At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead creative development and drive brand consistency across all channels.
- Company: Join Danone, a certified B-Corp committed to sustainability and health.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible benefits, and employee discounts.
- Other info: Collaborative culture with opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- Why this job: Shape impactful campaigns and elevate creative standards in a dynamic environment.
- Qualifications: Proven agency experience and strong understanding of brand building.
The predicted salary is between 60750 - 74250 £ per year.
Danoners are steering us to a more sustainable future, helping to make the world healthier. As a certified B-Corp, we have our Danone Impact Journey to 2025. This will only be possible with each and every one of our leaders.
Role Purpose: To be Danone UK&I's senior creative authority, responsible for driving creative ambition, brand consistency and executional excellence across all brands, categories and channels. The Creative Lead serves as the central creative partner to marketing teams, leading agency relationships, shaping creative thinking and ensuring every activation delivers against both brand-building objectives and channel effectiveness principles. Acting as the bridge between strategy and execution, the role works across the full ICP process, partnering with brand teams, agencies, D-Studio and IBC specialists to ensure ideas are integrated, distinctive and executed to the highest standard across paid, owned and earned touchpoints.
Key Activities:
- Creative Leadership & Brand Building: Lead creative development across UK&I brands and categories, ensuring every activation strengthens distinctive brand assets and long-term brand equity. Champion creative excellence and establish clear creative standards across the organisation. Translate brand strategies, consumer insights and marketing challenges into compelling creative opportunities. Act as senior creative counsel to Brand, IBC and senior leadership teams.
- Agency & Partner Management: Lead Danone's creative agency ecosystem including BETC, creative pairs, freelance creative planners and specialist boutique agencies. Select the right creative model for the challenge, balancing effectiveness, quality, flexibility and cost. Own creative scopes, agency performance reviews, briefing quality and output standards. Hold agencies accountable for creative ambition, integration and delivery.
- Creative Direction & Quality Control: Provide creative direction and feedback throughout the ICP process. Review and approve major creative work before stakeholder review and production. Ensure consistency across campaign development, activation, adaptation and production. Set standards for channel-native creative execution across media, social, influencer, experiential, shopper, ecommerce and owned platforms.
- Integrated Experience Development: Partner with Sponsorship, Experiential, PR, Influencer, Social, Shopper and Digital Experience teams to create connected consumer experiences. Ensure creative ideas travel effectively across paid, owned and earned touchpoints. Drive stronger creative integration between brand campaigns and activation channels.
- Creative Capability & Innovation: Lead adoption of creative effectiveness frameworks, AI-enabled creative tools and emerging industry best practice. Build creative capability across marketing and IBC teams. Identify opportunities to improve creative quality, efficiency and effectiveness throughout the content supply chain.
About You:
We would like you to demonstrate your following key skills:
- Proven agency background with significant experience leading integrated creative campaigns.
- Strong understanding of brand building, creative strategy and campaign development.
- Experience managing retained agencies, creative boutiques and specialist partners.
- Deep understanding of paid, owned and earned channels, including social, influencer, PR, shopper and ecommerce.
- Strong appreciation of design systems, content creation, digital experiences and production workflows.
- Understanding of creative effectiveness principles, measurement frameworks and modern marketing ecosystems.
- Exceptional creative judgement with a strong portfolio of commercially successful work.
- Ability to inspire confidence and influence senior stakeholders.
- Comfortable challenging agencies and internal teams to raise creative standards.
- Strong coaching and mentoring capability.
- Operates effectively in ambiguity and can balance strategic thinking with executional delivery.
- Highly collaborative with the ability to unite multiple disciplines behind a single creative vision.
Please note that the salary on offer here is between £70-£80K + bonus & benefits.
About Us: At Danone, we are committed to delivering better health through better nutrition for millions of consumers and patients in our communities. Our market-leading products reach millions of consumers and patients every day. Our iconic brands span across the dairy, plant-based and water industries, including Actimel, Alpro and evian. We're also a leading provider of specialised early-life nutrition through our Aptamil and Cow & Gate brands and medical nutrition products and services through our Nutricia brand. Depending on the needs of your role, you'll spend an average of 2 to 3 days per week in the office hub, enhancing community, problem solving, and innovation. We offer a flexible benefits package that you can tailor to your needs. This includes core benefits like pension, life assurance, and healthcare, plus options such as private medical insurance, gym memberships, cycle to work and holiday trading. You’ll also have access to employee discounts and wellbeing support, helping you look after your health, finances and lifestyle in a way that works for you.
Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) is deeply embedded in Danone's DNA, representing our core values and beliefs. We embrace diversity as a driving force for positive change, nurturing an inclusive workplace where every individual is valued.
Creative Lead employer: Danone
Danone is an exceptional employer, committed to fostering a culture of inclusivity and sustainability while driving meaningful change in the health and nutrition sector. With a flexible benefits package tailored to individual needs, opportunities for professional growth, and a collaborative work environment, employees are empowered to thrive both personally and professionally. Located in the UK, Danone offers a unique chance to be part of a certified B-Corp that prioritises long-term strategic thinking and authentic leadership, making it an ideal place for those looking to make a significant impact.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Creative Lead
✨Show Off Your Creative Juice
As a freelancer in marketing communications, your portfolio is your golden ticket! Make sure you’ve got a killer online presence showcasing projects you've worked on, including any campaigns or content pieces. Don't just toss it together; highlight the impact you've made with metrics whenever possible!
✨Join the Marketing Circuit
Get yourself into the local or online marketing communities, like the AMA (American Marketing Association) or industry-specific groups on LinkedIn. Attending events, workshops, or webinars can help you connect with potential clients or collaborators who might need your skills.
✨Leverage Social Media Authentically
Use platforms like Instagram and Twitter to share your insights on marketing trends or showcase your past work. Creating engaging posts or even threads with tips can boost your visibility and position you as a go-to expert in your niche.
✨Tap into Your Network
Don’t shy away from reaching out to old colleagues, friends, or acquaintances in the marketing space. A simple message asking if they know anyone in need of freelance support can open unexpected doors. Remember, personal connections can lead to opportunities that job boards can’t!
We think you need these skills to ace Creative Lead
Some tips for your application 🫡
Craft a Portfolio that Pops:As a freelance marketer, your portfolio is your best friend! Make sure to showcase your best marketing campaigns, social media content, and any communications strategies you've developed. Don't just list your experience; highlight the results you achieved for your clients to demonstrate your talent.
Show Off Your Creativity:Marketing and communications thrive on creativity, so don’t hesitate to let your unique style shine! Whether it’s your CV layout, your cover letter’s voice, or even your email subject line, a bit of flair goes a long way in making you stand out to Danone.
Define Your Services and Rates:Freelancing means you're running your own show! In your application, be clear about the services you can offer Danone and include your rates if appropriate. This helps potential clients understand what they can expect from you and makes it easier for them to consider working together.
Don’t Forget About Availability:Clients want to know when they can start working with you, so be upfront about your availability in your application. Whether you can take on a project immediately or have a schedule lined up, being clear about timelines will make you a more attractive candidate for Creative Lead at Danone.
How to prepare for a job interview at Danone
✨Showcase Your Portfolio
When interviewing for a freelance gig in marketing communications, having a strong portfolio is crucial. Make sure you have examples of your best work, whether that's social media campaigns, press releases, or content pieces, ready to share with the team at Danone.
✨Familiarise Yourself with Marketing Tools
Since this role involves communication, be prepared to discuss the specific tools that you use for managing campaigns and analytics, like HubSpot or Hootsuite. Being able to demonstrate your technical comfort with these platforms can really set us apart from other candidates.
✨Pitch Your Unique Value
Freelance roles are all about standing out, so don’t just talk about what you can do—pitch why you’re the perfect fit for Danone. Focus on your unique style, previous client success stories, and how you can tailor your approach to their needs.
✨Prepare to Discuss Your Availability
Since this is a freelance position, expect to chat about your availability and workload management. Have a clear plan on how you can fit this role into your schedule while ensuring quality output, as this will establish reliability and professionalism with the hiring team at Danone.
