• Discoverability. Make sure content is structured to be found, in search and in LLM citation, briefing the technical work or doing it yourself if able. You understand how content gets found in the age of AI and by the models people increasingly ask instead of searching. You structure what we publish so D&AD gets cited and ensure content is always optimised to drive views and traffic back to D&AD.

• Production. D&AD paves the way for the highest of creative standards.

  • Ensure every piece of work has human touch and creativity and craft. AI is fine to use to enable creativity and help us be efficient but embed AI properly into how the team drafts, edits, repurposes and researches, with a clear view of where it helps and where it flattens the work.
  • Bring new creative approaches, references and platform behaviours into the building, so D&AD is early to formats rather than late.
  • Direct the video, audio and photography output, briefing the team, and shooting or cutting yourself when the moment calls for it.
  • Build the repurposing engine so one shoot becomes a full set of assets rather than a single film and a couple of stills.

• Quality Control. Act as the final gate on quality. Nothing goes out under the D&AD name that you would not defend in a room full of people who judge work for a living.

• The camera and the edit. Festival talks, jury rooms, Pencil winners, studio visits, students at New Blood, tutors, course-leaders mid-Masterclass. Shooting, stills and turnaround sit with the Content Editor & Producer, but you set the vision and you are hands-on when the moment matters or the team is stretched. You know your way round editing tools and timelines and you can take a raw clip to a published reel the same day.

• Audio and long-form. We have access to the most interesting people in the industry and need a consistent way of capturing them effectively and efficiently. You build the format and you and your team are the ones in the room with the guest. The team turns each conversation into an episode, a run of clips, a newsletter or a talking point.

• Editorial. Interviews, case studies, jury insight, trend pieces off the back of the Awards data. The Senior Editor runs the day-to-day of this and works with you to set the territory, decide what is worth making and hold the standard the D&AD name deserves.

• Brand and thought leadership. You work closely with the Marketing and PR leads so content pulls its weight against campaign and brand objectives. That means feeding campaign moments with the right assets, and building the flagship pieces that earn coverage and conversation: thought leadership, industry reports, insight drawn from the Awards data, other relevant sources and from our audiences. You work closely with the Head of PR and Head of Marketing to shape those pieces and make sure each one is launched properly rather than published and forgotten.

• Sales enablement. Our commercial teams sell entries, partnerships, sponsorship and training. They need proof, case studies, sizzles and decks that make the argument for them. You treat that work as creative work rather than an afterthought because it pays for our education programmes which drive our mission forward.

Social

• The platforms and channels. LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, Pinterest, whatever earns its place next. With the help of the Social Media Manager, you define what the role of each one is, how we behave on them to engage audiences, what we post there, how often, and what we stop doing. You know why a cut that works on TikTok needs reworking for LinkedIn, and you ensure the rework is done rather than cross-posting.

• Voice in the feed. You can write copy if needed and approve the copy that goes out, and set how D&AD sounds in a caption, a comment and a reply. Confident, specific and worth the industry's attention.

• Community. Working closely with the Head of PR and wider team to spot who is worth talking to, and building relationships with the creators, students, studios and members who already talk about us to ensure the community is alive and thriving.

• Listening. You watch what the industry is posting and arguing about, you track how we and comparable organisations show up, and you turn that into content territory rather than a monthly report.

• Growth. You are measured on what the channels do: audience growth, engagement quality, and traffic and conversion into entries, tickets, and course sign-ups.

The Team

• You nurture and get the best out of our Senior Editor & Ambassadors Program Manager, Social Media Manager and a Content Editor & Producer (to be hired). Hire the latter well, and use the freelance bench for bigger shoots/projects properly. Set clear standards and direction, inspire them and make sure they are pointed at the right things and constantly looking for ways to drive impact.

Analytics - the Feedback Loop

• Own the numbers. Define what we measure, read it honestly, and close the loop so performance data changes how the next round of content is shot and cut, not just how it is reported. You can tell the difference between a good month and a lucky post.

You'll Fit If You

• Have a body of work rather than a tidy CV. Channels you grew, films you cut, a show you built, a publication you shaped.
• Run at a high level of agency. You spot what should be filmed, you go and film it, and you do not wait for a brief.
• Are equal parts maker and operator. You can frame the shot and then read whether it worked.
• Care about the