Head of Creative

JOB SUMMARY:

We'll be honest with you: we're not entirely sure this person exists.

You're the creative director's creative director. The one the team looks to when the stakes are highest, the standard needs setting, and the work has to be undeniable. But here's the thing: you never stopped designing. You never stopped writing. You're still in it, still exceptional at it, and that's exactly what makes people want to follow you.

So if you're reading this and thinking "that's actually just... me," please keep going. We've been looking for you.

GhostRanch is a strategic presentation agency that helps the world's most ambitious companies communicate what they're building and why it matters. Every deck, keynote, and narrative we produce carries a point of view, a reason, and a standard of craft that most people in this industry don't even know to aim for.

The Head of Creative is the person who holds that standard and raises it. You're not a former designer who manages now. You're a maker who also leads. A storyteller who also builds systems. A strategist who can still open the file and show people what you mean.

If you've been waiting for someone to stop asking you to choose between craft and leadership, this is that job.

WHAT YOU OWN:

Design Leadership: Phenomenal Practitioner, Highest-Stakes Closer

We're not looking for someone who used to design. We're looking for someone who is still, right now, a phenomenal designer whose level of craft is genuinely inspiring to the people around them. This is someone the team looks at and thinks: “That's the standard. That's what I'm working toward.”

Beyond day-to-day creative direction, this person is our highest-stakes closer. When a pivotal client moment demands flawless execution, a make-or-break pitch, a marquee keynote, a presentation that has to be perfect, this is the person we call. They can step in, take over, and deliver at a level that most designers in this industry simply can't reach.

• Maintain exceptional, current proficiency in PowerPoint and Google Slides, and bring the kind of mastery that makes the team stop and take notes.
• Act as our creative closer for the highest-stakes client moments: step in, deliver flawlessly, and set a standard the team can learn from.
• Lead with taste: give design feedback that is specific, actionable, and rooted in deep craft, not just "this doesn't feel right."
• Serve as a creative lens on all major deliverables, ensuring work is not just polished but purposeful, strategic, and distinctly GhostRanch.
• Push the team to ask why before asking what, and model that thinking in your own work every time.

Narrative Strategy: Practitioner, Director, and Teacher

This isn't a "narrative strategy awareness" role. We want someone who can own narrative work from the ground up and who is equally equipped to lead and mentor others doing the same. You'll be the most senior narrative voice in the room, and that means being genuinely, demonstrably good at it.

On some engagements, you'll architect the story yourself: building the messaging hierarchy, shaping the audience journey, writing or editing the script. On others, you'll direct a narrative strategist or a creative lead through that process, guiding, pressure-testing, and pushing the work to a higher standard. Either way, you're the one accountable for whether the story actually lands.

• Own and execute narrative strategy for high-stakes engagements: messaging architecture, story structure and audience-first framing
• Lead and mentor our narrative strategists, helping them develop sharper instincts, clearer frameworks, and greater confidence in their craft.
• Actively coach Creative Directors and ACDs to think and lead narratively, making narrative fluency a compounding strength across the whole team, not just a specialist skill.
• Distill complex, jargon-heavy subject matter into stories that are simple, differentiated, and emotionally resonant.
• Critically diagnose weak narrative in a deck, a script, or a brief, and articulate exactly why it's not working and how to fix it.
• Potentially support speaker coaching and delivery refinement for high-visibility executives and events when the work calls for it.

Creative Vision & Quality Leadership

You set the bar for everything that leaves this studio. Not just aesthetics, but thinking. A "pretty slide" is table stakes here. What we're after is clarity, strategy, and emotional resonance working together, every time.

• Define, uphold, and evolve GhostRanch's creative vision and storytelling philosophy across every deliverable and discipline.
• Serve as a final creative lens on high-stakes and marquee work.
• Bring a point of view. We don't want a yes-person. We want someone who speaks up, makes the call, and can explain the rationale clearly.
• Partner with Creative Directors to shape approaches that balance innovation with efficiency and craft with speed.

Client Partnership & Business Growth

The best creative leaders aren't just great in the studio. They're trusted in the room. You'll show up in client relationships as a calm, strategic, deeply credible voice. You'll know when to push back and how to do it in a way that strengthens the partnership rather than strains it.

• Build trust with marquee clients through storytelling clarity, creative confidence, and genuine curiosity about their business.
• Step into challenging client situations with empathy and diplomacy, absorbing the heat and translating it constructively for the team.
• Represent GhostRanch's creative vision in new business opportunities and pitches.
• Partner with Accounts to spot creative growth opportunities: new formats, extended narratives, field guides, and partnership-deepening initiatives.
• Help shape how we package and message our creative offerings as we scale.

Leading the Creative Team

A title doesn't make you a leader. Showing up for your people does. You'll manage, mentor, and genuinely invest in our Creative Directors and the broader team. You'll roll up your sleeves when things get hard, and then you'll fix the system so it doesn't get that hard again.

• Lead, coach, and develop Creative Directors across presentation design, motion, content, and narrative disciplines.
• Handle all aspects of talent management: hiring, onboarding, performance coaching, accountability, and corrective action when necessary.
• Be the creative partner your CDs need when client situations go sideways, present, decisive, and advocating for the team.
• Help manage freelance and contract support, ensuring quality and cultural fit across every engagement.
• Track performance metrics and proactively adjust systems and support before the team hits a breaking point, not after.
• Foster a culture rooted in craft, ownership, experimentation, and FUN! We like to have a good time!

Systems Thinking & Creative Operations

You'll look beyond today's project list. You'll think about the pipeline, the team's capacity, and the workflows that either enable great work or quietly erode it, and you'll improve what needs improving.

• Collaborate with Operations, Accounts, and Leadership to build scalable creative systems, tooling, and workflows.
• Shape templates and methodologies that enable the team to move fast without sacrificing craft.
• Play a leading role in resourcing decisions and creative talent planning as GhostRanch grows.
• Identify new service innovations and future capabilities that keep us ahead of the curve, especially as AI reshapes the competitive landscape.

Thought Leadership & Public Presence

GhostRanch has a point of view on how the world's best ideas get communicated, and we need a Head of Creative who can put that POV on a stage. This person is a natural in front of a room: confident, engaging, and credible in a way that makes people want to work with us.

• Represent GhostRanch at sponsored events and industry moments, presenting, facilitating, and owning the room with confidence.
• Lead workshops for clients and prospects, translating our creative philosophy into experiences that build trust and demonstrate value.
• Contribute to content, case studies, and POV pieces that showcase our approach to strategic narrative and presentation design.
• Share industry trend awareness with the team and with clients, reinforcing our value as a long-term strategic partner, not a production shop.
• Help build GhostRanch's external reputation as the go-to studio for high-stakes storytelling and creative excellence.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

Narrative Strategist, For Real: You've built messaging hierarchies, written scripts, and structured stories for real audiences with real stakes. You don't just understand narrative strategy. You practice it.

Phenomenal Designer: You are, right now, an exceptional designer. Not "used to be." Not "can get by." The kind whose work makes people in the room go quiet for a second. You inspire the team by showing them what the ceiling actually looks like, and then helping them reach it.

Strategic Thinker: You solve problems, not just design them. You understand client objectives, business context, and why a specific visual or narrative approach serves or undermines the goal.

Humble Leader: Your title means you serve the team. You earn trust by rolling up your sleeves, leaving your ego at the door, and lifting others up, not standing above them.

Natural Presenter: You're at home on a stage. You can lead a room, run a workshop, give a talk, and make people feel like they just learned something. That energy translates to how we show up externally and how we grow.

High EQ: You read the room. You know when to push, when to absorb, and when to just listen. Clients and teammates feel genuinely seen by you.

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

Required:

• 10+ years of creative agency experience spanning both narrative/content strategy and presentation design
• Demonstrated ability to own narrative strategy work end-to-end: messaging architecture, story structure, and audience framing
• Exceptional, current hands-on design ability in PowerPoint and Google Slides, at a level that genuinely inspires a creative team
• 5+ years managing and coaching multidisciplinary creative teams
• Proven experience presenting publicly, leading workshops, or representing a brand or studio at events
• Proven experience in client relationships, high-stakes presentations, and new business pitching
• Calm, confident presence in high-pressure environments
• Bachelor's degree in Design, Communications, Marketing, Creative Writing, or equivalent experience

Strongly Preferred:

• Experience leading or mentoring narrative strategists
• B2B communication and executive presentation background
• Track record of teaching narrative thinking to designers or creative leads
• Proficiency in Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, and/or Keynote
• Experience contributing to account growth and creative service expansion
• A clear, considered point of view on AI's role in creative work
• Track record of building or improving creative operations and workflows

WHO YOU ARE IN THE ROOM

When a client situation gets hard, when the feedback is harsh, the relationship is fraying, or the work is being misunderstood, you're the person we want there. You're respectful but decisive. You push back diplomatically. You understand the client's perspective without losing ours. And when you walk back out, you've got something constructive to bring to the team.

When a designer is stuck, you don't just point. You show. When a narrative isn't landing, you don't just say it's not working. You explain why, and what to try instead. You lead from deep knowledge, not from altitude.

You don't walk in thinking you've already figured GhostRanch out. You take the time to learn our people, our processes, and the particular magic of what we do here, before you start changing things. Under-promise, over-deliver. Build trust slowly and earn it for real.

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods of computer-based work.
• Occasional travel for client workshops, pitch meetings, stage events, or GhostRanch team gatherings.

We are an equal opportunity employer

GhostRanch Communications provides equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.