Creative Lead

Job Introduction

Our Brand & Communications team is investing in the development of a new Creative Content Hub enabling us to centralise the development of all region, brand and segment content and campaigns. This is being developed in collaboration with our Marketing colleagues.

We’re looking for a Creative Lead who isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo, who can create bold and exciting concepts from briefs, deliver great creative outputs, and really get to grips with how to engage an audience and articulate messages and stories clearly.

Ideally, you’ll have worked in an agency environment as a Midweight or Senior Designer and you’ll have a high level of strategic ideation and understand how to transform a brief using some creative flair into ideas and concepts. You’ll work with both internal and external communications briefs, so you’ve got to be able to flip between the two and have a creative mind that can deliver solutions across a range of outputs including: branding, publications, illustrations, infographics, social media posts, animations, imagery, videos, and animated GIFs.

You’ll have some top tools at your disposal, including an Apple Mac equipped with the latest Adobe Creative Cloud software, and will work alongside an inhouse team (Studio Manager, Graphic Designer, Marketing Copywriter) with our team of freelancers and partner agencies – but knowing that you’ll have the ultimate responsibility as brand ambassador to keep projects on brand.

It isn’t often that a role like this comes up - where you’ll be expected to push the boundaries, challenge convention and use the ultimate power of creativity to communicate across such a large and complex organisation. You’ll of course have the support of the wider team, who can’t wait for you to get stuck in, and the backing of senior leadership to make a change.

This role will be based in our Salford Creative Hub with hybrid working available.

Role Responsibility

Creative solutions (80%)

• Work closely with the Studio Manager to support the UK&I Brand and Communications team, marketing teams, and a wide range of other internal stakeholders. Refining briefs for creative projects laddering up to business objectives including lead generation – discussing requirements, understanding target audiences, considering different options and leading the creative strategy in line with segment and region requirements.
• Continually challenging the norm, fostering collaboration and creativity.
• Develop bold ideas, creative concepts and campaigns that speak to the required audience (both internal and external) in response to agreed briefs, and articulate clearly to internal clients for their review and agreement.
• Support the Studio Manager in ensuring the Creative Content Hub delivers high-quality content based on agreed concepts – either using in-house capabilities and resources (Adobe Creative Cloud) or approved suppliers/freelancers – across branding, publications, film/video, animation and campaigns.
• Provide expert art direction and photo/video shoot direction (on smaller video projects where freelance videographers are used, as opposed to production agencies).

Supporting the Studio Manager in leading the Creative Content Hub (10%)

• Oversee the work of the Creative services team (inhouse, freelance and agency) ensuring high quality production across copy and design and an adherence to brand values and guidelines so that the service meets and exceeds the expectations of Marketing teams and other internal stakeholders.
• Providing support and guidance for colleagues within and outside of the B&C team.
• Support with the build and maintenance of a ‘shopfront’ for the function on the company intranet.

 Brand guardian (10%)

• Have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the Sodexo brand guidelines and champion to the business.
• Provide brand advice to internal stakeholders in response to enquiries received.
• Promote Sodexo Brand guidelines within the UK&I business, including developing new resources as needed.

The Ideal Candidate

What’s essential

• Demonstrable experience (in-house or agency) in a Creative Lead or equivalent role
• Strong creative thinking and motivation in a fast paced, ever-changing environment
• Advanced skills in Adobe Creative Cloud platforms (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator) Knowledge and proficiency in After Effects would also be advantageous.
• Creative flair, strong visual sense and exceptional attention-to-detail with strong typographic skills
• Awareness of emerging creative trends and design technologies
• Effective communication and written skills
• Ability to work to tight deadlines with a measured approach
• Good team working skills, keen to foster a collaborative creative environment where ideas are shared, and norms are humbly challenged

Where we can be flexible:

• B2B or specific industry experience
• Degree-level qualification in a design-related subject
• A network of creative professionals and/or knowledge of creative agency landscape
• Understanding of accessibility principles and guidelines
• Comfortable writing/contributing to creative slogans or campaign copy (although you will be working alongside copywriters)

Package Description

c.£36,000 per annum plus benefits and bonus

We also offer Sodexo Discounts site promoting discounted mobile phone tariffs, savings across restaurant chains and days out, where you and your family can save money on everything from your weekly food shop to the latest cinema blockbuster and much more

About the Company

In the UK and Ireland, Sodexo employs around 30,000 people, and partners with clients in many sectors across business and industry; schools and universities; sports and leisure; energy and resources; government and agencies; healthcare; justice and defence.

Sodexo’s connected; people-centric approach brings together a diverse range of expertise. The breadth of services it offers ranges from food and hospitality; cleaning; reception; concierge (Circles); security; property management and technical services through to data driven workplace strategy and design (Wx); employee engagement and recognition services (Sodexo Engage) and personal home services through Prestige Nursing + Care and the Good Care Group.  

Vital Spaces is Sodexo’s value proposition that puts people at the heart of everything we do, bringing together services and solutions and focusing on the productivity and wellbeing of people wherever they are.

Sodexo is committed to being an inclusive employer; we welcome and encourage applications from people with a diverse variety of experiences, backgrounds and identities.

We’re a Disability Confident Leader employer. We’re committed to changing attitudes towards disability, and making sure disabled people have the chance to fulfil their aspirations. 

We are building on our support to the Armed Forces community through the development of specific pathways within our recruitment process to  support ex-forces personnel and reservists, those applying for jobs with us who meet the ideal candidate criteria for the role advertised are guaranteed to progress to the selection process