CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Department: Marketing
Reports To: VP of Marketing
Position Type: Full Time; Salaried;
Based In: Cincinnati, OH
COMPANY OVERVIEW
Rhinegeist Brewery is a regional craft brewery based in the historic Over-The-Rhine in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. We have built a strong and dedicated team of employees that believe in the power of beer to bring people together, create fantastic ideas, and build a community. Our unique group of employee-owners believes that it is our responsibility to make inspiring beverages and cultivate memorable experiences. We strive to find high-quality, creative solutions with a fierce spirit of independence as we grow. Rhinegeist welcomes all people and is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Diverse candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
POSITION OVERVIEW
Rhinegeist has built its craft at design. Impeccable taste, quality, consistency, and standards are table stakes. The next phase is something harder: modern, culturally relevant brand work that connects with consumers both in and beyond craft beer culture — work that earns Rhinegeist a place in conversations, channels, and categories it hasn't fully entered yet.
The Creative Director is a transformational creative leader who makes that happen. This role leads and manages the Creative and Content team, sets the standard for creative quality across every brand touchpoint, and partners with the Brand Manager to translate brand strategy into work that is visually compelling, culturally sharp, and consistent from packaging to content to experience.
This is not a role for someone who imposes a vision. It is a role for someone who elevates the team's thinking, understands the brief behind the brief, builds from shared strategy, and holds the bar high — every time, across every channel. Comfort in navigating ambiguity is an absolute!
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
CREATIVE LEADERSHIP & TEAM DEVELOPMENT
- Lead, manage, and develop the Creative and Content teams — setting clear expectations, mentoring talent, and building a culture of craft, accountability, and continuous improvement.
- Elevate the team's thinking and output over time —by building shared standards and pushing everyone to do their best work.
- Hold the teams accountable for brand quality across every touchpoint: packaging, digital, content, experiential, and trade.
- Improves team workflows, intake processes, and planning that support the pace and volume. We have a high volume of work and need a creative leader that understands the importance of deadlines and processes, working seamlessly with Marketing Operations honoring deadlines and the department’s operating engine.
BRAND CREATIVE DIRECTION
- Partner to deeply understand brand strategy, positioning, and GTM priorities — then translate those inputs into creative direction the team can execute with precision.
- Partner with the Digital Growth Director on creative executions across digital channels — ensuring brand integrity is maintained as creative adapts to platform and performance requirements.
- Own stewardship of the creative expression of the Rhinegeist brand: visual identity, design systems, tone of voice, and the standards that govern how all of it shows up in market.
- Drive brand evolution — leading the Creative team toward modern, culturally relevant work that connects with consumers beyond traditional craft beer positioning.
- Ensure creative consistency across all brand touchpoints — packaging, campaigns, content, events, digital, and trade materials.
- Read through the stated brief to understand what is needed — and deliver work that serves the strategy even when the ask is imprecisely defined.
- Ability to present to Executive Leadership and BOD.
CREATIVE STANDARDS & OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE
- Establish and maintain the creative standards, brand guidelines, and quality benchmarks that govern all Rhinegeist brand output.
- Build scalable creative systems — templates, toolkits, and design language — that allow the broader organization to execute on-brand without requiring Creative team involvement on every asset.
- Manage agency and vendor relationships where external creative support is engaged; maintain brand standards and quality across all external production.
- Thrive beyond packaging — bring the same creative rigor to voice, content, experience, and emerging brand expressions.
REQUIRED SKILLS
- Ability to manage a team and a body of work across multiple brands.
- Strong creative point of view — distinct, modern, and built from a deep understanding of brand and culture.
- Understands the brief behind the brief and understands what is needed even when it isn't directly stated.
- Elevates others — mentors naturally, pulls the team's thinking up, thrives in ambiguity
- Brand systems thinker — builds creative frameworks and standards that scale while enabling flexibility across touchpoints.
- Collaborative by design — builds from shared vision, not singular authority; earns trust across functions and peers.
- Thrives beyond packaging — equally confident directing voice, content, experience, and digital creative.
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE
- Bachelor's degree in Design, Visual Communications, Marketing, or related field; equivalent experience considered.
- 8-10 years of creative experience with experience managing direct reports and leading a team.
- Portfolio demonstrating brand evolution — work that moved a brand forward, not just
- maintained it.
- Experience directing creative across multiple touchpoints: packaging, digital, content, and experiential.
- Demonstrated ability to build creative standards and systems that others can execute consistently without having to lead the entire process.
- Experience working in or alongside brand marketing and digital growth functions
- Beverage, CPG, or lifestyle brand experience strongly preferred.
Please consider applying even if you do not match all the listed qualifications. Additionally, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of a position.
Benefits at Rhinegeist
- Health/Dental/Vision Insurance
- Employer Paid Basic Life Insurance
- 17 days of PTO
- Paid Parental Leave
- Employee Paid Short-Term/Long-Term Disability/Additional Life Insurance
- Dependent Care – Flexible Spending Account
- 401k Match Offered
- 8 Company & 2 Personal Holidays
- Employee Assistance Program
- Free Breakroom Snacks
- Beer and Merchandise allowance
