Associate Creative Director, Art

VML

Department: Creative

Location: Kansas City, MO, United States

Requisition ID: 7293

Who We Are:

At VML, we are a beacon of innovation and growth in an ever-evolving world. Our heritage is built upon a century of combined expertise, where creativity meets technology, and diverse perspectives ignite inspiration. With the merger of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson, we have forged a new path as a growth partner that is part creative agency, part consultancy, and part technology powerhouse. 

Our global family now encompasses over 30,000 employees across 150+ offices in 64 markets, each contributing to a culture that values connection, belonging, and the power of differences.  Our expertise spans the entire customer journey, offering deep insights in communications, commerce, consultancy, CRM, CX, data, production, and technology. We deliver end-to-end solutions that result in revolutionary work. 

About the job

Who We Are

At VML, we are a beacon of innovation and growth in an ever-evolving world. Our heritage is built upon a century of combined expertise, where creativity meets technology, and diverse perspectives ignite inspiration. With the merger of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson, we have forged a new path as a growth partner that is part creative agency, part consultancy, and part technology powerhouse.

Our global family now encompasses over 30,000 employees across 150+ offices in 64 markets, each contributing to a culture that values connection, belonging, and the power of differences. Our expertise spans the entire customer journey, offering deep insights in communications, commerce, consultancy, CRM, CX, data, production, and technology. We deliver end-to-end solutions that result in revolutionary work.

Who We Are Looking For

VML is seeking a brilliant Associate Creative Director, Art to join our world class creative team: A next-level conceptual thinker and artist who knows all when it comes to creating work that demands attention. You should be able to work independently as well as collaboratively - owning a project with some oversight, without hand-holding. Client relationship and presentation skills are expected.

We're looking for someone who can do the job, and then surprise us with something we've never thought of with both confidence and inspiration. Someone who possesses a talent for transforming great ideas into award-winning creative, and has a passion for bold storytelling through beautiful craft and tactful execution

What You'll Do

  • Client | Partner with Account Leadership to oversee the translation of our clients' vision into a roadmap that will achieve client goals, while generating work that is creatively brilliant, measurable and has a cultural impact. You'll be the point person for all day-to-day client communications across multiple teams.
  • Team | Manage, inspire and motivate project, product and development teams for the new .com experience. Review team deliverables. Provide strategic oversight and ensure the work gets noticed, used and appreciated.
  • Process | Drive profitability at scale within the teams and as POSSIBLE sells in new offerings. Find innovative ways to build new best practices.
  • Create | Ideate constantly and be passionate about bringing new ideas to every brief, tactic, execution, and conversation.

Who You Are

  • A builder | Entrepreneurial attitude couple with a strong business acumen. Ability and appetite to bring people together. Innate ability to marshal people and create gravity around ideas.
  • Creatively Brave | Passionate about the power of creativity with the knowledge to identify and nurture the best ideas. Adapts to solve clients' challenges. Creates visuals for multichannel initiatives, presentations, and other projects.
  • Ambitious | Continuously re-imagines how to partner with clients to build better futures for their business; pro-actively seeks out new opportunities and lateral ideas to solve clients' biggest business issues. You know what you like, what you're after, and how to navigate any scenario that comes your way.
  • Ego-less | We all wear the hats that need wearing- it's a mentality that makes the team successful.

What You'll Need

  • A minimum of 5 years of experience in a creative agency with a minimum of 3 years of client-facing experience
  • Specific experience managing complex website builds with multiple work streams, and familiarity working in an agile environment
  • Passion for building relationships that result in new, profitable revenue opportunities as well as driving incremental growth on existing work
  • Proven ability to negotiate Statements of Work and contracts - effectively forecasting and scoping work with teams in close collaboration with Project Management.

What We Offer

  • Passionate, driven people | We champion a culture of people that do extraordinary work.
  • Consciously cultivated culture | We aim to embody the behaviors to build an inclusive community that is in it together, bringing both positivity and active listening into the workplace as we simultaneously strive to empower creative bravery.
  • Competitive benefits | What we offer full time hires ranges from the full spectrum of group health coverage options (medical, dental, vision) to a generous 401k match (100% dollar-for-dollar match, up to 5% of salary contribution), and a variety of paid time off offerings that reflect our investment in all aspects of your overall life balance and wellness.
  • Growth-minded opportunities | We aim to nurture a culture of real-time feedback, growth-oriented mindset, and plenty of training opportunities through Wunderman Thompson and WPP, so you can continue to grow personally and professionally.

VML is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion or belief, sex, age, national origin, citizenship status, marital status, military/veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental disability, or other protected group status. We believe in creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity and inclusion and strives to recruit a diverse slate of candidates to help us achieve that goal.

The base salary range for this position at the time of this posting is indicated below. Individual compensation varies based on job-related factors, including location, business needs, level of responsibility, experience, and qualifications. We offer a competitive benefits package, click WPP Benefits for more details.

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$75,000-$180,000 USD

At VML, we are committed to fostering an all-inclusive work environment that is both rewarding and career-forward. Our Inclusion, Equity & Belonging initiatives, alongside the VML Foundation, reflect our dedication to giving back and making a positive impact in our communities and beyond. Our people are the heartbeat of our organization-creators, doers, innovators, makers, and thinkers-who drive not just marketing, but meaningful experiences that resonate in every action and interaction.

VML is a WPP Agency. For more information, please visit our website, and follow VML on our social channels via Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.

When you click "Submit Application", this will send any information you add below to VML. Before you do this, we think it's a good idea to read through our Recruitment Privacy Policy. California residents should read our California Recruitment Privacy Notice. This explains what we do with your personal data when you apply for a role with us, and, how you can update the information you have provided us with or how to remove it.

 

The base salary range for this position at the time of this posting is indicated below. Individual compensation varies based on job-related factors, including location, business needs, level of responsibility, experience, and qualifications. We offer a competitive benefits package, click WPP Benefits for more details.

_
$75,000$180,000 USD

At VML, we are committed to fostering an all-inclusive work environment that is both rewarding and career-forward. Our Inclusion, Equity & Belonging initiatives, alongside the VML Foundation, reflect our dedication to giving back and making a positive impact in our communities and beyond. Our people are the heartbeat of our organization—creators, doers, innovators, makers, and thinkers—who drive not just marketing, but meaningful experiences that resonate in every action and interaction. 

VML is a WPP Agency. For more information, please visit our website, and follow VML on our social channels via Instagram, LinkedIn, and X. 

When you click "Submit Application", this will send any information you add below to VML. Before you do this, we think it's a good idea to read through our Recruitment Privacy Policy. California residents should read our California Recruitment Privacy Notice. This explains what we do with your personal data when you apply for a role with us, and, how you can update the information you have provided us with or how to remove it.

When you click "Submit Application", this will send any information you add below to VML. Before you do this, we think it's a good idea to read through our Recruitment Privacy Policy. California residents should read our California Recruitment Privacy Notice. This explains what we do with your personal data when you apply for a role with us, and, how you can update the information you have provided us with or how to remove it.