in fast-paced, sprint-style environments, using project tools like Asana, ClickUp, or Trello.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and animation of digital assets, with a primary focus on animated social content (GIFs, Reels/short-form video) and HTML5/rich-media display advertising, alongside social graphics, email creatives, pitch decks, and print.
• Maintain and evolve visual identity systems, including brand style guides, pitch decks, and scalable design templates.
• Stay ahead of visual and motion trends and proactively propose new formats and content ideas.
• Serve as lead creative point of contact on select client accounts, presenting work directly, articulating creative rationale, and managing feedback and revisions with minimal oversight.
• Participate in new-business pitches and proposals, helping scope creative deliverables, timelines, and budgets for prospective clients.
• Identify opportunities to expand creative scope with existing clients (e.g., proposing new formats, campaigns, or service lines that grow the relationship).
• Collaborate effectively across strategy, digital, and communications teams within TMG to ensure creative work supports broader campaign goals.
• Serve as the go-to creative resource for teams across TMG, building presentations, pitch decks, reports, infographics, and polished emails for strategy, communications, and firm leadership as needed.
• Translate dense written content (research findings, strategy memos, client reports) into clear, visually compelling decks and documents.
• Maintain a consistent visual standard across firm-wide materials so that decks, reports, and emails feel unmistakably "TMG" regardless of which team produced the request.
• Help establish and manage an intake process for firm-wide creative requests, balancing Digital team priorities against requests from other departments.
• Support pitch and proposal design for new business opportunities.
• Provide creative direction or feedback to freelancers or contract designers brought on for overflow work, as needed.
• Manage multiple concurrent design projects and deadlines independently, with minimal day-to-day direction.

Benefits

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience; plus a discretionary bonus, if applicable
• Salary range: $100,000-$125,000 USD, based on experience and technical depth
• Healthcare (medical, dental, vision) for you and your family.
• Paid time off (PTO), federal holidays, and end-of-year break.
• Paid parental leave.
• Professional development budget, gym/cell stipend, and 401K with employer match.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed