Creative Lead (Maternity Cover)

At Sipsmith, we have always been fuelled by people, purpose and occasionally by gin. In 2009, the Sipsmith founders Fairfax, Sam and Jared set out on a mission to bring gin back to its birthplace, London: to make it the way it used to be made, as it should be made. In turn, they created a legacy for what has become a global renaissance. The Sipsmith swan, the brand’s distinctive icon now seen around the world, started as an homage to the bespoke “swan’s neck” on the gin still, which gives Sipsmith gin its distinctive flavour and smoothness.

Since then, Sipsmith has grown by leaps and bounds, we have acquired new sites, new stills, and recruited new sippers around the world. In 2017 we joined forces with the Beam-Suntory family, a company which values heritage, craftsmanship and people as highly as we do, creating incredible opportunities for our people and brand.

In May 2021, we proudly became a B Corporation™ certified business and in turn articulated our long-term sustainability strategy of “Crafting a Better Future”, setting in motion a sense of purpose beyond profit in all that we do.

Meaningful change requires a great deal of hard paddling under the surface. We believe it’s our team here that drives our great culture, that makes our business what it is (on top of our world class gin). Our company values are the foundation of everything we do, and we work hard to ensure that everyone in the business loves what they do.

We like to think that we have created an incredible place to work: where you can be creative, autonomous, work with purpose and have fun at the same time. We’d love for you to come and join us.

Sipsmith is committed to building a culturally diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation, encouraging applicants from all backgrounds to apply for our opportunities.

We are looking for a Creative Lead to work on a 9-month fixed-term maternity cover, reporting in to Head of UK Marketing.

As Sipsmith’s Creative Lead you will be driving a team to develop world-beating creative across a diverse range of projects. The role sits within the UK Marketing Team, developing campaigns and creative for use in markets across the globe, but with a particular focus on the UK and USA.

At Sipsmith we utilise a mixed agency/in-house model so you will be just as at home managing design agencies as you will developing your in-house team and creating original work yourself.

We are looking for someone with plate-spinning brilliance who is able to ensure brand consistency across a wide variety of projects, with a resilient nature to thrive in a fast-paced environment.

This is a great opportunity to join Sipsmith at an exciting time in our growth as we launch with bold commercial plans, exciting partnerships and bags of opportunity for growth and development alongside our passionate team and our fantastic gin!

What you’ll do

• Take a key role in managing our brand identity, ensuring that our guidelines are fit for purpose across all touchpoints, and that our assets are always up to date.
• Give creative direction across a broad range of touchpoints, ranging from publications, digital and social media, emails, packaging, signage and much more.
• Challenge and inspire our agency partners to ensure that they are producing best in class work.
• Work alongside marketing and communication colleagues to deliver integrated communications across different business areas.
• Develop relationships across the business, understanding the various functions, and providing education on how the creative team can assist with their business goals.
• Content planning and supervising art direction with photography and video teams.
• Guide, develop and manage our in-house design team (2 direct reports).
• Develop a multi-disciplined talent pool of freelancers, ranging from designers, illustrators, artists and copywriters, complementing the in-house team.

What You’ll Need

• Be a design leader, with an impressive portfolio and experienced in management and development of other designers.
• A creative and entrepreneurial flair, with an engaged curiosity into how competitors and Sipsmith can bring the brand story to life.
• Experience in commercial/brand design – ability to understand brand strategy and interpret it into our design is critical. In-house design experience is preferable but not essential.
• An expert in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Figma. After Effects or Premiere Pro would be a plus.
• Excellent knowledge of print processes. Able to work with printers to ensure we achieve the desired results when printing, from packaging to POS.
• Strong presentation skills – ability to present and sell creative ideas to a diverse bunch of stakeholders.
• Experience managing, coaching and developing team members to deliver world class design.
• Strong organisational skills – the ability to manage multiple projects across tight timelines and prioritise team workloads during busy periods.
• Happy to get ‘hands dirty’ and get involved in all that is going on at Sipsmith.