Creative Director

Everspring is a leading provider of education technology and service solutions. Our advanced technology, proven marketing approach, research-based instructional design services, and robust faculty support deliver outstanding outcomes for our university partners, powering their success online.

We are looking for a bold, visionary Creative Director to bring fresh energy, inspiration, and transformative leadership to Everspring’s creative team. This is an exciting opportunity to elevate a strong in-house function into an agile, high-impact force within the organization. You’ll lead the creation of dynamic, compelling content that drives student engagement and supports the growth of our university partners’ online programs. From digital and video to social, paid media, and website design, you'll oversee a diverse range of initiatives and ensure they align with performance goals and brand vision.

This role is perfect for a creative leader who thrives on innovation and is excited to shape not only what we make, but how we make it. You’ll have the freedom to introduce fresh thinking and best practices, while mentoring a talented team and pushing creative boundaries. You'll also travel (up to 20%) to meet with clients and university partners, presenting strategies and building strong, collaborative relationships.

Reporting directly to the VP of Marketing, the Creative Director is a high-visibility role with the opportunity to influence both creative execution and broader marketing strategy. This position is based in Chicago and offers a flexible hybrid work environment, with 2–3 days in-office per week. It’s a great fit for someone who values creative collaboration, strategic impact, and the chance to help shape the future of a mission-driven organization.

Key Responsibilities:

Creative Leadership:

• Develop innovative content marketing assets that leverage consumer insights to drive university brand engagement.
• Oversee creative campaigns across digital, social, UX, video, and other platforms to ensure alignment with brand voice and goals.
• Act as a creative visionary and ensure all creative execution ties to measurable business results.
• Present creative concepts to clients and university partners in a professional and collaborative manner.

Team Optimization:

• Lead and mentor an in-house creative team, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and excellence.
• Define the team’s core capabilities and manage workflows to integrate outsourced resources and automation tools—including AI-driven solutions—for tactical and scalable work.
• Streamline processes to enhance team efficiency and collaboration.

Outsourcing Management:

• Build and manage a network of external vendors, freelancers, and agencies to supplement the in-house team’s capabilities.
• Implement cost-effective outsourcing strategies while ensuring consistency and quality across all outputs.
• Maintain high standards in creative deliverables produced by both in-house and external teams.
• Ensuring all creative assets undergo legal review and comply with regulatory requirements.

Operational Excellence:

• Manage project timelines, budgets, and deliverables, ensuring timely and cost-efficient execution.
• Oversee the implementation of tools and processes to enhance collaboration between in-house and external teams.
• Oversee the implementation of tools and processes—including AI-powered platforms—to enhance collaboration, streamline execution, and scale output.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to integrate creative assets into broader marketing initiatives effectively.

Performance Measurement:

• Establish and monitor KPIs to evaluate the impact of creative efforts and outsourcing ROI.
• Provide regular performance updates to the VP of Marketing, with actionable recommendations for improvement.

• Experience: 8+ years in creative leadership roles, with a proven track record of managing hybrid teams in a creative agency environment
• Team Management: Demonstrated ability to lead small in-house teams while effectively managing large-scale outsourced resources.
• Creative Excellence: Proven success in delivering innovative campaigns with measurable results.
• Outsourcing Expertise: Significant experience in building and managing external resource networks, ensuring quality and cost-efficiency.
• Operational Skills: Strong background in process optimization, budget management, and performance tracking.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Fine Arts, or a related field (Master’s preferred).
• Portfolio:  Please include a portfolio of work that demonstrates your range of experience across digital, video, social, and web creative direction. We especially encourage examples that showcase how you've incorporated AI tools or workflows into your creative process.

About Everspring 

Everspring is a leading provider of education technology and service solutions. Our advanced technology, proven marketing approach, research-based instructional design services, and robust faculty support deliver outstanding outcomes for our university partners, powering their success online. Everspring offers a range of full-service turnkey solutions, as well as standalone single service offerings, and innovative self-service products that enable universities to establish and maintain themselves as leaders in the digital delivery of education.  

Based in Chicago, Everspring serves a growing number of colleges and universities. Built In Chicago has named us one of the "Best Places to Work" in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025. We were also certified as a Great Place To Work® in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. 

Compensation offered at Everspring will be determined by factors such as location, level, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Position Location: Illinois.  

The base salary hiring range for this position is: $95,000 to $140,000.

 We offer benefits that include hybrid work arrangement, paid parental leave,  medical, dental and vision insurance, FSA, HSA, employer-paid short-term and optional long-term disability, 401k with an employer match vested immediately, a generous PTO plan that accrues with tenure, professional development, tuition reimbursement program, discounted onsite gym, optional pet insurance and more!

EEO Note: 

Everspring is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship. Everspring makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.