Manager Creative at MultiChoice

Purpose of the Position

• To inspire, guide and review the delivery of effective creative work and creative experiences that connect people to our brand and our content in a way that is engaging, bold and memorable, and drives growth for the business.
• Manage and nurture the creative and mixed media team to deliver to the best of their ability, uphold the highest creative and strategic standards, and act as a driving force in building a diverse and inclusive team, fostering a collaborative agency culture that great people love to be a part of.

Key Performance Objectives

Tasks

Operational delivery

• Responsible for the consistency, direction and execution of all creative output, overseeing and approving a high volume of digital advertising, video, artwork, radio, social media and landing page/ Showmax platform communication.
• Guide the creative team’s creative and strategic thinking to deliver campaigns and assets that deliver on business objectives and build love for the Showmax brand and its content.
• Maintain a close relationship with marketers and other functions to ensure understanding of business-critical needs and maintain an open dialogue on creative campaigns.
• Creative passion to drive strategically-sound creative solutions for modern audiences on modern channels.
• Help drive idea-led digital creative solutions that utilise the full benefits of the addressable channels.
• Provide progressive creative leadership across the creative and production process to ensure best-in-class delivery.
• Confidence and ability to present to the Multichoice leadership team in a persuasive manner, able to justify ideas and motivate for what you believe is right, but open to input and consensus.
• Give frequent honest and constructive feedback to team members so that they can make the best of their potential and deliver to the best of their ability.
• Track performance of team members to fairly evaluate output and overall performance in the end-of-year performance evaluation.
• Work collaboratively with multiple other departments to align intentions, improve processes and deliver with excellence.
• Keep up to date with the competitor landscape so that our ideas are fresh and engaging, and we are standing out in our market.
• Ensure timeous delivery of assets to meet business objectives and strategic windows – this requires careful team and work-flow management, in partnership with traffic managers.
• Take a proactive approach to identifying creative opportunities to drive business growth.
• Proactively drive culture improvement, knowledge-sharing and an enthusiasm to build a well-loved streaming brand, and an admired advertising agency.
• Seek award-winning opportunities in creative projects and aim for work that, most importantly moves the needle for the business, but, secondarily, competes at creative awards.
• Apply a keen eye to design, art direction and copywriting craft. Guide the delivery of engaging and grammatically accurate presentations.
• Get involved in budgeting for creative resources.
   

People Management

Qualifications

• University Degree in a communications-related field or relevant qualification from an advertising college
• A Post-graduate qualification would be advantageous

Skills and Experience

• A minimum of 5-8 years high-end agency experience in all aspects of the ATL and digital comms mix including performance marketing and social.
• Minimum 2 years people-management experience.
• Knowledge of and passion for all social channels, including TikTok.
• Experience running a modern creative team.
• Experience with high-end art direction and video (commercial) production.
• Proven track record of innovative, stand-out work that has won creative or effectiveness awards.
• Must be an effective manager of people to ensure creative department is motivated and enthusiastic, able to empower teams to take on responsibility and be inspired about their work.
• Persuasive and articulate when it comes to directing or presenting, and inspiring confidence and trust in colleagues and leadership alike.
• Experience in entertainment a bonus but not essential.
• Experience with a digital tech brand a bonus but not essential.
• Experience advertising sports a bonus but not essential.
• Knowledge of middle market context and youth insights.
• Passion for local and international content.
• Budgeting experience a bonus.
• Manage team members to ensure effective delivery of business unit objectives.
• Develop a high performing team by embedding formal performance development and informal coaching.
• Encourage frequent knowledge sharing with team members.
• Determine and analyse development needs for the team and ensure that identified training requirements are budgeted for and executed.
• Interview and recruit new members of the team (including freelance/ISP resources), including determining appropriate compensation levels with input from HR.
• Create effective workforce and recruitment demand plans to ensure that current and future business requirements can be met.
• Approve leave requests for team members and create a leave plan to ensure adequate coverage.
• When required, initiate disciplinary processes for team members calling on support from HR when required.
• Resolve grievances raised by team members and escalate when required.
• Address poor performance of any team member through the formal Performance Improvement Programme and ensure that continued poor performance is appropriately dealt with.
• Motivate team members and ensure that their efforts are recognized.
• Establish and maintain a succession plan for the team.
• Capacity planning and process and workflow management.
• Communicate a vision that people get behind, building and sustaining pride and trust in employees and leadership.
• Ensure diversity in the teams you build, sustaining a fair and equitable approach to hiring, promotions and performance management. Fair, but firm in your feedback and drive for improvement.
• Encourage autonomy but provide the necessary guidance and mentorship.
• Ensure creative department is upbeat and enthusiastic through empowering teams to take on more responsibility, be inspired about their work, and invest in their own growth.
   

Technical Competencies

• Excellent team management
• Keen eye for great design and art direction, and ability to write proficiently without error
• Proficient in English and Zulu (other South African/African languages beneficial)