creative lead and art director
Location: Somerset West (In-office, Full-time).
Experience Level: Mid-level (3-5 years).
Remuneration: Competitive, market-related salary
The Role
We’re looking for a highly creative, experienced, and organised Creative Lead & Art Director to join the team at Local Truth Studio.
This role is for someone who understands far more than just taking good photos or creating visually appealing content.
We’re looking for someone who can lead creative execution across photography, video, and design. Someone with a strong visual eye who understands how content should look, feel, and perform across modern digital platforms.
This person will play a key role in overseeing creative quality across the agency, assisting with shoot direction, creative planning, approvals, and content execution for both once-off campaigns and ongoing projects.
You’ll work closely with our Creative Director, strategists, designers, photographers, videographers, editors, and clients to ensure all creative output aligns with campaign goals, brand identity, and platform performance.
At Local Truth Studio, we move fast, think creatively, and care deeply about creating content that performs as well as looks good.
If you’re passionate about creative direction, photography, storytelling, social-first content, and leading productions from concept to execution, we’d love to meet you.
Key Responsibilities
Creative Oversight & Quality Control
Review and approve creative work across photography, videography, editing, and design, mainly for social media content and digital campaigns.
Provide constructive creative feedback to designers, editors, photographers, and videographers to ensure content aligns with brand identity, campaign goals, platform requirements, and agency quality standards.
Assist in maintaining strong visual consistency, storytelling, editing styles, composition, layout, colour grading, typography, etc.
Art Direction & Shoot Leadership
Lead and direct shoots from start to finish, including developing shot lists, planning creative direction, directing talent on set, and ensuring all key deliverables are captured strategically for social media, paid ads, websites, campaigns, etc.
Assist with moodboards, creative references, campaign concepts, and overall visual direction across various brands and industries.
Photography & Content Production
Capture high-quality content across studio, lifestyle, campaign, product, hospitality, corporate, and social-first shoots.
Maintain high creative and technical standards while working efficiently in fast-paced production environments.
Production, Props and Talent Coordination
Assist with sourcing props, styling elements, models, influencers, and UGC creators, while helping coordinate shoot logistics, timelines, production flow, and content delivery.
Work closely with creatives, clients, venues, stylists, suppliers, and talent to ensure productions run smoothly from planning to execution.
Editing & Creative Software
Strong working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite is essential.
Strong understanding of editing styles, visual storytelling, retouching, colour correction, formatting, and social-first content styles is important.
Requirements
Must be based in or near Somerset West and available to work full-time in-office.
Minimum 3–5 years experience in creative production, photography, design, or content direction.
Strong portfolio showcasing a range of creative work.
Experience in Adobe Creative Suite is essential.
Strong understanding of visual design principles is essential.
Experience in agency or commercial content environments is highly advantageous.
Own transport is advantageous.
Our Ideal Hire Will:
Have strong experience across photography, creative direction, and visual content production.
Have a strong understanding of social media content, digital campaigns, and modern content trends.
Be highly organised, proactive, adaptable, and solution-driven.
Be confident leading shoots, managing creative workflows, and working in fast-paced environments.
Have strong communication and client-facing skills.
Be comfortable managing multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously while collaborating with a team.