The purpose of the Manager- Creative & visual is to support the Senior manager – Branding and Visual Communications in progressively aligning all regional Co. activities with the brand strategy.

Key responsibilities are to help all businesses and functions to use the Brand Purpose to deliver a consistent and coherent sense of what the Co. brand stands for; and to implement the new Global Visual Identity across all expressions of the brand in all contexts.

The role will focus on building in house agency capabilities that will reduce our dependencies on external agencies and aim to increase service levels across stakeholders, ensuring faster turnaround times for requests and manage cost efficiencies.

With the responsibility of leading, managing and monitoring all internal creative content development and visual production, from inception to on-time completion of an in-house creative design and video department. This position will coach, develop and oversee internal and external team responsible for Job trafficking processes, obtain approvals, develop creative strategy, provide creative direction and manage the workload of the creative and video production team.

In addition to interfacing effectively with Brand, Digital, Events and Matrixed Business Unit Marketing contacts, this candidate must possess excellent leadership and organisational skills and qualities, be comfortable working in a deadline driven time sensitive work environment and capable of managing multiple projects with overlapping and/or conflicting timelines.

It is the Group’s objective to re-position the Co. brand to better support Business Strategy and to build the brand’s strength and value as a world-class global Masterbrand, with robust tracking and measurement of progress over time.

· Create an extension of the brandspace (global HO website) for Co. UAE , JAFZA and other BU’S for all the brand assets.

· Work closely with the brand strategy manager and ensure proper alignment with brand vision.

Assess the status quo of the brand and visual section in order to come out with solutions that can help strengthen the team and the services offered.

TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

· Strong project management and people management skills.

· Attention to detail: thorough and highly focused on all areas of work.

· Articulate & Effective communication: ability to communicate effectively to create a productive and cohesive workflow system

· Commercial awareness: ability to understand and grasp how the business works in order to achieve the business objectives.

· Planning and organizing : creating systems to manage resources and tasks.

· Time management: ability to plan and control how we achieve the section goals to stay organised and on track.

· Customer service orientation: ability to provide excellent customer service to internal and external stakeholders and clients.

· Flexibility: Agile and adaptable to change. Find creative solutions to problems

· Technology savvy: being up to date with current and future project management tools.

· Copy writing: impressive copy writing skills is a plus.

· Strong creative ‘player/coach’ with excellent organizational and people manager skills.

· Ability to coordinate and oversee creative team including art directors, copywriter, copy editor, production artists, videographer and print producer.

· Solid background in managing the production of photo shoots, design, layout principles, copywriting, and retouching

KEY RESPONSIBILITY

· Manage the team of creative graphic designers, videographers/photographers and Production.

· Working with the brand strategy team to produce new ideas for company branding, promotional campaigns, and other communications.

· Evaluating trends, assessing new data, and keeping up-to-date with the latest creative design tools and techniques.

· Supervise team performance, set team objectives and mentor team for their career development

· Create new policies, procedures and guideline documents to improve performance.

· Supervising the department's daily workflow, assigning project workloads, and monitoring deadlines and budgets.

· Directing brainstorming meetings and creative sessions

· Develop project plans and assign tasks and identify internal and external roles.

· Develop process, tracking and set periodical commercial evaluation & performance report for Sr. Execs.

· Create inspiring environment for internal and external stakeholders with can do attitude.

· Develop creative concept, initiatives, art direction and maintain brand guidelines in print, digital, films and branding in physical spaces.

· Developing exceptional and well-crafted copy that meet clients’ requirements.

· Manage development and governance of brand Guidelines, brand Assets and toolkits for distribution.

· Develop corporate videos concepts, storyboards and define style of execution.

· Create and produce documentaries and TVC’s .

· Assess filming and production requirements and supervise deliverables.

· Develop concepts, and provide creative art direction all creative concepts that are used in all visual communication mediums including print, video, events, branding, digital, social media, packaging, external events, B2B sales materials and retail creative needs.

· Assign projects, develop creative timelines for all defined creative needs and track and report development of all creative assets

· Communicate with respective internal client groups of any revisions to project timelines if dates are in jeopardy

· Oversee each phase of the internal and external approval process: including the approval of copy, layouts, final artwork, retouching, proofs and printed samples.

· Manage production schedules and creative output to support launch dates of seasonal marketing materials for internal team and external agencies.

· With appropriate creative lead, produce all photographic shoots and oversee post-production processes for all imagery.

· Accountable for managing and monitoring yearly creative services budget (operating budget, assets, contractors, photography)

· Provide detailed monthly budgetary status to departmental head.

· Assign all design tasks to creative staff members.

· Monitor and maintain quality standards for all creative department output

· Ensures that the creative team operates in an efficient and innovative manner

· Ensure that our creative output remains leading edge, ahead of our competition and within Brand standards

· Manage all external supplier/vendor related production and creative deliverables.

· Manage all internal assets developed such as collaterals and props, merchandising, physical and digital.

· Create a library of all historic, current and new digital assets and photos.

· Develop VIP giveaways guidebook and bring in new concepts for visual merchandising.

· Identify appropriate and efficient creative agencies to work with in order to close business gaps.

· Understand and immerse oneself with the organisational business of each BU and maintain a strong relationship with key internal stakeholders.