Creative Strategy Director

Imagination•Detroit, MI

10h•Hybrid

About The Position

This is an opportunity to play a key creative role in one of Imagination's longest-standing client relationships: Ford Motor Company and other Imagination clients. We're looking for a creative thinker, storyteller and writer who can move comfortably between strategy and ideas. Someone who can take a complex client challenge, find the opportunity within it, and turn it into a clear creative direction that a team can get excited about. You are part Creative Director, part strategist and part writer. You'll work closely with Ford and other Imagination clients to understand their business, their brands, their audiences and the stories they want to tell. You'll challenge and unpack briefs, identify the real opportunity, and translate them into clear strategic and creative briefs for our teams. You'll also be hands-on in the work. Depending on the project, you might lead the creative response, develop initial territories and thought starters, write a manifesto, name an experience, shape positioning, develop a film treatment or work alongside a Creative Director to turn a strategic idea into something bigger. Some projects you'll own. On others, you'll be the strategic and creative partner who comes in at the right moments to make the work sharper, clearer and more compelling. This isn't a traditional strategy role. It's a creative role with a strong strategic point of view. We're looking for a high performer who thrives in a fast-moving, collaborative environment. Someone adaptable, resourceful and comfortable moving between different kinds of challenges, projects and teams. Our best people take ownership, move quickly when needed and aren't afraid to roll up their sleeves and get into the work. You should be energized by variety, comfortable with ambiguity and able to adapt as the brief, the team or the opportunity changes.

Requirements

Creative thinker who knows how to turn strategy into ideas.
Background in creative direction, copywriting, creative strategy, brand storytelling or a combination.
Comfortable staring at a blank page, challenging a client brief, writing a manifesto, shaping a presentation or sitting with a creative team working out what the idea should actually be.
Natural storyteller who can make complex ideas simple and compelling.
Strong writer with an instinct for language, tone and narrative.
Strategically minded, with the ability to move from business challenge to creative opportunity.
Comfortable developing ideas and thought starters rather than waiting for fully formed creative concepts.
Confident structuring and building presentations in Google Slides, with a strong understanding of how to organize information and create a compelling narrative.
Able to turn strategic thinking into presentations that are clear, persuasive and visually engaging.
Curious about culture, audiences, brands and the world around them.
Able to understand a client's business and translate that understanding into creative work.
Confident presenting to senior clients and defending a point of view.
Comfortable collaborating with Creative, Account, Production and Digital teams.
Able to lead when the project requires it and contribute when someone else is leading.
Comfortable managing freelance creative talent when required.
Rigorous enough to know when an idea is interesting and when it is actually useful.
Generous in collaboration and able to make the people around you better.
Experience using AI image-generation tools or other rapid visualization tools to create concept visuals, moodboards, storyboards or early-stage creative explorations is a bonus.
Curious about emerging tools and know how to use them to help make an idea tangible, quickly.
Do not see strategy and creativity as separate disciplines; see them as two parts of the same process.

Nice To Haves

Experience using AI image-generation tools or other rapid visualization tools to create concept visuals, moodboards, storyboards or early-stage creative explorations.

Responsibilities

Deconstruct client briefs and identify the underlying business, brand and audience challenges.
Reframe briefs into clear strategic and creative opportunities.
Develop internal creative briefs that give teams a clear direction and something meaningful to respond to.
Identify the key thought, tension, insight or cultural opportunity that can unlock the work.
Bring clarity to complex challenges and help teams understand what we're trying to achieve and why.
Develop creative territories, thought starters and early-stage ideas.
Work with Creative Directors and creative teams to evolve ideas into compelling concepts.
Bring a strong point of view to the work while knowing when to step back and let others build.
Help connect strategy to experiences, content, live events, digital and broader brand storytelling.
Develop the narrative architecture behind major Ford programs and brand moments.
Present and sell creative thinking internally and to clients.
Write creative briefs, positioning statements, brand and experience narratives, manifestos, concept descriptions, experience and event names, campaign and platform names, audience propositions, objectives and strategic frameworks, presentation narratives, film and content treatments, scripts and voiceover, pitch and presentation decks in Google Slides, and case-study and award language.
Establish a creative direction.
Lead internal creative teams and freelance talent.
Work closely with production to make sure the ambition can become reality.
Partner with digital and content producers on film, social and digital storytelling.
Guide the development of decks, treatments and client presentations.
Present work and facilitate creative conversations with Ford.
Maintain a clear creative point of view throughout the project.
Develop a deep understanding of Ford's brands, products, audiences, culture and ways of communicating.
Bring an understanding of how Ford can show up across culture, entertainment, automotive, sport, technology and people's everyday lives.

Benefits

Comprehensive paid time off benefits
Hybrid work model, where our team comes into the office a minimum of 3 days per week
Generous parental leave
Up to 4% safe harbor company 401k match
Comprehensive, low-cost health benefits
Work with a state-of-the-art product and deliver it to exciting and innovative brands
Learning and development opportunities that contribute to professional growth
A fun, engaging work culture
Be part of a mission-driven team that values agility, integrity, and excellence
Opportunity to contribute to large-scale, high-impact projects from day one
Dedicated personal growth & development through our GrowForward programme