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Group Creative Director

Marks, an sgsco company, Portland, OR, United States


About the Company

Marks is a consumer experience agency creating meaningful connections between brands and people across the brand spectrum. We design experiences that move at the speed of culture while delivering real business impact.

Our Brand Experience team brings brands to life through connected experiences that span environments, content, and culture. We think beyond individual touchpoints, shaping how brands show up across an ecosystem of interactions to create meaningful, lasting connections

About the Role

The Group Creative Director is a senior creative leader responsible for defining and delivering best-in-class brand experience across a portfolio of clients and teams.

This role leads a book of business, owning creative output, team leadership, and client partnership, while shaping ideas that translate into high-impact experiences across environments, campaigns, and connected touchpoints.

Operating at multiple altitudes, setting vision, guiding design strategy, and driving execution. You build strong teams, create clarity and momentum, and earn the trust of clients as a true creative partner.

This is a role for someone who knows how to turn strong ideas into real outcomes, where the work not only inspires, but performs.

Location: Portland (Hybrid)

Role Expectations

Creative Vision & Portfolio Leadership

Set and champion the creative vision across a portfolio of brand experience projects
Define experience-led ideas, not just executions
Ensure work is strategically grounded, creatively strong, and executed with high craft
Guide teams to design for Think, Feel, Do, creating clear and engaging consumer journeys
Deliver Moments that Matter, while evolving thinking toward more connected and scalable experiences
Team Leadership & Development Lead, mentor, and develop Creative Directors, ACDs, and multidisciplinary teams
Create clarity, standards, and momentum across the workstream
Know when to push, when to edit, and when to empower teams to run
Build a culture of ownership, collaboration, and creative ambition
Scale leadership, enabling teams to do their best work without creating dependency
Client Partnership & Strategic Influence Act as a senior creative partner to key clients
Translate business challenges into compelling brand experience strategies
Lead presentations, guide feedback, and drive confident decision-making
Build trust that leads to deeper partnerships and new opportunities
Partner closely with Account and Strategy leads to grow the business
Drive The Business Own the creative success of a workstream and its portfolio of clients
Partner with the Senior Account Director to ensure the health, performance, and creative impact of the book of business
Contribute to growth through proactive thinking, strong relationships, and new ideas
Balance creative ambition with real-world constraints such as budgets, timelines, and production realities
Identify and unlock opportunities to expand the work, the relationship, and our capabilities
Evolve The Work Deliver excellence in today’s Brand Experience work across environments, retail, and activations
Stay attuned to what drives engagement, participation, and cultural relevance
Thoughtfully integrating digital, content, and technology where it enhances the experience
Help teams evolve toward more connected, shareable, and measurable experiences without losing focus on core strengths
Push teams to think beyond the build, designing experiences that drive participation, content, and connection beyond the moment
The Ideal Person A proven creative leader with deep experience in brand experience, retail, and environments
Equally comfortable setting vision and driving execution
A strong point of view paired with the ability to listen, adapt, and lead through complexity
A leader of leaders who builds trust, clarity, and momentum across teams
A client-facing presence who earns confidence and becomes asked for by name
A systems thinker who understands how ideas scale across formats, channels, and environments
Curious and forward-looking, aware of evolving consumer behaviors and experience trends
Grounded and pragmatic, you know how to make ideas real
You Bring Bachelor’s Degree in Design, Art, Marketing, Communications or related field
Advanced degree (MBA, Master’s) preferred or equivalent combination of education and experience
12+ years of experience in creative roles, with senior leadership experience
A strong portfolio of brand experience work across retail, environments, events, and activations
Proven experience leading teams and complex projects across multiple workstreams
Expertise in developing ideas that translate from concept through execution
Strong presentation and communication skills
Fluency in design and presentation tools such as Adobe Creative Suite, Keynote, and Figma

About Propelis: Propelis is a portfolio of global marketing services and technology companies with a combined legacy of 150+ years, 2,000+ clients, 9,000 employees, and operations across 30 countries. Propelis provides the scale and support of a global organization while preserving the unique culture and identity of each company in its portfolio. For more information visit: www. MakeMarks.com

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets. The U.S. pay range for this position is $160,000 USD - $170,000 USD annually. Ultimately, in determining pay, we will consider the successful candidate’s location, experience, and other job-related factors.

Group benefits currently include a selection of health care plans with prescription drug coverage, dental plan, vision plan, basic and supplemental life insurance, a flexible spending account for medical and dependent care expenses or a health savings account based on plan selection, short/long term disability and 401(k) Savings Plan.

#LI-SM1 #LI-DNP

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

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For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.