Nugget is hiring: Associate Creative Director in Durham

Team: Creative Services
Classification: Exempt
Job Type: Salary, Full-time
Location: Hybrid - Raleigh-Durham, NC or Atlanta, GA
Annual Salary: $109,500-$129,800*

OVERVIEW:

Nugget, a fun-loving, imaginative, direct-to-consumer kids furniture brand, is looking for a talented Associate Creative Director to conceptualize and execute innovative, outside-the-box content and programming that engages customers, builds community, and always stays true to our mission of "growing imaginations." This role will support and report to our Senior Creative Director and work with our in-house Creative Team on copy, content, and brand experiences. The ACD role requires the ability to generate creative ideas rooted in marketing strategy and the skills to direct, collaborate, and bring those ideas to life. If you've worked as an ACD, Creative Producer, or have experience in an Art Department with a strong strategic mindset, a passion for innovation and execution, and a desire to join a fast-growing company with a beloved brand, we encourage you to apply today!

Please note, for this role we are requiring portfolios / websites to be submitted with your application.

What is Nugget? We are an industry-leading, fun-loving, direct-to-consumer Play company (est. 2014) that brings homes to life with bold play and big imaginations. We design, develop, manufacture, sell, and ship our part-toy, part-furniture products (The Nugget - The Original Play Couch - and Chunk - The World's First Play Ottoman) with a team of ~100 Nuggeteers in Butner, North Carolina (just outside of Durham) and Atlanta, GA. And we're just getting started — in both 2020 and 2021, Inc. Magazine named us the fastest-growing manufacturing company in the United States, and we have new stuff up our sleeves. We're proud to continue the industrial legacy of North Carolina, and to make fun furniture for future astronauts, artists, architects, athletes, and – especially – active community members.

ABOUT THIS ROLE:

• Work directly with the Sr Creative Director, VP of Creative and Marketing leads to plan/concept our content calendar with a special focus on our owned channels (social, web, email).
• Partner with the Creative Services team and with external partners/vendors to execute content, acting as a pivotal linchpin that ensures the creative execution meets the communication brief and business goals. Provide guidance on photo and video shoots when necessary to ensure the creative vision is met.
• Stay on top of social communications and cultural trends, viewing them through a "Nugget lens" and directing creative work that marries these trends with our brand values to keep our content fresh and relevant.
• Become an expert on our consumer demographic and create content that keeps new and current Nuggeteers energized, engaged, and inspired.
• Manage a direct report: our Social Media Content Creator. Guide his/her workflow with your experience and technical knowledge, set goals, and provide ongoing feedback and support for his/her professional development.
• Create and deliver engaging presentations/pitches for our Marketing team to inform, inspire, and exemplify not only the creative ideas, but how those ideas tie back to strategy.
• Partner with our Marketing teammates to help refine processes that allow you and our internal Creative Team to do the best work possible, as well as refine communication systems to ensure cross-functional alignment.
• Complete regular Check-Ins, participate in 1:1 conversations, and complete Self Reviews within Nugget's 15Five platform to ensure consistent communication and feedback are shared.

ABOUT YOU:

• 4-6 years of experience in a Marketing/Communications setting, with a book or portfolio of thoughtful and innovative work that reflects that.
• Experience concepting, delivering, and executing creative campaigns for brands, with a specific focus on developing content and copy.
• Experience leading and managing still and video shoots, comfortable efficiently executing small-scale content in batches or on tight timelines.
• Keen eye for detail, ensuring that every piece of content meets brand standards and visual quality.
• Basic understanding of design fundamentals and comfortable and confident giving specific and constructive feedback to artists in the design and illustration space.
• Skilled at balancing and overseeing multiple concurrent projects, ensuring consistency and on-time delivery.
• Organized multitasker who can regulate your own workflow AND delegate to team members and/or freelance or vendor resources when required.
• Understanding of the digital marketing space.
• Bonus: Understanding of the unique needs of DTC companies (particularly consumer goods).
• Innately curious, always asking "what if", "why don't we" and "could we" - and know how to take an idea from concept to exceptional execution.
• Look forward to collaborating with others and get inspired by working with others to get results.
• Anticipate future trends, implications, and possibilities and translate them into creative strategies that show a clear connection between vision and action.
• Effectively organize and manage complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems and move projects forward.
• Enjoy creative problem solving – coming up with useful ideas and ways of thinking that are new, better, or unique, and taking those creative ideas and putting them into practice!
• Don't shy away from taking on tough assignments and can step up to address difficult issues – providing direct and actionable feedback to others and being willing to champion your ideas.
• Approach work with a "no job is too small" attitude, and have a curious mind - always willing to learn and grow your imagination.
• Able to travel between North Carolina and Georgia periodically as determined by business needs, with advance notice provided. This role will require travel up to approximately 8-10 times annually!

BENEFITS:

• Competitive Pay + Annual Company Bonus
• Medical, Dental, and Vision covered at 100% for employees
• PTO + Wellness, Holidays, Summer and Winter Break
• 401k Employer Match
• Paid Parental Leave
• Free Nugget and Free Chunk + Team Discount

Our compensation philosophy:

Here at Nugget we don't negotiate compensation. This comes from research that shows negotiations often result in arbitrary differences in pay – not based on differences in ability, but based on who is better at negotiating. For that reason, we like to offer the amount upfront that we believe is fair for the job, rather than offer a lower amount that builds in the expectation for negotiating. To add a bit more context, our process is centered in industry data, which factors in our stage/size of company, job classification, experience, and skill, to make sure that we have fair and transparent numbers for our regional market.

Equal opportunity:

Nugget is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and will consider all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital or family status, disability, gender identity or expression, veteran status, actual or presumed belonging to an ethnic group, or any other legally protected status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.