Creative Director

About Mawj:Mawj is a Riyadh-based marketing group working across education, hospitality, real estate and technology. Our portfolio includes brands such as Reigate Grammar School Riyadh and Nobles.We are building a full in-house team across account management, media, creative and production. Our marketing is judged by enrolments, bookings, sales, qualified leads and conversions — not views and likes alone. Creative must fit the Saudi market, strengthen the brand and contribute to performance.The Role:You will build and lead Mawj's in-house creative department across art direction, design, copy, video, motion and production.You will own each brand's creative direction, design system, output quality and performance creative.This is a hands-on leadership role. You must turn business objectives into strong ideas, lead execution and explain why the work should perform, working closely with Marketing, Media, Accounts and senior management.What You Will Do:Creative Strategy & Brand SystemsDefine the creative platform, visual language, tone and design system for each brand.Translate business strategy into clear creative territories.Build consistent systems across campaigns, social, paid media, presentations and print.Treat Arabic as a primary design language, not text added after English.Build bilingual templates that enable speed without lowering quality.Campaign Concepts & Art DirectionLead campaign concepts from idea to final execution.Turn briefs into clear ideas with strong messages and visual logic.Develop key visuals, scripts, storyboards, references and production approaches.Challenge weak briefs and distinguish attractive work from ideas people remember or act on.Video, Motion & ProductionLead hero films and major video campaigns from concept to delivery.Develop scripts, shot lists, references and cutdown plans.Direct photographers, filmmakers, editors, motion designers and production partners.Plan shoots for hero films, Reels, Stories, paid ads and cutdowns.Review editing, pacing, motion, grading, sound, captions and final exports.Performance CreativePartner with the Marketing Manager and media team to connect creative with performance.Build 8–15 meaningful variations where campaign scale requires it.Develop strong hooks and test messages, visuals, formats, offers and creative angles.Review data, identify what drives qualified leads, bookings or sales, and apply those learnings.Know when poor performance is caused by creative and when the problem is elsewhere in the funnel.AI & Creative TechnologyStrong practical AI experience is a core requirement. AI should already be part of how you research, concept, produce and manage creative work.You will be expected to:Use AI for research, moodboarding, concept development, visual exploration and prototyping.Use current AI image and video tools professionally and understand their limits.Integrate AI into copy, design, storyboarding, pre-visualisation and post-production.Build AI-assisted workflows that improve speed without lowering quality.Automate repetitive tasks, evaluate tools by business value and train the team to use AI professionally.Maintain quality control, brand consistency and human judgement.You should demonstrate where AI improved quality, speed, cost or creative possibilities.Saudi Market & Cultural UnderstandingYou must understand Saudi audience behaviour, visual preferences, cultural sensitivities, local references, seasonality and audience segments.You must know the difference between translating international creative and creating work for Saudi audiences. Creative should feel locally intelligent, not simply localised.Creative Quality & StandardsOwn the final quality of everything produced by the department.Set standards for concept, brand consistency, art direction, bilingual typography/layout, copy, photography, video, motion, platform specs, consent and file organisation.Know when to reject weak work and when work is commercially ready.Creative Team LeadershipBuild and lead Mawj's creative department.Hire and develop art directors, designers, writers, editors and other specialists.Allocate work by skill, priority and deadline; review briefs and give actionable feedback.Build clear processes for briefing, concepting, reviews, approvals and delivery.Develop talent and build a team that can scale without losing quality or speed.Client & Management CommunicationPresent concepts and campaigns to brand owners and senior management in Arabic and English.Explain decisions clearly, defend strong ideas professionally and turn feedback into actionable direction.Explain when a request conflicts with the brand, strategy or campaign objective.Use audience and campaign data to support creative decisions where appropriate.Vendors & Production PartnersSelect and manage photographers, filmmakers, studios, freelancers and post-production partners.Evaluate partners on quality, capability, cost and reliability.Write clear briefs, control budgets and timelines, and maintain Mawj's quality standard.What You Bring:8+ years of professional creative experience.3+ years leading a creative team at an agency, studio or strong in-house department.Agency or multi-brand experience.A portfolio showing brand-building and performance creative.Deep professional experience in the Saudi market, with proven understanding of Saudi culture, audiences, visual preferences and communication styles.Advanced practical experience using AI in creative workflows and production.Strong concept development and art-direction ability.Strong Arabic typography and bilingual-layout expertise; able to design Arabic-first rather than translate English work.Strong video and motion direction experience from concept through production, edit and cutdowns.Strong understanding of paid-social creative and performance testing.Strong judgement across design, copy, photography, video and motion.Experience managing production budgets and external partners.Ability to write clear briefs and give effective feedback.Fluent Arabic and English, written and spoken.Strong presentation skills with owners, CEOs and senior management.Highly organised, decisive, collaborative and accountable.You must currently live in Riyadh and have lived and worked here long enough to demonstrate genuine understanding of the local market.We are looking for someone who can start as soon as possible.The Person We Are Looking For:We want someone who asks: Is there actually an idea here? What should the audience understand? Would a Saudi audience respond naturally? Does the Arabic work as well as the English? Is this Arabic-first or simply translated? Will someone understand it in three seconds? What should we test? Why did one creative outperform another? Can AI make this faster or better?We are not looking for someone who judges creative only by whether it looks premium, follows trends without strategy, or lists AI tools without demonstrating real use.Success in This Role:Performance will be assessed on creative quality concept strength, brand consistency Saudi-market relevance Arabic and bilingual execution campaign effectiveness, performance-creative improvement production quality speed and reliability team development client confidence production efficiency Intelligent use of AI and the ability to maintain quality as Mawj grows.First 90 Days:You will be expected to:Audit existing creative output and understand each brand's objectives.Review brand systems, templates, content, production standards, and Arabic/bilingual execution.Identify major creative weaknesses and inconsistencies.Review the current team, partners, and production processes.Establish quality standards and improve briefing, review, and approval workflows.Define creative priorities and build scalable content systems.Audit the team's AI use and introduce useful AI-assisted workflows.Build a performance-creative process with the Marketing Manager and media team.Present a prioritised improvement plan and implement quick wins.Nice to Have:Education, F&Bhospitality, real estate, or technology experience Production or post-production experience advanced motion design photography or filmmaking; 3D Figma; Adobe Creative Cloud AI image/video generation AI-assisted production performance creative multi-brand experience.

What We Offer

The mandate to build Mawj's creative department from the ground up.Real brands with real budgets.Direct access to decision makers.Significant ownership over creative strategy and execution.Competitive compensation based on experience.Management that decides quickly and expects a high creative standard.How to Apply:Apply through LinkedIn with your CV and a portfolio containing at least five strong pieces.For each relevant project, include:The brief or business objective.Your specific role and contribution.The core creative idea.The final execution.The result or outcome where measurable.One example of how you used AI professionally.Your portfolio should show brand work, campaign concepts, Arabic/bilingual execution, video/motion and performance creative. Clearly identify what you personally created or directed.Shortlisted candidates will complete a creative case before the final interview.Skills:Creative Direction · Art Direction · Brand Strategy · Brand Identity · Design Systems · Performance Creative · Arabic Typography · Bilingual Design · Saudi Market · Video Production · Motion Graphics · Team Leadership · Production Management · Figma · Adobe Creative Cloud · Artificial Intelligence · Generative AI · AI Image Generation · AI Video Generation