5 Creative industry roles for Non-creatives...

It takes many hands to keep a creative design agency ticking. Some hands are?creative?whilst others keep a tight grasp of the business side of things. Both are integral to an agency’s success.

We’re regularly asked what roles are available for individuals who aren’t necessarily creative but still want to work in the creative design & branding world. In this article, our Client Services Consultant?Nadina Grad?breaks down the avenues available and the skills required to excel in them.

Account Manager

Account Managers (AM’s) are the mouthpiece of a design agency. They work directly with clients to know their needs and answer questions on current projects whilst staying attuned to potential new projects as well. Successful account managers tend to have high attention to detail, a gift of the gab and a talent for picking up on nuances that others may not hear.

AM roles are becoming increasingly hybrid, so consider this career path if working remotely is a dealbreaker for you.

When hiring for an AM role, Nadina always looks out for signs of a great communicator – regardless of level. As the bridge between client and design, she says an AM must be a great diplomat, ratiocinator and meticulous with their words.

Account Director

Account directors (AD’s) play a key role in an agency’s growth as they help build lasting relationships with new and existing clients. On a day-to-day basis, AD’s will work on an agency’s new business programme, plan client projects, brief the creative teams and manage budgets to help clients achieve their goals.

An Account Director is a senior position usually reached after 4-6 years working in accounts.

But that’s not all. AD’s also supervise the account managers and executives, manage strategies and negotiate contracts on behalf of the client. They may also present reports regarding account progress and quotas to senior leadership and stakeholders.

What separates a good Account Director (AD) from a really good one?

Nadina believes that its strong commercial acumen, a focus on solutions and a growth mindset. She continues, AD’s should be charismatic, and inspiring. Their years of experience should translate into ideas and strong mentor-like relationships with their team members.

View our live AD roles

Project Manager

A Project Manager (PM) is someone who initiates, designs, plans, executes, and completes projects. They handle the day-to-day tasks of a project and monitor the big picture.

It's important for a Project Manager to be a guru with timelines, budgets, and resources. In terms of personality, one must be able to foresee what may go wrong and be prepared if it may happen.

Project Managers need to be calm with a cool head

You’ll need to be organised, diplomatic and communicative, but also the person to calm the team down when **** hits the fan. Relationship management skills are also essential, as they enable PM’s to develop and nurture relationships with clients, vendors and team members.

View our current PM roles

Strategist

In a Strategy role, you’ll be close to the design action, but rather than creating, you’ll drive brand direction through well-researched data.

All Strategists need strong analytic and research skills, that goes without saying; but a commercial focus is equally important, especially at the top-level. A curious mind is also essential, whether you desire to be brand or design focussed or a business strategist. A good Strategist can sniff a trend right as it emerges. They have their fingers on the pulse and always keep abreast of current and societal affairs.

At top level, a Strategist can earn up to ￡130k or ￡800 per day

View our Salary Indicator guide 2023

This is a career path with lots of room for development and pivots. It could be a route for you to consider if you’re a future thinker, unafraid to shake things up.

Studio Manager

Being a Studio Manager in a design agency isn’t like being Office Manager in a corporate setting. You won’t just be managing facilities or admin and its very unlikely that your days will be mundane. In fact, a Studio Manager role is more akin to being an Orchestra Conductor. It’s less about ordering stationery and more about putting the right people together and ensuring the team stay consistently connected.

Studio Managers are more like Orchestra Conductor’s than corporate Office Managers

Many smaller agencies omit Resource or Traffic Managers and rely solely on their Studio managers to deliver messages from the team to senior management. So, if you’re considering this career path you should prepare yourself for uncomfortable conversations and sometimes being the bearer of bad news, but there are so many positives that outweigh the negatives as you are essentially the lynchpin within the agency – a wonderful role for people who thrive on communication, organisation and problem-solving!

If you have any questions regarding our Client Services roles, get in touch with the team at?[email protected], we're here to help.

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