Design & Creative-Lead

Overview
This role is for someone who leads by example and is equally comfortable setting creative direction and getting hands-on when required. As a Design & Creative Lead, you are not just managing work; you are shaping quality, safeguarding brand integrity, and ensuring predictable delivery within a team-based model.

You start the day with clarity by aligning with the Allocator, reviewing priorities, and knowing exactly what is in flight. Throughout the day, you stay close to the work: reviewing concepts, unblocking designers, joining critical calls, and ensuring that every deliverable moves forward with a clear owner and purpose.

Please note: CACTUS is a remote‑first organisation, and we embrace an accelerate from anywhere culture. You may be required to travel to our Mumbai office based on business requirements or for company/team events.

Responsibilities
Creative Direction, Quality & Craft

Provide clear creative direction across formats including print, digital, UI/UX, presentations, abstract visuals, and video storyboards, with a strong eye for aesthetics, usability, and storytelling

Guide the team toward stronger ideas through timely reviews, constructive feedback, and hands‑on intervention when required

Ensure every output meets a high bar for design, consistency, and execution. Review work early and often to avoid downstream rework

Take full accountability for what goes out, as the work represents the organisation, not just the individual

Delivery, Ownership & Accountability

Act as the single point of contact for assigned brands and stakeholders, owning outcomes end‑to‑end across quality, timelines, First‑time‑right (FTR), Zero‑Error‑Delivery (ZED), and utilisation

Assess scope, complexity, and effort accurately. Prioritise work to meet timelines without compromising quality, recognising that strong work delivered late still impacts outcomes

Ensure one clear owner per deliverable from start to finish, and avoid midstream reshuffles unless unavoidable, with proper handover and clarity

Team Enablement & Allocation

Align daily with the Allocator to set priorities and assign work. Maintain visibility across all tasks covering status, owner, ETA, and risks

Know when to guide and when to step in hands‑on. Enable skill development and maintain fair and balanced workload distribution within the team

Balance workloads proactively to avoid under‑ or over‑utilization. Look across teams to address capacity gaps before considering freelancers, and plan leave coverage to protect continuity

Brand Custodianship & Hands‑On Execution

Act as the brand's voice and custodian within the team, ensuring consistency across all creative outputs through shared templates, components, file‑naming conventions, and version control

Personally review critical work and step in to unblock, accelerate, or close work when needed. Stay close to execution at all times

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Qualifications and Prerequisites

Bachelor's degree or diploma in Graphic Design, Visual Communication, Fine Arts, or a related creative discipline, or equivalent professional experience with a strong portfolio demonstrating range across formats and brand work

6–9 years of design experience, with 2–3 years in a lead or senior creative role (within a studio, agency, or in‑house), and a background in pharma, life sciences, or medical communications is essential

Proven ability to lead creative output across print, digital, UI/UX, and presentation formats, with hands‑on execution capability to personally produce or finish work when required

Strong creative direction and critique skills; able to identify problems and guide solutions, not just flag issues

Excellent communication skills with the ability to articulate creative rationale clearly to both designers and non‑design stakeholders

Comfortable managing multiple brands and stakeholders simultaneously in a fast‑paced, structured delivery environment

Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, After Effects) and Figma; familiar with Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides for presentation design

Working knowledge of project and workflow management tools such as Asana, Monday.com, or similar. Awareness of AI‑assisted design tools including Adobe Firefly or Midjourney, with sound judgment on where and how to apply them responsibly

Equal Opportunity
Our hiring practices reflect our commitment to providing equal opportunities and creating an environment where everyone can thrive, develop, and succeed. We celebrate the uniqueness of our team members and prohibit discrimination of any kind, based on race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, or any other protected characteristic.

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