Freelance Associate Creative Director, Design (Pharma)

Job Overview:

The Freelance Associate Creative Director, Art (ACD, Art) is a conceptual and visual leader who shapes breakthrough creative thinking across assigned brands. Working closely with the Group Creative Director, this role will help to drive the development of thoughtful, insight-driven ideas and elevates visual craft across omnichannel campaigns. The ACD, Art plays a hands-on role in developing concepts, directing design, and mentoring art directors and designers—ensuring all creative solutions align with strategy and deliver impact.

This role requires an individual who thrives in a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment and who understands the nuances of pharmaceutical creative, including scientific storytelling, regulatory requirements, and launch fundamentals. They bring a strong aesthetic sensibility, a deep understanding of visual trends, and the ability to translate complex science into compelling visual narratives. This role is client-facing and requires strong presentation skills, along with the ability to supervise and manage junior and mid-level creative team members.

Key Responsibilities, including but not limited to:

Creative Leadership & Concept Development

• Lead concept development and visual articulation for integrated campaigns across print, digital, social, experiential, and video.
• Translate strategic insights into compelling visual ideas that elevate the client’s brand.
• Partner closely with copy leads to drive cohesive creative thinking.
• Push creative boundaries while ensuring solutions remain strategically grounded.
• Provide hands-on direction to designers and art directors throughout the creative process.
• Present creative work confidently to internal stakeholders and clients.

Design & Art Direction

• Direct the creation of visual systems, campaign identities, and design approaches.
• Ensure all visual outputs are consistent, brand aligned, and support core messaging.
• Guide photo direction, illustration style, typography choices, color palettes, and layout decisions.
• Oversee quality control for all visual deliverables.

Collaboration & Cross-functional Partnership

• Collaborate with Strategy, Account, Project Management, and Creative partners to ensure creative accuracy and alignment.
• Contribute to new business efforts by developing conceptual directions and participating in pitch presentations.
• Partner effectively with production, UX, and development teams on multichannel executions.

Leadership & Mentorship

• Mentor and guide junior and mid-level art talent, providing constructive feedback and modeling creative excellence.
• Model inclusive and collaborative creative leadership.
• Contribute to the growth and creative culture of the department.

Operational & Industry Awareness

• Maintain a deep understanding of visual trends, technologies, and production techniques.
• Ensure creative adheres to pharma regulatory expectations while still delivering innovation.
• Support brand planning and tactical development in partnership with cross-functional leads.

Qualifications and Skills:

• 8+ years of pharmaceutical art direction or design experience within creative or advertising agencies, including AOR and launch experience.
• Rare disease experience strongly preferred.
• Proven ability to lead and mentor copy teams, providing actionable and inspiring feedback.
• Strong client-facing presence and excellent presentation skills.
• Bachelor’s degree in Visual Communications or a related field
• Portfolio demonstrating conceptual range and strong art direction and design across formats.
• Proven ability to translate scientific content into persuasive and original creative work.
• Strong collaboration skills and ability to partner closely with cross-functional teams.

Benefits:

We are proud to offer a comprehensive benefits package to all of our employees:

• Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance. We cover a generous portion of employee contributions
• 401K plan. We invest in present and future you, which is why we offer a generous match and immediate vesting on our plan
• Parental Leave. Generous paid time off for parents to bond with their newest addition
• Professional Development. Each employee has an annual budget to allocate to professional development opportunities. Employees are encouraged to take a workshop, attend a webinar, join associations, and do anything else that will help them grow in their careers.
• And more! We offer flexible time off, life insurance, LTD, a robust employee assistance program, and more!

At CG Life, we recognize that attracting the best talent is key to our strategy and success as a company. As a result, we aim for flexibility in structuring competitive compensation offers to ensure we are able to attract the best candidates. As required by law in this state, the estimated hourly range for this position is $100 - $120 USD and represents our good faith estimate as to what our ideal candidates are likely to expect. We tailor our offers within the range based on organizational needs, internal equity, market data, geographic zone, and the selected candidate’s experience, education, industry knowledge, location, technical and communication skills, and other factors that may prove relevant during the selection process. At CG Life, it is not common for individuals to be hired at the higher end of the range, and compensation decisions depend on a variety of factors. This position is eligible to participate in a discretionary bonus program, subject to the rules governing the plan. CG Life offers a variety of benefits, including health benefits, 401K retirement with a generous company match and immediate vesting, and flexible time off.

A Note to Candidates:

It has come to our attention that some candidates are being contacted by individuals falsely claiming to represent CG Life. Please note that all official communications from CG Life will come from an email address ending in @cglife.com. If you are contacted by anyone using a different domain, please consider it fraudulent. CG Life will never ask candidates to pay fees or share financial information at any stage of the hiring process

This job posting is intended for direct applicants only; please, no outside recruiters.