After playing at junior-level jobs for quite a while, it’s only normal for you to aspire for leadership roles. Leadership roles provide exciting opportunities to shape decisions, drive change and influence the work dynamic.
Although there are a plethora of them available, here are a few of the leadership roles suited to your abilities as a creative.
Read this: How to move into a leadership role in 2024
Leadership roles creatives can take on
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Creative Director
Creative directors are team heads at advertising agencies or in-house for the marketing department of a company. They work with the creative team, comprising writers, editors, and video editors, to create, plan and deliver marketing strategies for clients. Their job roles are, but are not limited to;
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Setting the creative vision for a project or brand
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Lead brainstorming and concept development. They also generate ideas and approaches to translate concepts into solutions
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Manage a team of designers, copywriters, and editors by providing guidance, mentorship, and feedback
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Maintain consistency in the visual and messaging elements across different platforms to reinforce the brand’s values and establish brand trust
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Stay up-to-date with industry trends, emerging technologies, and consumer behavior. Conduct research, analyze market insights, and apply this knowledge to inform creative decisions and strategies
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Connect with clients to understand needs, address sales concerns, and present creative concepts and strategies
Remuneration
According to salaryexplorer.com, creative directors make an average pay of N327,000 per month.
Career prospects
Creative directors are not limited to advertising agencies. Frequently, design studios, fashion houses, film production companies, and technology companies, also demand their services.
As more businesses continue to recognize the importance of strong creative branding and marketing, the demand for talented creative directors is expected to rise.
How to Become a Creative Director
Creative directors often start their careers as designers or copywriters and work their way up to leadership positions. With experience and a proven ability to deliver impactful and innovative work, you can advance within an organization to become a creative director, higher-level creative director roles, or even executive positions, such as Chief Creative Officer.
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Design Director
A Design Director is a senior-level role responsible for leading and overseeing the design department within an organization. Their primary role is to set the design direction, strategy, and vision of physical and digital products.
Working closely with cross-functional teams, they integrate design thinking into product development and innovation processes. Here’s what they do;
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Developing and implementing the design strategy that aligns with the organization’s objectives and brand identity
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Manage and mentor designers to ensure that their work is aligned with the strategic goals and objectives of the organization
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Handle staffing, resource allocation, and project management within the design department
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Collaborate with teams of product managers, engineers, and marketers to ensure that the design solutions support the product or service vision
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Offer creative direction and critique to designers
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Conduct market research, user research, and trend analysis to identify design opportunities and inform the design strategy
Remuneration
For many design directors, N350,000 on a monthly basis is fair pay.
Career Prospects
After attaining considerable expertise and experience, a design director can go on to hold senior design directors, creative directors or design strategists role
How to Become a Design Director
Typically design directors start off as graphic designers or UI/UX designers. After a number of years of acquiring expertise about the rudiments of the design team, UI/UX designers can go on to head design teams.
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Brand Manager
Brand managers are responsible for managing and promoting a brand by leading brand strategy development and brand guidelines while maintaining alignment with the organization’s goals and objectives. As a brand manager, you play a crucial role in developing, implementing, and maintaining a consistent brand identity across all touchpoints. Here is what the job scope looks like;
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Collaborate with creative teams, marketing departments, and executives to align brand positioning with business objectives
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Develop brand strategies that define the brand’s positioning, target audience, and value proposition
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Maintain and evolve the brand’s visual identity, including logos, colors and typography
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Collaborate with marketing and communication teams to create consistent and compelling brand messaging across social media channels
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Ensure consistency in brand representation by providing guidance to internal and external stakeholders on how to use the brand assets, maintain brand voice, and adhere to brand values.
Remuneration
According to grabjobs.co, brand managers make approximately N267,000 on a monthly basis.
Career prospects
Thinking long term, as long as companies continue to exist, brand management is a service that would always be in demand. After acquiring a measure of experience, brand managers can advance to become senior brand managers, brand directors or even product marketing managers.
How to Become a Brand Manager
The typical route to a career in brand management is to have some form of marketing knowledge acquired through a degree or online courses. After obtaining basic marketing knowledge, branding knowledge can be attained by indulging in online courses.
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Creative Strategist
Professionals who bridge the gap between creative thinking and strategic planning to drive business outcomes are called creative strategists. They combine their knowledge of marketing, advertising, and design with strategic insights to develop innovative solutions that fulfill the needs of the customer base. This is what they do;
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Conduct in-depth research and analysis to gain a deep understanding of the target audience, market trends, and competitors
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Develop strategic plans and frameworks that align with business goals by outlining the messaging, positioning, and tactics required to achieve success
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Create comprehensive briefs that outline the project goals, target audience, key messages, and brand positioning. These briefs serve as guidelines for creative teams, ensuring that their work is aligned with the strategic direction
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Contribute to the development of marketing campaigns and initiatives by providing insights and ideas for campaign themes, concepts, and execution
Remuneration
According to glassdoor.com, creative strategists make an average of N344,000 per month.
Career Prospects
As businesses strive to differentiate themselves in competitive markets, the demand for creative strategists is on the rise.
After a garnering experience of about 5 years, creative strategists can advance to become creative strategy managers, innovation strategists, and brand strategists.
How to Become a Creative Strategist
By starting off as a copywriter, you can work in-house with an organization to understand the principles of creative thinking and strategic planning and their influence on business outcomes. At first creative thinking and strategic planning may not seem so intertwined but after immersing yourself in a wealth of knowledge on both, you can bridge the gap between the two fields and advance to a creative strategist position.
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UX Design Director
A UX (User Experience) Design Director is a senior-level role that focuses on leading and overseeing the UX design efforts within an organization. They are responsible for setting the strategic direction, vision, and standards for UX design. key responsibilities are;
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Define the overall UX design strategy and vision for the organization while maintaining alignment with business objectives and user needs
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Lead and guide UX designers and the UX design team by mentoring team members, setting priorities, and allocating resources effectively
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Oversee the research process and ensure that user needs, behaviors, and preferences are understood and incorporated into the design process
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Promote the value of user-centered design, usability, and accessibility to stakeholders to ensure UX design teams are given the freedom to have a say in the final version of a product
Remuneration
A good salary for a UX design director is pegged at N325,000 per month.
Career Prospects
The relevance of UX design in the future is expected to increase significantly as businesses continue to recognize the value of delivering exceptional user experiences. After working as a UX design manager for a while, you can proceed to a role as Head of UX, Senior UX design director, Design and innovation executive, or UX design consultant.
How to Become a UX Design Director
Start off by becoming a UX designer. Gain considerable skillful ability through practice by working for an organization. Together with continued learning through online courses, you can become promoted to the position of UX design director.
Conclusion
If you’re like most people, 2023 is the year you desire to branch out and experience new things. Leadership roles allow you to combine your creative skills with strategic thinking, team management, and business acumen. They provide you the opportunity to leave a footprint on the success stories of organizations.