Creative Director

About ONA

ONA is an independent creative agency focused on brand strategy, brand identity, creative concepts, graphic design, video and photo production, content strategy, and brand experience. The agency works with a range of high-profile clients across sports, culture, wellness, and women-led businesses. ONA believes sport helps unlock human potential, culture fuels creativity, and exceptional people are the foundation of exceptional work.

Role Overview

ONA is hiring a Creative Director in Los Angeles for a full-time role. This position serves as a key creative leader, shaping the overall creative direction for internal teams and client partnerships. The ideal candidate is deeply interested in sport and culture, thinks conceptually, and is willing to push beyond conventional ideas while keeping work aligned with client goals, creative quality, delivery timelines, and business performance.

The Creative Director will report to the Founder and Executive Creative Director.

What You Will Do

Lead creative vision across projects and campaigns by turning business goals into work that resonates with varied audiences and delivers measurable impact.

Guide storytelling across a wide range of channels, including digital, paid and organic social, print, out-of-home, motion/video, and live or physical experiential activations.

Track local and global trends, audience behavior, brand performance, and competitor activity to uncover timely, culturally relevant opportunities.

Develop strategically grounded concepts and convert them into strong presentations such as whitepapers, concept decks, and pitch materials that you can confidently explain and defend to clients.

Review and approve art, copy, and design outputs to ensure they support marketing objectives, maintain quality standards, and remain commercially viable.

Jump in as a hands-on contributor when needed and help bring ideas to life alongside the team.

Direct, coach, and motivate internal and external creative partners, including designers, writers, social specialists, directors, photographers, videographers, and editors.

Support team growth by understanding development needs and building a collaborative, proactive environment that attracts and keeps strong creative talent.

Work with operations and project management to prioritize assignments and manage resources for both immediate and longer-term agency needs.

Act as a strategic creative partner to clients, build trust, work closely with account leadership, and identify opportunities for client growth.

Contribute to new business efforts and agency pitches, representing the creative department with an entrepreneurial mindset.

What You Bring

You should have at least 8 years of relevant experience as a Creative Director in a fast-moving agency or brand setting, with a strong background in copywriting, art direction, graphic design, or production.

You need advanced knowledge of digital channels, paid and organic social media, print, and experiential or physical brand design.

You should be a highly conceptual thinker and strong storyteller who can balance large-scale strategy with detailed execution.

Strong presentation and communication skills are essential, including the ability to pitch ideas and defend creative decisions to senior clients.

You must have a track record of leading, inspiring, and growing junior and mid-level teams while staying budget-aware and deadline-focused.

A strong interest in current trends, design, sport, culture, and technology is important, along with the ability to identify meaningful consumer insights.

Required tools and platforms include Adobe Creative Suite, Keynote, Google Workspace, Box, Figma, Slack, and Monday.com. Experience using generative AI for early ideation and workflow support is required.

Compensation

The annual pay range for this role is $140,000 to $190,000. Final compensation will depend on relevant knowledge, skills, and experience.