Associate Creative Director

Position Summary

The Creative Director will lead the vision, strategy, operations, and evolution of the Optum Rx Creative organization. This leader will oversee a team of 15+ creative professionals responsible for delivering impactful, insight-driven storytelling and creative experiences across the full marketing funnel, serving both B2B, B2Provider and B2C audiences.

This role will shape how the Optum and Optum Rx brands come to life through integrated campaigns, thought leadership, digital experiences, content marketing, video, motion graphics, social media, executive communications, events, sales enablement, and emerging experiences. The Creative Director will champion the integration of AI-enabled creative workflows, modern production technologies, and innovative storytelling techniques to transform creative delivery, elevate quality, and accelerate speed to market.

Partnering closely with Content Strategy, Product Marketing, Audience Strategy, Growth & Retention, Communications, and business leaders, this individual will ensure every creative expression is strategic, audience-centered, performance-oriented, and aligned to business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Creative Vision & Strategy

• Define and lead the enterprise creative vision for Optum Rx, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities, audience needs, and growth objectives.
• Establish and evolve a distinctive creative identity that strengthens the Optum brand while differentiating Optum Rx in the marketplace.
• Translate business strategies into compelling creative experiences and storytelling frameworks across channels and audiences.
• Drive creative excellence across the full customer journey, from awareness and consideration through engagement, conversion, retention, and advocacy.
• Ensure all creative output is insight-driven, audience-focused, and tied to measurable business impact.

AI-Powered Creative Transformation

• Lead industry-leading adoption of Generative AI and emerging creative technologies across the organization.
• Develop AI-enabled creative workflows that improve efficiency, scalability, personalization, and creative impact.
• Identify and implement innovative tools, platforms, and processes that transform content creation, design production, multimedia development, and campaign execution.
• Establish governance, best practices, quality standards, and responsible AI usage across the creative organization.
• Foster a culture of experimentation, continuous learning, and technology-driven innovation.

Creative Production Leadership

• Lead end-to-end production across the full spectrum of creative services, including:
• Brand campaigns
• Digital experiences
• Thought leadership assets
• Content marketing
• Executive communications
• Video and multimedia
• Motion graphics
• Social media
• Event experiences
• Sales enablement materials
• Customer communications
• Presentation design
• Emerging digital formats
• Ensure consistency, accessibility, quality, and brand integrity across all creative deliverables.
• Build scalable creative systems, templates, design standards, and production processes that improve efficiency and consistency.

Storytelling & Audience Engagement

• Champion powerful storytelling that translates complex healthcare, pharmacy, and business topics into engaging, human-centered experiences.
• Guide creative development for multiple audiences including employers, health plans, providers, consumers, consultants, brokers, and internal stakeholders.
• Partner closely with Content Strategy leaders to ensure creative and messaging strategies work seamlessly together.
• Elevate thought leadership content through innovative visual storytelling, multimedia experiences, interactive content, podcasts, video, and emerging formats.
• Ensure storytelling is tailored to audience needs, business goals, and channel-specific best practices.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, inspire, and develop a team of 15+ creative professionals across design, multimedia, video, production, creative operations, and strategic creative disciplines.
• Build a high-performing culture focused on creativity, collaboration, innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Establish clear priorities, performance expectations, career development plans, and succession strategies.
• Create opportunities for team members to expand capabilities in AI, emerging technologies, creative leadership, and strategic thinking.
• Serve as a mentor and ambassador for creative excellence across the broader marketing organization.

Cross-Functional Partnership & Influence

• Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to senior marketing and business leaders.
• Partner closely with Content Strategy, Product Marketing, Audience Strategy, Growth & Retention Marketing, Communications, and Analytics teams.
• Influence creative direction across enterprise initiatives while balancing business objectives, audience needs, compliance requirements, and brand standards.
• Collaborate with external agencies, production partners, freelancers, and technology vendors when needed.
• Drive alignment across stakeholders while fostering a culture of partnership and shared success.

Operational Excellence

• Oversee creative resource planning, capacity management, prioritization, and budget stewardship.
• Establish performance measures and operational frameworks that improve efficiency and effectiveness.
• Continuously improve creative processes, workflows, governance models, and production systems.
• Leverage data, analytics, audience insights, and testing to optimize creative performance and drive measurable outcomes.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Design, Marketing, Communications, Advertising, Multimedia Design, Fine Arts, or related field.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in creative leadership, marketing, branding, digital experience, content development, multimedia production, or agency leadership.
• 7+ years leading and developing high-performing creative teams.
• Experience managing teams of 15+ creative professionals.
• Proven experience leading integrated creative programs across B2B and B2C audiences.
• Demonstrated expertise across multiple creative disciplines including design, video, multimedia, digital experiences, creative strategy, and campaign development.
• Experience building and scaling AI-enabled creative workflows and modern content production capabilities.
• Exceptional storytelling, communication, and presentation skills.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to influence senior leaders and stakeholders.
• Experience operating in highly matrixed, enterprise environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading creative organizations within healthcare, financial services, technology, consulting, or other highly regulated industries.
• Expertise in Generative AI platforms, creative automation, personalization technologies, and emerging content creation tools.
• Experience partnering with thought leadership, content strategy, audience strategy, and growth marketing functions.
• Experience leading global or distributed creative teams.
• Strong understanding of customer journey orchestration, audience segmentation, digital experience design, and performance marketing.
• Portfolio demonstrating award-winning creative work, innovative storytelling, and measurable business impact.

Leadership Profile

The ideal candidate is:

• A visionary creative leader
• An AI-first innovator
• A compelling storyteller
• A strategic business partner
• A builder of high-performing teams
• A champion of creative excellence
• A catalyst for transformation
• Equally comfortable discussing brand strategy, customer journeys, Generative AI, team development, and business growth

Team Mission: Build the industry's most innovative, AI-enabled creative organization that transforms complex ideas into meaningful experiences, accelerates business growth, and brings the Optum Rx story to life for every audience we serve.