The Creative Director will partner with brand leads to guide creative and campaign development from ask to execution, collaborating with internal clients, and partners to craft programs that generate buzz, engage consumers, and drive business objectives. This individual will be responsible for being at the pulse of popular culture overall including a hyper local focus on the Indianapolis cultural landscape, identifying unique brand building opportunities and collaborations for our organization to capitalize upon. The ideal candidate has a balanced skill set of process with creative. They will bring a sharp eye for detail and deep experience in design and campaign development to help shape the creative vision, while being able to implement healthy structure and procedures to the creative process and efforts through our in-house creative team. As the Creative Director, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the creative direction of our brand while optimizing the way our team collaborates and delivers exceptional work.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Drive the development of efficient processes and systems that enhance creativity, streamline workflow, and elevate the quality of our creative output as we transition into an internal creative agency model within PSE.
• Oversee creation and management of process, procedures, forms, and project management for the creative team.
• Conceptualize and direct innovative, breakthrough multi-platform creative campaigns that evoke inspired, emotional responses from fans, partners and other key target audiences.
• Bring to life the Pacers, Fever, Mad Ants and PSE brands across visual representations including season campaigns, NBA tentpole programs, Diversity & Inclusion platforms, ticket sales initiatives and events.
• Collaborate with digital, social, video and game presentation teams to ensure flawless brand execution of brand concepts.
• Maintain aesthetic coherence amongst all consumer touchpoints and marketing materials, acting as a gatekeeper for quality & consistency across tone, voice and design.
• Collaborate with our revenue generating teams of Ticketing and Partnerships, ensuring that we are delivering upon objectives including customer acquisition and retention.
• Align with Brand, Analytics and Insights departments to leverage fan insights, market research and campaign performance data, to optimize creative output/strategy.
• Manage the creative team to oversee our creative calendar, align staff responsibilities, direct workflow prioritization and deliver campaigns on timeline/budget.
• Oversee process flow with key internal clients and external agencies, streamlining creative ideation, review cycles and the feedback loop with project stakeholders.
• Provide mentorship and ensure we maximize the capabilities of each team member.
• Establish clear guidelines, protocols, and best practices for creative projects from ideation to execution.
• Foster a collaborative and empowering work environment that encourages creativity, growth, and skill development.
• May be required to travel on rare occasions (<5% travel); trips may require air travel and/or overnight stay for one or more nights.
• Other projects and duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor degree, preferably in Graphic Design, Fine Art, Marketing, Communications, or a related field. Master's degree is a plus.
• A seasoned executive with proven experience (10+ years) of professional experience in a creative leadership role, preferably within an agency or in-house brand.
• Understanding of the Sports, Media & Entertainment side of creative execution a major plus.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) is preferable.
• Strong design sensibilities, with the ability to balance creative excellence with operational efficiencies in delivering best-in-class campaigns.
• Experience developing brand identities, logos and 360 degree integrated marketing platforms across multiple advertising and communication mediums.
• An intellectually curious, conceptual thinker and passionate visual storyteller.
• Great creative instincts with the capacity to deliver constructive & informed feedback, guidance, and support to team members to ensure individual and collective success.
• Exceptional storyteller, with a mastery of written & verbal communication including the ability to present compelling pitch materials for buy-in with stakeholders including senior leadership.
• An exemplary team player, skilled in cultivating meaningful, trust-based relationships.
• Strong process/project management skills with the ability to oversee and deliver projects on timeline.
• Capacity to excel in a fast-paced environment, proactively manage against various priority projects and support multiple stakeholders across the organization.
• Demonstrated success managing creative teams and individuals, while fostering a culture of openness and creative inspiration.
• Significant knowledge of industry trends, the overarching cultural landscape and how people engage with advertising/media.