Senior Art Director

About Us

Since we were founded in 2007, It’s Nice That has become the leading platform to inspire creativity around the world. Across our online platform, and through our events and social channels, we reach an audience of over 8.3 million people every month – from juniors joining the industry to creative thought leaders.

As well as covering inspirational work and projects, we harness our creative expertise to help brands communicate their messages and products to our creative audience. This takes the shape across online advertising, brand partnerships, creative insights, experiences and social creators. We work with brands of all scales, from local start-ups through to global companies such as Spotify, Apple, The LEGO Group, Vans, BBC and many more. Across all our projects, we look to produce high-quality creative and campaigns to engage audiences across our channels.

The Role

As the most senior member of the creative team, you will play a critical role in defining the quality and craft of It’s Nice That’s commercial and platform output. You will bridge the gap between high-level strategy and final execution, translating insights and narratives into work that drives impact for the It’s Nice That’s varied projects. This role matters because you are the guardian of the standard, ensuring that whether a project is built by our internal team or a curated network of freelancers, the final result is always innovative, polished, and on-brand.

Reporting to the Head of Content, you will lead a close-knit creative team, directly managing and mentoring a midweight creative and a junior designer. This is a player-manager position where your leadership extends beyond the desk; you will act as the lead in the creative team, as well as selecting and directing a roster of freelancers to deliver work. You will empower your team to focus on their strengths, while you provide the art direction, visual strategy, and final quality control that ties it all together.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the guardian of visual excellence, ensuring all output meets the It’s Nice That standard across its visual TOV.
• Lead creative process across commercial projects, working closely with creative, project management, editorial, digital and new business team members.
• Contribute ideas for Insights content and trend reports.
• Guide creative execution for It’s Nice That platforms projects across editorial, social media, events and other initiatives.
• Establish and maintain relationships with both emerging and established names within the creative industry, developing freelancer and collaborator networks.
• Fulfil the most important projects and achieve great results through others, overseeing and analysing effectiveness and performance of creative work.
• Manage creative team, set and review targets, nurture improvements in performance and skillsets.

What We’re Looking For

Skills

• Able to translate strategic insights and briefs into clear, compelling visual ideas.
• A deep knowledge of industry and the trends, talent and creative culture.
• Expertise in sourcing, briefing, and art directing external freelance talent (from illustrators to motion designers) to get the best out of them.
• High-level proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud and creative software with a keen eye for typography, layout, and image selects.
• Confident in presenting creative work to clients and internal stakeholders, able to clearly justify design decisions with commercial logic.
• Ability to give constructive technical and conceptual feedback that helps junior team members and freelancers improve their work.

Experience Level

• Experience leading creative projects from initial concept through to final delivery, ideally within an agency, design studio, or editorial environment.
• A proven track record of managing, mentoring, or supervising creative team members or junior designers.
• Experience overseeing external contributors or managing a freelance budget to deliver projects.
• Experience working on commercial partnerships or brand collaborations is highly desirable.
• Demonstrate a genuine engagement with the wider creative industry, staying informed on emerging talent, trends, and visual culture.

Behaviours and Mindsets

• Takes ownership of the final output, proactively identifying and fixing visual issues before they reach the client.
• Comfortable bridging the gap between strategy and design, working closely with team members to visualise their ideas.
• Happy to switch contexts between creative direction (briefing a team) and hands-on execution (polishing a pitch deck) as the project requires.

Growth Potential / Transferable Skills

• We value a strong eye and leadership potential over a linear career path. We’re open to candidates who have transferable skillsets from previous job types.
• We are open to candidates from different creative disciplines who can demonstrate the ability to apply their visual taste to our specific mix of commercial and platform projects.

Benefits

• 27 days annual leave, along with a Christmas shutdown period of 4 days
• Flexi-time hours
• 20 days Remote Work from Anywhere
• Enhanced sick leave
• Mental health support via our EAP
• Health cash plan
• 5 week paid sabbatical after 5 years
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Learning and Development programmes

What to Expect from the Process

We aim to keep our recruitment process clear and fair. Here's what it should look like:

• Applications close: 26th Jan 2026
• First round: w/c 9th Feb
• Final round: w/c 16th Feb in person interview at our studio in London with the hiring manager and another team member. There may be a short task involved (1 hour)
• Decision & offer: w/c 23rd Feb
• Start date: Ideally April / Early May