VP, Group Design Director

Our Story

August Jackson (AJ) is a creative agency headquartered in Chicago with additional hubs in New York, Washington, DC, and the West Coast. We help leading organizations across the globe deliver high-impact event experiences and strategic communications that energize audiences, align teams, and inspire stakeholders. From global executive summits and national sales meetings to signature events and product launches, AJ unites world-class creative, design, and flawless event production with strategic communications to transform milestone moments into catalysts for enduring impact.

AJ was named as one of Event Marketer’s It List agencies in both 2023 and 2024 and has earned numerous awards in recent years. This includes multiple Telly Awards and Communicator Awards for creative excellence in video and corporate communications design. Since the agency’s founding in 2003, AJ has become a trusted agency partner to some of the world’s most recognized organizations across industries that include professional services, technology, pharma, healthcare, higher education, and consumer brands.

We believe a strong company culture is the foundation of great work. Our team is collaborative, inclusive, personable, and united by a shared commitment to excellence. We value diverse perspectives and experiences, knowing they fuel creativity and strengthen our partnerships—both with clients and each other. Many of our team members have been with us for years, a testament to the supportive, energizing, and fun environment we’ve built. We welcome those looking for a place to grow and make an impact as part of a talented team that is dedicated to inspiring our clients’ audiences and delivering exceptional results.

The Role

The VP, Group Design Director serves as an active ambassador of our mission to "elevate design and be known for it." This leader seeks every opportunity to contribute to and execute August Jackson's design-forward vision coordinating with cross-functional teams in Accounts, Creative, Design, and Production. They bring this vision to life through client experience and strategic communication based projects, championing both collaboration and innovation.

The VP, Group Design Director masters and articulates design principles and processes—skillfully applying narrative design, storytelling, branding/thematic design, audience journey mapping, and visual aesthetics in their work. They lead teams and projects while ensuring the delivery of powerful, innovative creative solutions that uphold August Jackson's high standards. They have a deep understanding of the role design plays in our clients' world, with a steadfast commitment to our standards.

As a senior team member, this leader sets the pace and inspires others by exemplifying outstanding creativity, work ethic, communication, and collaboration, developing a world-class team of experiential and communication designers. More than just a strong presence, they bring genuine passion for their craft and a growth mindset—demonstrating the ability to both lead effectively and remain open to guidance.

This full-time remote position offers a salary range of $130,000–$160,000, based on experience and industry expertise, plus a 15% annual performance bonus. The role reports to the EVP of Design.

What You’ll Do

Design Leadership

• Manage direct reports by facilitating professional development, setting goals, conducting performance reviews, and handling administrative responsibilities
• Elevate design by maintaining disciplined-wide work review processes, ensuring all design work meets August Jackson's high standards, and providing regular progress updates to Design leadership
• Serve as an inspirational force for the team by actively seeking and sharing innovative design techniques and technologies for experiential design, while maintaining expertise in modern design aesthetics and trends
• Recommend resource allocation based on team bandwidth and skill requirements for each project
• Partner with leadership to identify process inefficiencies; develop and implement new programs to improve the team's effectiveness
• Act as a primary client contact, understanding their needs and objectives while partnering with teams to deliver successful projects and ensure client satisfaction
• Collaborate with internal teams and external partners to create impactful client experiences, while demonstrating a positive problem-solving mindset and upholding AJ Principles through professional conduct
• Participate in business development efforts, representing August Jackson as a thought leader in the experiential design and strategic communications industries
• Contribute to August Jackson's content marketing efforts, sharing insights and knowledge through blog posts, white papers, and presentations
• Assist leadership in recruitment, interviewing, and onboarding top design talent to build and train a world-class team

Design Development & Execution

• Create clear design briefs by capturing key insights, design direction, audience profiles, objectives, and project requirements for collaboration with project teams
• Lead and facilitate creative brainstorming and ideation sessions while mentoring junior staff in design approaches and problem-solving techniques
• Clearly communicate design concepts, inspirations, presentations, and rationale to leadership, clients, and internal colleagues
• Apply principles of narrative design, visual storytelling, branding/thematic design, audience journey, and messaging hierarchy to design work and articulate it to others
• Showcase skills for both working within established brands and developing new brand or theme designs and creating supporting asset toolkits
• Expertly demonstrate a mastery of typography, color, composition, layout, brand/theme design, and visual storytelling in 2D/3D applications, environments, graphics, and video/motion
• Create original design concepts and shepherd them to final execution—personal execution and delegating production tasks to junior staff—and overseeing the work of print, fabrication, and digital collaborators to ensure quality
• Demonstrate the ability to lead a project team from concept through execution (from start to finish) with little or no input
• Art directs photo shoots, video shoots/editing, motion graphics, illustration, and other content creation exercises both internally and with outside partners and collaborators as necessary
• Interpret and implement design direction/feedback from leadership
• Continuously seek professional development and the advancement of design skills

What you’ll bring

• BA degree in Design or related field
• Minimum of ten years of experience in design or related field
• People management experience
• Extensive proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign), PowerPoint, and Keynote
• Skilled in exploring and leveraging diverse AI tools and workstreams, including generative AI design
• Proficiency in 3D software is a plus (3ds Max, Vectorworks, etc.)
• Strong traditional and environmental design skills to be used in a variety of applications (i.e. visual campaigns, branding, presentation design, motion, scenic, environmental)
• Highly organized, flexible, and possess the ability to re-prioritize and multi-task in a fast-paced, deadline-driven, ever-changing creative environment
• Great with people at all levels
• Unfazed by tight deadlines and conflicting priorities and remains calm under pressure
• Willingness to go beyond a job description and jump in wherever needed
• Confident and engaging communicator and presenter
• Flawless attention to detail
• Ability to offer creative problem-solving solutions
• Ability to speak to design’s supporting rationale and purpose

What You’ll Get

• Competitive compensation including annual bonus
• Comprehensive healthcare: Medical, Dental, Vision
• Retirement 401(k) Plans
• Health savings account
• Paid time off, tiered based on tenure
• Caring and nurturing team culture
• Strong industry connections and exposure
• A team where curiosity and creativity are welcomed and encouraged

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

August Jackson is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.