At the American Cancer Society, we're working to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. Our employees and 1.3 million volunteers are raising the bar every single day. We are a culture comprised of diverse backgrounds and experience, to better serve our communities. 

The people who work at the American Cancer Society focus their diverse talents on our lifesaving mission. It is a calling. And the people who answer it are fulfilled.

This is a fully remote position and can be based anywhere within the U.S.

The Group Creative Director is the senior creative leader and cultural architect responsible for leading, inspiring, and elevating a multidisciplinary creative organization of 20+ professionals, including creative directors, associate creative directors, art directors, copywriters, and designers.

Reporting to the VP, Creative & Content, this role sets the enterprise creative vision while building an engaged, curious, and high-performing creative culture, one where people are challenged, supported, and inspired to deliver the best work of their careers. This role blends bold creative vision with deeply human leadership. The Group Creative Director establishes clarity, creative ambition, and trust at scale, unlocking excellence through strong direction, mentorship, and taste. This leader owns enterprise storytelling, creative standards, and brand expression, while empowering creative leaders to do their best thinking and lead their teams with confidence.

The ideal candidate brings exceptional creative credibility, a top notch portfolio, and a deep understanding of how to tell bold stories that help our brand cut through and drive impact. Equally important, this role is a true people leader — someone who holds themselves and their team accountable for the quality of the work, the rigor of the process, and the standards of our culture. You know how to build and lead high performing teams, create clarity and trust, and empower others to do their best work. You also deeply understand how to create paid social creative across both video and static, delivering culturally resonant, performance aware creative that drives both brand impact and measurable results. Passionate about our mission to end cancer, you check any ego at the door and are committed to building an inclusive, supportive team that’s encouraged to take smart risks and grow together.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Creative Organization Leadership & Culture (35%)

• Lead, inspire, and develop a creative organization of 20+, spanning senior creative leadership, copywriting, art direction, and design.
• Build and sustain a high-performance, high-care creative culture rooted in curiosity, feedback, craft excellence, and continuous growth.
• Create an environment where creatives are motivated to push beyond the expected and consistently produce the strongest work of their careers.
• Serve as a mentor, coach, and talent champion, identifying, developing, and retaining top creative talent at all levels.
• Model a leadership style that is generous with feedback, decisive with direction, and courageous in upholding creative standards.
• Establish clear creative norms, expectations, and decision-making frameworks that enable autonomy without chaos.

Enterprise Creative Vision & Strategy (25%)

• Define and champion a bold, enterprise-wide creative and content vision that translates brand and mission into compelling storytelling across all channels.
• Ensure creative work is emotionally resonant, culturally relevant, strategically sound, and scalable across campaigns.
• Bring a deep, hands-on understanding of paid social creative, including platform-native storytelling, performance signals, and audience-first thinking.

Creative Excellence & Conceptual Leadership (20%)

• Provide executive‑level leadership in shaping the concepts and narrative direction for our most critical initiatives and enterprise campaigns.
• Set and uphold a creative bar that reflects best-in-class integrated campaigns, digital, and paid social work ensuring the work is rooted in authenticity and the lived experiences of the people we’re serving.
• Review, shape, and elevate creative concepts, narratives, and visual systems, pushing teams beyond the obvious toward braver, sharper ideas.
• Ensure creative concepts are adaptable and modular across paid social ecosystems while maintaining a cohesive, premium brand experience.
• Empower Creative Directors and Associate Creative Directors to lead execution within a clear creative framework.

Cross-Functional & Executive Partnership (10%)

• Act as a trusted creative partner to senior stakeholders collaborating closely with Marketing, Brand, Growth and Direct Marketing.
• Translate business objectives into compelling creative strategies that align brand, mission, and performance goals.
• Advocate for creative excellence at the highest levels, getting collective buy in while navigating complexity with confidence, clarity, and influence.

Innovation, Growth & Brand Stewardship (10%)

• Foster a culture of experimentation and curiosity, encouraging new formats, storytelling approaches, and creative technologies. Embrace AI and the workflows that enhance the team’s ability to focus on creative.
• Champion an audience‑first, story‑led creative approach, ensuring every idea is driven by insight and narrative while maintaining rigorous oversight of brand voice, visual identity, and storytelling integrity across all formats
• Ensure creative evolution strengthens brand equity and relevance without fragmenting the brand experience.

EXPERIENCE/QUALIFICATIONS:

• 15+ years of progressive creative leadership experience in both agency and complex in-house environment.
• Proven experience leading and inspiring creative teams of 20+, including senior creative leaders.
• Demonstrated success delivering breakthrough, culturally resonant campaigns with real-world impact.
• Deep understanding of storytelling and production (AV, Print, Social).
• Extensive experience leading paid social–forward creative work at scale across platforms such as Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and emerging channels.
• An exceptional portfolio that demonstrates:
  • Best-in-class creative craft and taste.
  • High-performing both video and static paid social and digital campaigns.
  • Integrated brand storytelling across channels.
  • Evidence of creative leadership that elevated both the work and the people behind it.
• Bachelor’s degree in Advertising, Graphic Design, Communications, or related field (or equivalent professional experience)

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITY:

• Inspirational Leadership: A creative magnet who builds trust, energy, and ambition—someone people want to do their best work for.
• Creative Taste & Judgment: Exceptional instincts and the ability to quickly assess, elevate, and sharpen creative work.
• Paid Social Fluency: Deep understanding of how creative drives performance in paid environments, including testing frameworks, and platform nuance.
• Coaching Mindset: Invested in people as much as output; delivers clear, motivating feedback that helps creatives grow.
• Executive Communication: Confident, compelling communicator who can align senior leaders around creative vision and priorities.
• Strategic Thinking: Able to connect creative decisions to business, brand, and mission outcomes.
• Operational Awareness: Understands how to scale creativity through smart processes, resource planning, and collaboration. 
• Curiosity & Adaptability: Forward-thinking, culturally fluent, and energized by learning and creative evolution.

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS:

• Approximately 10-20% travel required for leadership meetings, events, production, and creative team meetings.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: 

• Work is primarily performed in a typical office environment.
• Frequent sitting and computer use; occasional standing, walking, or lifting up to 15 pounds.

The starting rate is $150,000 to $170,000. The final candidate's relevant experience/skills will be considered before an offer is extended. Actual starting pay will vary based on non-discriminatory factors including, but not limited to, geographic location, experience, skills, specialty, and education.

ACS provides staff a generous paid time off policy; medical, dental, retirement benefits, wellness programs, and professional development programs to enhance staff skills. Further details on our benefits can be found on our careers site at: jobs.cancer.org/benefits. We are a proud equal opportunity employer.