📣  A bit about the role.  

We’re looking for a Creative Director to join the team at Butternut for a maternity cover contract. Are you able to think strategically and set creative direction to help achieve our goals? Would you like to lead a talented in-house Creative department? Do you want to be on set with lots of dogs? Well, look no further…

The Creative Director at Butternut Box will oversee the development and execution of all creative strategies. This role is crucial for hitting our growth targets, and driving brand awareness, engagement, and creative direction across all customer touchpoints. You will lead a talented team including:

• Creatives teams - we have two creative arms within the company - one focussing on global-first longer-term projects and strategic direction, the other focussed primarily on the UK&IRE marketing initiatives
• A projects team that is accountable for supporting the above teams and enhancing strategies by improving efficiencies

Must have experience in running an incredible a creative team and a strong track record of successful creative projects and campaigns. You will report directly to the Chief Commercial Officer and Co-Founder.

With each project, you’ll play a key role in Butternut’s mission to bring health and happiness to dogs everywhere. If your tail is wagging, read on… 

👋  A bit about the opportunity.

The Butternut brand has grown substantially over the years. In the last 6 months alone we have launched in Germany (our 5th European market), gone live in Pets At Home and launched a new and existing Fresh cat food brand - Marro all whilst growing all markets, producing strong campaigns, and making our customers feel valued. Our ambitions do not stop there, and you play a key role in developing impactful campaigns that support the company objectives across all markets, whilst supporting on the direction for our new cat brand Marro. If you are interested in joining a highly motivated team with lofty goals and becoming a part of the journey with strong influence, then this could be the role for you.

Key Responsibilities

Creative Vision and Strategy

• Develop and articulate the creative vision for Butternut Box and Marro, ensuring it aligns with the brand’s mission, values, and business objectives.
• Lead the creative direction for all campaigns, ensuring consistency in messaging and visual identity across all channels.
• Develop and refine the brand’s storytelling approach, ensuring a consistent and compelling narrative across all platforms.
• Lead the creative development of messaging frameworks that resonate with Butternut Box's target audience and reinforce brand loyalty.

Brand Management

• Maintain and evolve the brand’s visual and tonal identity to ensure it remains fresh, relevant, and resonant with target audiences.
• Oversee the development and implementation of brand guidelines to ensure consistency across all marketing materials and customer touchpoints.
• Stay informed of industry trends, competitor activity, and emerging technologies to ensure Butternut Box & Marro remains at the forefront of creative excellence.
• Introduce innovative ideas and creative solutions that enhance brand differentiation and customer experience.

Campaign Development

• Lead the conceptualisation and execution of integrated marketing campaigns, including digital, print, social media, and experiential.
• Collaborate with the marketing team to ensure creative assets effectively communicate the brand's value proposition and drive customer engagement.

Team Leadership and Development

• Manage, mentor, and inspire a team of designers, copywriters, and other creative professionals.
• Foster a collaborative and innovative environment that encourages creative thinking and professional growth within the team.
• Be proactive and reactive on team performance and development.

Stakeholder Communication

• Present creative concepts and strategies to senior leadership and key stakeholders, gaining buy-in and alignment on creative direction.
• Act as a brand ambassador within the organisation, ensuring all departments understand and support the creative vision.
• Work closely with the Product, Marketing, and Sales teams to ensure creative strategies support business goals and customer needs.
• Collaborate with external partners, such as agencies, photographers, and videographers, to deliver high-quality creative outputs.

Content Creation and Oversight

• Oversee the creation of all visual and written content, including packaging, digital assets, advertising, social media, and in-store materials.
• Ensure all content is on-brand, engaging, and effectively communicates the Butternut Box story.

Performance Measurement and Optimization

• Set clear KPIs for creative initiatives and regularly review performance to optimise and improve outcomes.
• Use customer insights, data, and analytics to inform and refine creative strategies.

Budget and Resource Management

• Manage the creative budget, ensuring all projects are delivered on time and within budget.
• Allocate resources effectively across projects to maximise creative output and impact.

You are: 

• Experienced and confident in your abilities at a director level
• An organisational powerhouse who’s comfortable working in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and tight deadlines
• A highly strategic creative and non-traditional thinker
• Plenty of ideas and are able to articulate and pitch concepts clearly
• You have strong written and verbal communication skills, as well as presentation skills in order to make outstanding pitches
• Articulate in your vision and can inspire others - from teammates, to customers and of course, dogs
• Highly skilled in Adobe Suites
• Someone who has a bias for action and just makes things happen.  
• Someone who holds high standards for operational excellence: budgets, calendars, timelines, and efficiencies.
• Well-practised in managing, influencing and inspiring people 
• You know how to work with different types of people and how to get the best out of them.
• You value building collaborative relationships across teams and functions, both internally and externally
• You have created and ran key processes across teams to improve output
• Proactive in your approach, anticipating challenges before a project is started
• Passionate about the Butternut and Marro brand and the values associated with it

🐶 A bit about us. 

At Butternut, we put the food back into dog food. We believe dogs deserve to eat the healthiest, most natural and tastiest food with none of the nasties. That’s why we make freshly prepared dog food. Cooked like you would at home. Delivered in perfect portions. #LI-Hybrid

As a B-Corp certified company; you can be sure you are joining a sustainable company who care about our people, product and our impact on the environment.

Our goal is to help dogs live healthier, happier and longer lives whilst leaving humans smiling after every interaction. We’ve come a long way since our co-founders (Kev & Dave) hand-delivered the first Butternut Box, we now feed a lot of dogs across the UK - but we want to feed dogs everywhere. And to do this, we need a team of brilliant people who share that ambition to come and work with us. 

🙌 A bit about what we offer.

• 25 days holiday (plus 8 bank holidays) and an additional day for every year of service 
• 5 paid 'paws' days per year to support to learning and/or wellbeing
• £500 personal learning & development budget 
• Butternut Box employee discount 
• Enhanced parental leave
• Co-working office space. 
• Flexible working hours and work from home options 
• Cycle to work scheme
• Pension with NEST
• Private Medical Insurance with Vitality
• Private Dental Insurance with Bupa
• Time off for fertility treatments and pregnancy loss
• Paid sabbaticals for squad members with 5 or more years at Butternut
• Discounted gym access through MyGymDiscounts
• Lots of office dogs (Ajax, Brio, Basil, Chorizo, Lenny, Jasper, Peggy, Pip and many more….)

❗️A few things to note: 

• Butternut Box is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity and inclusion. We welcome people of different nationalities, backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives.
• As our business has grown so has our responsibility to our community, our planet and our business. We are not perfect, but we are committed to doing business the right way and continually improving our social and environmental performance.
• We're not afraid of putting extra weight on candidates from underrepresented groups. We want strong, diverse teams built from different backgrounds, experiences, and identities. We're ready for the ongoing work that goes into building an inclusive, supportive place for you to do the best work of your career.

#LI-Hybrid