Director of Social in Leeds

Ponderosa is a brand and communications agency that helps ambitious brands grow through powerful ideas and meaningful connections. We bring together strategy, creativity, and digital expertise to deliver work that moves audiences and drives measurable results. As part of Audience Collective, we collaborate across creative, media, research and digital performance to bring broader perspective and greater impact.

This is a senior creative leadership role responsible for shaping Ponderosa’s social‑first thinking, creative quality, and reputation. You’ll set the standard for what great social looks like, how creative it can be, and elevate it across pitches and client work. Challenge the agency to think social first, not last. You will act as part of the senior creative leadership group, shaping overall creative direction alongside Creative and Strategy leadership.

What Good Looks Like

• Ponderosa is known for strong, distinctive, social‑first creative thinking.
• Social ideas meaningfully improve pitch win‑rate and new business confidence.
• Teams feel creatively challenged, supported and elevated by your feedback.
• Social work is platform‑native, culturally sharp and ideas are challenged.
• Social thinking influences creative work across the agency, not just within the social team.

Key Responsibilities

• Social‑first creative leadership
  • Own and define what great social creative looks like at Ponderosa.
  • Set creative standards for tone, storytelling, formats and platform‑native thinking.
  • Champion social as a starting point for ideas, not an adaptation layer.
  • Act as the senior creative voice challenging work to be braver, sharper and more culturally relevant.
• Pitch leadership & new business elevation
  • Lead social‑first thinking within new business pitches and credentials.
  • Shape pitch narratives, ideas and creative approaches where social plays a defining role.
  • Elevate pitch work through clear creative judgement, feedback and direction.
  • Support Growth and MD teams with confident, senior social creative counsel.
  • Act as a senior creative authority in pitch rooms, helping clients feel confident in bold, social‑first ideas.
• Agency‑wide creative influence
  • Act as a creative partner to Strategy, Creative, Media and Client teams.
  • Influence integrated ideas by bringing a social‑first, platform‑native lens.
  • Push teams to think culturally, creatively and in‑the‑moment where appropriate.
  • Be a visible, trusted voice in creative reviews and idea development.
  • Act as a senior, trusted social authority with key clients where creative judgement, platforms or cultural relevance matter.
• Team leadership & creative standards
  • Line manage the Social Lead and provide senior creative direction to the wider team.
  • Set clear creative expectations and provide direct, constructive feedback.
  • Build confidence, judgement and taste within the team over time.
  • Create an environment where ideas are challenged constructively, not just delivered.
  • Work in close partnership with MDs and Client Leads to ensure social‑first ideas support commercial growth, retention and long‑term client value.
• Social growth & capability building
  • Support growth of the social offering through stronger creative reputation and demand.
  • Identify opportunities where social‑first ideas unlock account growth.
  • Shape how social capability evolves in response to platforms, culture and client needs.
  • Ensure influencer and creator work (where used) is idea‑led and culturally credible.
• Future capability & innovation
  • Stay close to cultural shifts, platform behavior and emerging social formats.
  • Encourage experimentation with new creative approaches, formats and workflows.
  • Help the agency test and learn without chasing trends for their own sake.
  • Ensure innovation improves creative quality, not just novelty.
  • Contribute to the agency’s external creative reputation through thought leadership, industry presence or awards work where it adds value.
  • Demonstrate fluency in how AI tools can support social‑first creativity from ideation and prototyping to optimization, using them to enhance creative thinking, not replace it.
  • Help set principles for the responsible, culturally intelligent use of AI within social creative workflows.
  • Act as a senior voice in how emerging technologies, including AI, shape creative standards and ways of working.

Essential Experience & requirements

• Senior‑level experience leading social‑first creative work in an agency environment.
• Strong creative judgement and the confidence to challenge ideas constructively.
• Proven experience elevating pitches, ideas or creative output through social thinking.
• Deep understanding of how social platforms shape creativity and culture.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and creative teams with clarity and authority.

Nice to have

• Previous Director title, or a standout Senior/Head‑of‑level experience ready to step up.
• Experience working on integrated campaigns where social leads the idea.
• Influencer or creator experience.
• Experience helping shape or grow a social offering through creative excellence.

What We Offer

• Hybrid working (Leeds office Tuesday–Thursday).
• 25 days’ holiday + 3 celebration days.
• 37.5‑hour working week.
• Pension, life insurance and income protection.
• EAP and 24/7 virtual GP access.

Your first 6 months

• Months 0–3: Creative immersion & standard setting
  • Get under the skin of Ponderosa, clients and creative culture.
  • Build trust with Creative, Strategy, Social and Client teams.
  • Start shaping what “great social” looks like through feedback and reviews.
  • Support live pitches with social‑first creative thinking.
• Months 4–6: Influence & elevation
  • Clearly establish the social creative quality bar.
  • Be a visible creative leader in pitches and big ideas.
  • Start seeing improvement in pitch confidence and social creative output.
  • Challenge teams to think more natively, culturally and boldly.

Progression & capability growth

Objective: The role continues to increase its creative influence, impact on growth and agency reputation over time. This may include:

• Increasing ownership of pitch leadership and creative direction.
• Broader influence across integrated campaigns.
• Stronger external reputation for Ponderosa’s social work.
• Shaping future senior creative or social leadership roles within the agency.