Associate Creative Director

Golin is a global, award-winning public relations agency that helps companies create change that matters. Together, we discover powerful human truths that bind us, create with bravery, and collaborate inclusively and obsessively. Golin's 1700 global employees operate across 50+ offices worldwide, allowing us to provide our clients with comprehensive solutions for multi-market, regional and global communications programs.

Every agency is talking about AI. At Golin, we are using AI to rewrite the rules of PR. We’re even promising to become the first fully AI-integrated agency. We are committed to upskilling our workforce, democratizing access to tools, and integrating AI into our daily work to maximize the value we deliver to our clients. 

Our expertise ranges from brand-building and cutting-edge digital content to corporate reputation, healthcare advocacy and measurement. Golin aligns earned-first, data-driven creative with the customer journey through our collaborative G4 Model to deliver maximum impact for clients. Our roster includes many of the largest CPG, retail, food, healthcare technology and consumer service companies in the world.

About The Gig

Golin is hiring is hiring an Associate Creative Director to work across a portfolio of some of the world’s most famous brands. We're looking for a digitally native creative who can concept, oversee, create and deliver consistent, high-quality content at the speed of culture. This role requires someone who's equal parts technical producer and cultural savant - someone who can maintain an elevated, polished aesthetic while speaking fluent internet. If you live on social media, have impeccable visual instincts, and can spot a trend before it peaks, keep reading.

What You'll Do

• Lead the creative vision and execution of scroll-stopping, social-first content strategies that define internet culture trends while establishing visual and narrative standards across all brand touchpoints
• Direct and oversee high-volume content production, ensuring technical excellence in lighting, composition, color grading, and brand consistency at scale
• Provide creative direction and hands-on expertise in advanced editing techniques including seamless transitions, motion graphics, platform-specific formatting, and emerging content formats
• Anticipate and shape cultural moments before they peak, establishing the brand as a trendsetter rather than trend-follower through strategic content innovation
• Build and lead agile creative workflows that enable rapid concept-to-publish cycles (12-24 hours) while maintaining premium production standards across the team
• Craft and approve compelling, strategic copy that drives measurable engagement, community building, and brand affinity
• Architect creative solutions to complex production challenges, managing resources, budgets, and vendor relationships strategically
• Lead cross-functional collaboration with marketing, brand, partnerships, and executive leadership to align content strategy with business objectives and maintain cultural relevance

What You Have

• 7+ years of experience with demonstrated mastery across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, X, and emerging platforms - with proven ability to predict platform evolution and algorithm shifts
• Technical production understanding and expertise including lighting design, cinematography, audio engineering, and establishing scalable visual systems
• Refined aesthetic sensibility with a portfolio demonstrating both premium brand work and culturally resonant social-first content that drives business results
• Deep cultural intelligence spanning meme culture, internet trends, generational vernacular, and the strategic judgment to lead authentic brand participation
• Proven ability to lead teams operating at speed, building systems and processes that enable quality output without sacrificing agility
• Experience and ability to work with and present directly to clients
• Ability to translate feedback from non-creative clients into actionable edits and pivots
• Strategic project management skills including managing multiple workstreams, stakeholder expectations, and competing organizational priorities
• Comprehensive understanding of social platform ecosystems, creator economy dynamics, audience behavior patterns, and emerging content formats

Bonus Points

• Portfolio of award-winning or viral campaigns for Fortune 500 brands or top-tier creators with measurable business impact
• Proven experience leading client relationships, presenting strategic recommendations to C-suite executives, and defending creative vision
• Expertise in navigating legal, compliance, rights management, and brand safety considerations at enterprise scale
• Comfort directing on-camera talent and serving as creative lead when content requires it
• Expert-level proficiency across professional creative suite (Adobe Creative Cloud, CapCut, Canva, DaVinci Resolve, Cinema 4D, or similar)
• Portfolio demonstrating both technical mastery and cultural influence, with case studies showing strategic thinking and measurable outcomes

Salary Range: $94,000 USD - $165,000 USD

Golin has included the base salary range or hourly rate for this role. Actual compensation offered within the range will depend upon, among other factors: a candidate’s skills, qualifications, and experience; actual ranges for current or former employees in the role; and market considerations.

Golin is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Golin recruits qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, ethnic or national origin, protected veteran status, physical or mental disability,  sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or citizenship status.

2026 GOLIN. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy