ROLE: SENIOR ART DIRECTOR
TEAM: THE KITCHEN NORTH AMERICA
LOCATION: CHICAGO (HYBRID)
COMPANY OVERVIEW:
Welcome to The Kitchen by Kraft Heinz – the in-house agency taking marketing into a new era. With bases in Toronto and Chicago, we're not just a team; we're culinary pioneers blending culture, creativity, and collaboration. Join our 90+ member crew of Creatives, Strategists, Producers, Designers, and Content Creators. Together with our brand partners, we unlock creativity at the speed of culture, turning brands into icons with breakthrough social and digital ideas. Come be part of a team where passion meets innovation, crafting experiences that leave a lasting impression—one spicy idea at a time.
ROLE OVERVIEW:
As the team’s Sr. Art Director, you’re a key contributor of ideas, and the visual leader of a creative team dedicated to producing high quality content. Your work will stand out on social platforms and in the real world, driving conversation and headlines. You’ll be a leader to a team of social creatives, and a partner to a Writer who (like you) wants to make clever, disruptive work for iconic brands. You’ll partner with your team’s Creative Director, your writing partner and a team of designers and creators to innovate, and design ideas that break the norms and disrupt social media.
When the Kitchen isn’t reacting to cultural moments, it’s making its own moments: planning 365 days of culture: acts, content, thumb-stopping design, and interactions that breathe personality and life into amazing brands all year long. You’ll need a strong understanding of the best-practice design principles for Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, but you’ll also need to be comfortable breaking them with innovation that captures attention in new ways. Your experience in traditional mediums will help you raise the quality of work that we do and ensure we tell compelling stories. You’ll work at a pace that fits the dynamic needs of an agile agency, working quickly when needed to capture the moment, and taking the time to perfect ideas when the opportunity allows it. You’ll use your unique skillset and design eye to inspire others around you.
CORE RESPONSIBILITIES:
- ART DIRECTION: You are an experienced design leader who manages others to a level of visual quality that meets your own high standards. You have experience elevating others’ work.
- INNOVATIVE & TRADITIONAL DESIGN: You work in a wide range of mediums ranging from traditional video and photo content, real world design (experiential) and social media content.
- BRAND DESIGN: You steward the look and feel of iconic brands, ensuring they have a consistent look and feel online. You are the final voice in ensuring these brands have a consistent high-quality look and feel across all mediums.
- IDEATION: Participates in and occasionally leads brainstorms with positive energy and big-idea thinking – ability to think about how we can bring ideas to life visually, but also able to think broadly about big ideas and how they come to life. You understand how to spot a consumer or cultural tension point, and to find an idea that leans into it.
- PRESENTATION DESIGN: Manages a team to create compelling visual stories that bring ideas to life and gets hands-on as required to design those presentation decks that sell through big ideas. Develops storyboards and presentation decks that help preview the creative ideas we want to make.
- LEADERSHIP: Manages the career and development of a team of designers, including a direct report.
- COLLABORATION: Works as a part of a cross-functional design team, and as part of a larger creative team.
- WORKFLOW MANAGEMENT: Can manage multiple priorities and assignments in a fast-paced, active environment to deliver high quality work, on-time and with accuracy. Knows how to delegate work and manage a team’s capacity.
EXPERIENCE & SKILLS
- 5+ years of experience as a creative designer performing at an art director level, or experience as an art director with a proven track record of leading other designers and stewarding brands
- A broad portfolio that includes examples of work you have created yourself, as well managed a team to create alongside you. Your portfolio includes examples of ground breaking, innovative work, including examples of social media work that elevates the medium
- College or University diploma in Advertising, Graphic or Communication Design is preferred
- The ability to execute concepts at a level that is among the top tier in the industry
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills – both written and verbal
- Exposure to Art Direction, Photo Shoots, and UI/UX are an advantage
- Proficient using Mac OS, Adobe Creative Cloud (Expert knowledge of Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign), SharePoint, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (or Keynote)
The Kitchen, Kraft Heinz, and Salt are committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and to attracting and retaining the most qualified employees regardless of race, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age or disability.
