Creative Director Job at OK COOL in New York

Reports to: Head of Creative & Content

We are OK COOL. Strategic and (very) creative partners to the world’s leading brands. Built for social, targeting Gen Z and young millennials. Campaigns, content, creators. Global af. Our clients include some of the biggest, best brands on the planet.

OK COOL is seeking an exceptional Creative Director to lead the creative vision and execution of social-first campaigns, brand storytelling, and creator-led content across platforms. This role is accountable for shaping culturally relevant, platform-native work that connects brands to real audiences – especially Gen Z and Millennials – through bold ideas and best-in-class execution.

You will guide multidisciplinary creative teams from concept through launch, partner closely with Strategy, Accounts, Influencer, and Production, and serve as a senior creative leader with our clients. You’re a creative force and hands‑on leader: confident selling work, sharpening ideas, solving execution challenges, and inspiring teams to deliver work that moves culture, not just feeds the algorithm.

Candidates must be passionate about culture, social platforms, and brand storytelling, helping clients navigate the ever‑changing digital landscape while ensuring our work is creative, effective, and aligned with their goals.

Responsibilities:

Creative Direction & Vision

• Lead the end-to-end creative vision and execution for brand campaigns, social content, and influencer activations across platforms.
• Translate brand goals and cultural insights into innovative, platform-native creative ideas that drive engagement and impact.
• Own the creative bar across all deliverables, ensuring work aligns with OK COOL’s creative values, storytelling standards, and client objectives.
• Champion social-first thinking, ensuring ideas are native to TikTok, Reels, Shorts, and evolving digital ecosystems.

Concept Development & Storytelling

• Oversee concept ideation, scripting, visual storytelling, and narrative development from pitch through production.
• Push creative boundaries while maintaining brand integrity and social relevance.
• Lead cross-functional teams in shaping bold, culturally fluent work that lives seamlessly across formats, platforms, and channels.
• Elevate ideas through clear creative direction, thoughtful iteration, and strong storytelling craft.

Production & Execution Support

• Partner with producers, editors, and creative collaborators to bring concepts to life from pre‑production through final delivery.
• Ensure creative intent remains intact through all stages of production, including on‑set direction, creator collaboration, and post‑production review.
• Support production planning, budgeting, resource alignment, and content capture to enable efficient, high‑quality execution.
• Balance ambition and feasibility, guiding teams toward solutions that maximize creative impact while staying on scope, timeline, and budget.

Team Leadership & Collaboration

• Mentor, manage, and inspire a multidisciplinary creative team including writers, designers, art directors, editors, and content creators.
• Provide clear creative direction, actionable feedback, and professional development guidance to grow talent and elevate craft.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable creative culture rooted in curiosity, inclusivity, and high artistic standards.
• Partner closely with Strategy, Accounts, Influencer, and Production teams to deliver cohesive, insight-driven creative work.
• Ensure creative excellence and consistency across all outputs, from daily social content to large-scale campaigns.

Client & Stakeholder Engagement

• Confidently present creative work to clients with clarity, storytelling finesse, and strategic rationale.
• Build trusted client relationships, positioning yourself as a creative thought partner and cultural advisor.
• Guide creative discussions with clients around strategy, execution, platforms, and production tradeoffs.
• Collaborate with senior leadership on new business pitches, creative frameworks, and agency thought leadership initiatives.

Trend Leadership & Innovation

• Stay deeply connected to cultural trends, platform innovations, emerging creators, and evolving content formats.
• Translate cultural shifts into original creative opportunities for brands.
• Help define OK COOL’s creative point of view and push the agency toward continued category leadership.

Qualifications & Skills

• 8+ years of creative leadership experience across social, digital, or integrated brand campaigns.
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary creative teams and oversee end-to-end campaign development.
• Extensive experience creating social‑first, platform‑native work across TikTok, Reels, Shorts, and creator‑driven ecosystems.
• Strong client‑facing presence, confident in presenting, selling creative, and navigating feedback with diplomacy and authority.
• Deep storytelling skills across copy, visual systems, video narratives, and cultural concepts.
• Experience collaborating closely with producers to guide budgets, scopes, timelines, and execution decisions.
• Highly organized, decisive, and collaborative, able to balance creative ambition with delivery realities.
• Experience with fast‑turn, reactive content environments.
• Familiarity with emerging production techniques, UGC workflows, or lo‑fi creative models.
• Experience with influencer marketing or creator collaboration.

What Makes You a Great Fit

• You bring bold creative vision paired with execution credibility.
• You thrive in culturally driven, social‑first creative environments.
• You’re an inspiring team leader and generous collaborator.
• You know how to push work to be sharper, braver, and smarter, without losing the human lens.
• You believe creativity should connect people to brands, not interrupt them.

What’s in it for you

• Opportunity to be part of an awesome, small team of experts in social that value innovation, collaboration and excellence.
• Work with fantastic, world class brands.
• A flexible, supportive, and inclusive workplace culture.
• $170,000–$190,000 annual salary, plus comprehensive healthcare benefits and participation in a 401(k) program.
• 20 days PTO + sick days + 11 holidays + mini summer break + winter recess break.
• Primarily remote with occasional in‑person collaboration in office in New York City.
• Summer Fridays early closing between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

About OK COOL

OK COOL is a culture-first creative agency with teams in London, New York and Sydney. We specialize in social‑native storytelling blending strategy, creativity and creator partnerships to help brands show up authentically where culture actually happens.

We’re a collective of strategists, creatives and tastemakers who don’t just follow the zeitgeist; we shape it. From insight‑led campaigns to always‑on content and paid social, we turn brands into culturally relevant voices that people want to engage with.

If you want to join a team that moves at the speed of culture, and defines it, OK COOL is where ideas become impact. OK COOL is a company of the Residence network.

About Residence

Residence is a multidisciplinary network of companies with the shared vision of creating a thriving ecosystem to empower the creative community at large by nurturing rising talent, encouraging egoless creativity, and fostering community among its members. Including - Buck, Creative Lives in Progress (CLIP), Giant Ant, It's Nice That, Part and Sum, Wild and VTPro Design.