How to hire a creative services director

How to hire a creative services director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step creative services director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a creative services director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new creative services director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a creative services director do?

Post a creative services director job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the creative services director you need to hire. Certain creative services director roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect creative services director also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of creative services directors.

   Type of Creative Services Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Creative Services Director	Art directors are responsible for the visual style and images in magazines, newspapers, product packaging, and movie and television productions. They create the overall design of a project and direct others who develop artwork and layouts.	$39-69
   Studio Director	A studio director is a multi-disciplined leader with a depth of experience and pragmatic skills. They are responsible for running the studio and work in a team.	$22-101
   Designer/Art Director	An art director collaborates with the design and art staff for books, public relations firms, advertising agencies, or newspaper publishers. Art directors create designs and layouts that embody the organization and send the message they want the audience to get... Show more	$28-75

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Graphic Design
   • Video Production
   • Adobe Creative Suite
   • Creative Direction
   • Web Site
   • Digital Marketing
   • Brand Management
   • Creative Process
   • Creative Concepts
   • Marketing Campaigns
   • Creative Development
   • Brand Awareness
   • Market Research
   • Creative Strategy

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Oversee and manage highly complex creative assignments, copywriting and translations while interfacing with outside agency partners.
   • Manage content effectiveness, ROI, media orders, ad confirmations, production requests and discrepancy notices.
   • Initiate RFP process for agency selection and manage all advertising agency activities.
   • Coordinate, plan, design and execute all print and digital media including professional photography and video production.
   • Construct SEO strategies and utilize best practices to increase visibility and relevance.
   • Build site structure, presentation and behaviors with HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

   More creative services director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your creative services director job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A creative services director salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, creative services directors' average salary in arkansas is 49% less than in kansas.
   • Seniority. Entry-level creative services directors earn 43% less than senior-level creative services directors.
   • Certifications. A creative services director with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a creative services director's salary.

   Average creative services director salary

   $108,980yearly

   $52.39 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level creative services director salary

   $82,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 19, 2026

   Average creative services director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Kansas	$143,451	$69
   2	Iowa	$143,142	$69
   3	California	$129,912	$62
   4	Oregon	$128,603	$62
   5	New York	$124,364	$60
   6	Illinois	$119,571	$57
   7	Mississippi	$115,844	$56
   8	New Jersey	$114,788	$55
   9	Alaska	$113,160	$54
   10	Massachusetts	$113,053	$54
   11	Nevada	$112,524	$54
   12	Minnesota	$112,260	$54
   13	North Dakota	$112,091	$54
   14	North Carolina	$110,039	$53
   15	Montana	$108,548	$52
   16	Alabama	$106,570	$51
   17	Louisiana	$106,543	$51
   18	Georgia	$105,365	$51
   19	Michigan	$105,343	$51
   20	Hawaii	$103,916	$50

   Average creative services director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$166,450	$80.02	24
   2	Amazon	$154,090	$74.08	135
   3	Adobe	$148,249	$71.27	6
   4	Natera	$146,246	$70.31
   5	ZeniMax Media	$146,240	$70.31
   6	Hearst	$138,184	$66.43	7
   7	Veeva Systems	$136,709	$65.73
   8	SiriusXM	$130,575	$62.78
   9	Athene	$129,443	$62.23
   10	Entravision Communications	$128,061	$61.57
   11	ChyronHego	$127,819	$61.45
   12	Nexstar Media Group	$126,540	$60.84	5
   13	Williams Sonoma	$125,089	$60.14	6
   14	Shinola	$124,589	$59.90
   15	iRobot	$122,002	$58.65
   16	Warner Music Group	$121,820	$58.57	9
   17	E*TRADE	$120,420	$57.89
   18	The Boca Raton	$116,835	$56.17
   19	BluePearl Vet	$116,716	$56.11	2
   20	Shiseido Americas Corporation	$112,922	$54.29

4. Writing a creative services director job description

   A job description for a creative services director role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a creative services director job description:

   Creative services director job description example

   The work we do has an impact on millions of lives, and you can be a part of it.
   We help protect our customers against life's uncertainties. Regardless of where you work within the company, you'll be helping provide protection and peace of mind when our customers need it most.
   
   The Associate Creative Director both manages and participates in the development of marketing projects from concept creation to completion. The Associate Creative Director is responsible for developing and transforming concepts into creative solutions, managing creative teams, and ensuring client objectives are achieved.
   
   To be successful, the Associate Creative Director should be able to develop creative concepts and strategies that are insightful, relevant, innovative, and effective. Ultimately, you are a creative powerhouse with the ability to motivate and direct a team in the development of best-in-class solutions across multiple channels.
   ResponsibilitiesManages a team of designers and content providers to create strategic, cutting-edge, targeted communications for an assigned unit(s) Champions brand voice at every point of contact, upholding the integrity of creative standards.Supports marketing and business team leadership in the evaluation, development, and refinement of strategic communications at the individual project and program levels.Extends the Protective editorial and design platforms through all business units, integrating messaging throughout multiple forms of media.Contributes strategic ideas and innovative thinking to enable business objectives.Enables development of fresh, compelling creative concepts that add to the customer experience and build brand.Builds strong, collaborative business partnerships with key clients, colleagues, and service providers.Serves as a client's advocate with strategic understanding and leadership of the brand.
   RequirementsConfident in bringing own ideas and creativity to projects while working within a broad range of design & copy guidelines across all marketing channels.Proven track record of developing strong client relationships.Passionate about the impact of design & content collaboration Insurance / Financial Services experience a plus10+ years of relevant experience in: Digital Print Brand Motion Graphics Web Design UX-UIExperienced managing people and processes
   
   Protective's targeted salary range for this position is $85,000 to $110,000. Actual salaries may vary depending on factors, including but not limited to, job location, skills, and experience. The range listed is just one component of Protective's total compensation package for employees.
   
   This position also offers additional incentive opportunities through an annual incentive based on individual and Company performance.
   
   Employee Benefits:
   We aim to protect our employees' wellbeing through a broad benefits offering. For example, we protect physical wellbeing through health, dental and vision insurance. We protect mental wellbeing through mental health benefits and an employee assistance program. We protect time away from work with a variety of paid time away benefits (e.g., paid time off, paid parental leave, short-term disability, and a cultural observance day). We protect financial wellbeing through contributions to healthcare accounts, a pension plan, and a 401(k) plan with Company matching. All employees are encouraged to protect their overall wellbeing by engaging in ProHealth Rewards, Protective's platform to improve wellbeing while earning cash rewards.
   
   Eligibility for certain benefits may vary by position in accordance with the terms of the Company's benefit plans.
   
   Diversity and Inclusion:
   At Protective, we are committed to providing an inclusive culture where all employees are able to fully contribute and thrive. Our goal is to grow and develop our people, attract diverse talent and support strong, diverse communities.
   
   We support diversity, equity, and inclusion by working to develop a culture of inclusion and belonging led by leaders who develop potential and embrace unique skills and abilities. Our aim is to create an equitable and accountable environment for all leaders and employees that will drive performance and impact business strategy. In this way, we can increase overall diversity for leadership roles and pipelines of talent by maturing our hiring practices, robust development opportunities and focus on retention of key talent.
   
   We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to being inclusive and attracting, retaining, and growing the talents of a diverse and inclusive workforce.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right creative services director for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your creative services director job on Zippia to find and attract quality creative services director candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit creative services directors, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new creative services director

   Once you've found the creative services director candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a creative services director?