Head of Creative; Maternity Cover

Ideas + Outcomes and Pull London are two agencies in the Common Thread Group of Independent Agencies. Same building, same creative resource, two propositions.

We are built on one truth. When you know your customer, you change the game.

Our work sits in four sectors: health, beauty, retail and consumer goods. Superdrug, Schwarzkopf, Jo Loves, Futura Foods, Eakin Healthcare. Brands with real distribution, real category pressure and real regulatory constraint. Much of it is complex. All of it matters.

We are Drum Recommended and rated 9.3/10 by our clients. We are independent. There are no layers between the idea and the person who signs it off.

This role carries overall responsibility for the quality of everything creative that leaves the building, across both agency brands. It is a leadership position and a hands-on one. You will lead a small team of brand specialists, designers and video producers, supported by trusted freelancers, and you will still be in the concept yourself on the biggest briefs and the pitches.

You will work in close partnership with strategy and account management, from the brief through to the presentation, and you will report to the Group CEO.

Contract: Fixed term maternity cover, 4 January 2027 to 17 December 2027. As this is maternity cover, we may need you to start a little earlier, or to be available for a handful of handover days in December 2026.

Hours: 4 days a week preferred. Full-time is possible, subject to discussion and agreed at offer stage.

Salary: £65,000 full-time equivalent. At our preferred 4 days a week that is £52,000.

Location: Central London, hybrid. 3 days in the office, flexible hours between 08:00-18:00.

Please note: We receive 400-500 applications per role and cannot respond to everyone. There is no visa sponsorship available. Applicants must have permanent right to work in the UK.

Set the standard. Review work before it goes out. Decide what is good enough and say so early, when it is still cheap to change. Stop ideas that are off brief before they eat a week.

Turn strategy into ideas. Work closely with the Chief Strategy Officer to turn customer insight, strategic propositions and brand challenges into creative platforms and big ideas. Strategy and creative work well together here. We are always looking to make that partnership produce better work, and you will lead that.

Lead the work. Be hands-on across advertising, brand, campaign, packaging, retail, social and video. On the biggest briefs and the pitches, be in the concept yourself, not supervising from a distance.

Own the quality. Exceptional attention to detail, with a rigorous approach to creative QA. Take responsibility for the final quality and output of the work.

Run the department effectively. Manage the creative resource intelligently. Know when to use the strengths of the team, when to bring in freelance expertise, and how to balance ambition, quality, time and budget.

Grow the team. Mentor the team, give clear critique, and make it a place where people do better work than they did last year.

Lead the client relationship. Present your own work and push clients to be braver than the brief asked for. Build trusted relationships with senior clients, becoming a creative partner rather than simply the person who presents the work.

8+ years in creative agencies, currently leading a team. Head of Creative, Associate Creative Director, Senior Art Director with reports, or equivalent.

Still hands-on. As comfortable creating the work yourself as reviewing someone else's.

A portfolio with genuine ideas in it, not just well-executed layouts. We want to see the thinking.

Practical fluency across advertising, brand identity, campaign, packaging, retail,…