Associate Creative Director (Art Direction, Design)

Job Description

The Communications, Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility (CMCSR) group at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina supports our company’s mission to improve the health and well-being of our customers, our communities, and the future of health care in our state. Marketing and creative play a critical role in advancing this goal by driving business results, strengthening our brand, and communicating the need for positive change in a system that affects millions of people.

Our Creative group is at the heart of this work. We use strong ideas and design to turn complex challenges into work that is clear, human, and relevant. We are looking for an Associate Creative Director (Art Direction and Design) to join our cause. One who will use deep experience in concept, craft, and leadership to elevate our brand, push thinking forward, and inspire teams to do their best work.

This role is perfect for a seasoned creative who thrives at the intersection of concept and execution, enjoys building ideas as much as building people, and is excited to apply agency-level thinking to in-house work. You will lead and mentor creatives, shape integrated campaigns across channels, and help set the creative bar for our industry.

At Blue Cross NC, we’re making health care better for all – by listening deeply, challenging what’s possible, and putting care at the heart of everything we do. Join a purpose driven team where ideas spark change, growth is encouraged, collaboration fuels impact, and you’re supported with the flexibility and trust to do meaningful work. 

Please provide a link on your resume or on your candidate profile to your online portfolio highlighting a strong portfolio of conceptual thinking paired with smart, well-crafted design.

What You’ll Do 

• Become an expert on our brand and its voice, visual expressions, and guidelines. 

• Immerse yourself in our business segments to understand their challenges, opportunities, and audiences. 

• Generate new and compelling creative strategies and ideas to meet creative, business, and brand objectives. 

• Find fresh ways to tell the Brand’s story in new and existing channels and innovate within established brand guidelines. 

• Direct and develop inventive, breakthrough, and strategically sound content and campaigns. 

• Lead the development of concepts, design, and artistic expressions (photography, illustration, video, etc.) across advertising, collateral, digital, and social channels for our B2C and B2B audiences. 

• Oversee creative teams from idea to final deliverables to meet marketing strategies and objectives – ensuring the quality of concept, design, and brand compliance. 

• Inspire and mentor the creatives assigned to you as direct reports – both writers and designers. Manage their careers and professional growth through one-on-ones, performance reviews, and mentorship. 

• Manage and direct photo and video shoots when needed. 

• Work with project managers to develop scopes (timing, vendor, etc.), set priorities, and manage workloads to ensure project completion within agreed upon budgets and timelines. 

• Work closely with strategy and creative leaders and teams to ensure visuals and copy are strategic and tailored to best practices across channels. 

• Present your work and build buy-in with marketing teams and business partners. 

• Partner with marketing, strategy, business and project management leads to ensure input is properly solicited to inform the work and ensure team success. 

• Monitor the external environment across the healthcare industry and the ad industry to identify and act on market competition, insights, trends, and opportunities. 

• Build relationships across the marketing division and business segments to foster collaboration, and bold thinking. 

• Help us use AI to increase the team’s effectiveness and output. 

• Report to the Director of Creative. 

What You Bring  

• Bachelor's degree or advanced degree  

• 8+ years of experience in related field

• In lieu of degree, 10+ years of experience in related field 

What We Like  

• 2+ years managing direct reports, strongly preferred

• Proven concept, art direction, design, and leadership across brand, advertising, social and digital communications 

• A strong online portfolio demonstrating conceptual ability and design craft 

• Health care and health insurance experience is a plus but not required.  

• Proven experience delivering integrated campaigns across print, digital, video, email, etc. are strongly preferred. 

• Experience with both in-house teams and mid-sized to large ad agencies a plus. 

• Experience in web design platforms (Figma) with light development and UX skills i a plus.  

• If you’ve won industry awards or honors, please share them. 

• Deep competency with Adobe Creative Suite  

• Excellent brainstorming and communication skills  

• A strong grasp of how to communicate with audiences across the ever-evolving digital landscape (including capabilities, trends, and best practices for major social platforms and AI)  

• Some initial experience in using AI for daily tasks and visual communication 

What You’ll Get   

• The opportunity to work at the cutting edge of health care delivery with a team that’s deeply invested in the community   

• Work-life balance, flexibility, and the autonomy to do great work   

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage along with numerous health and wellness programs   

• Parental leave and support plus adoption and surrogacy assistance   

• Career development programs and tuition reimbursement for continued education   

• 401k match including an annual company contribution   

• Learn more  

Where You’ll Work

Our Hybrid Flex approach is built on presence with a purpose – giving you flexibility to work remotely with intentional in-person connection – that supports a workplace that’s flexible, connected, and future focused.

In a Hybrid-Flex role, you’ll work in the office at least two days a week for collaboration and connection. In a Remote Flex role, you’ll work virtually, with a few in-office visits each year for meaningful moments that matter.

Whether your role is Hybrid Flex or Remote Flex depends on the nature of the work and distance from our Durham headquarters. We welcome candidates from outside the local area and in any states listed on this job posting. Onsite expectations will be discussed during the interview process.

Salary Range

At Blue Cross NC, we take great pride in a fair and equitable compensation package that reflects market-price and our starting salaries are typically planned near the middle of the range listed. Compensation decisions are driven by factors including experience and training, specialized skill sets,  licensure and certifications and other business and organizational needs. Our base salary is part of a robust Total Rewards package that includes an Annual Incentive Bonus*, 401(k) with employer match, Paid Time Off (PTO), and competitive health benefits and wellness programs. 

*Based on annual corporate goal achievement and individual performance.
 

$107,901.00 - $172,642.00

Skills

Advertising, Brand Development, Brand Management, Brand Strategy, Content Strategy, Creative Directing, Digital Marketing, Marketing, Marketing Communications (MarCom), Marketing Programs, Marketing Strategies, Media Planning, Strategic Planning, Strategy Development

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