Head of Creative

What’s in it for you?:
Hakim Group is the UK's fastest-growing group of independent opticians. Our success comes from sticking closely to our core values, being honest, ambitious, kind, industrious, and meticulous.

Our people are the heartbeat of our business. We're committed to giving you the tools, support, and structure you need to excel in your role, helping you achieve your personal and professional aspirations.

This role is hybrid-based, working from our HQ in Darwen three days per week.

You will also receive:
You'll join an empowering environment where your creativity and commercial insight will have a significant, tangible impact—transforming not only Hakim Group's future but revolutionising the independent optical industry. This is an opportunity to shape the creative direction of a rapidly growing company in a collaborative and innovative work environment, with significant professional development and growth opportunities as we continue our ambitious expansion.
- Competitive salary
- Company pension
- Employee discount
- On-site parking
- Cycle to work scheme
- Free parking
- Health & wellbeing programme
- Additional leave
- Sick pay

About the Role:
As our Head of Creative, you'll be at the centre of driving commercial success through impactful, innovative creative campaigns while leading one of the most exciting transformational periods in our company's history. You'll spearhead the creative vision across our rapidly expanding portfolio of independent opticians, managing multiple rebranding projects that preserve the unique character of each practice while creating a cohesive, premium brand experience.

Your day-to-day will be dynamic and varied, from leading strategic brand development sessions and creative briefings, to reviewing campaign concepts with your multidisciplinary team of designers and AV specialists and collaborating with teams across Growth - which contains the Marketing, Digital, and CRM teams. You'll be hands-on in developing high-end luxury retail experiences that elevate our brands in the competitive optical market, while simultaneously overseeing the implementation of industry-wide campaigns that position Hakim Group as the leader in independent optical care.

This role demands both strategic thinking and creative excellence. You’ll redesign the creative function for personalisation at scale, introducing content strategy and copywriting alongside design and AV, building capacity (including likely growing the team quite considerably), and delivering a step-change in production through clear SLAs, agile workflows, and tooling. You’ll establish robust, modular processes for briefing, review and approval, with reusable templates and brand systems that protect each practice’s individuality while enabling fast, consistent rollout across the estate. Partnering closely with Marketing, Digital and CRM, and collaborating with other department heads, you’ll align creative across every touchpoint to drive measurable commercial impact while upholding premium brand standards.

You'll also be at the forefront of innovation, exploring how AI and emerging technologies can enhance our creative processes and deliver even more impactful results. From conceptualising multi-channel campaigns to leading rebranding initiatives for newly acquired practices, you'll shape not just individual projects but the entire creative direction of a company that's revolutionising the independent optical industry.

You'll work closely with senior leadership ensuring our creative direction strategically supports Hakim Group's commercial ambitions and positions us as industry leaders.

**Key Roles & Responsibilities**:
**Creative Leadership & Strategy**:

- Lead and inspire a high-performing creative team, including designers, content writers, and audio-visual specialists, creating an environment where commercial acumen and creativity combine to deliver outstanding results.
- Drive our CRM-centric content strategy, crafting and personalising copy through data-led audience insights, while spearheading the build-out of a central content hub and its supporting asset-management/PIM infrastructure.
- Develop and implement comprehensive creative strategies that align directly with Hakim Group's commercial objectives and ambitious growth targets.
- Oversee multiple rebranding projects across our portfolio of independent opticians, ensuring each transformation enhances both individual practice identity and collective brand strength.
- Create and maintain sophisticated brand guidelines that enable consistency while preserving the unique character and heritage of individual practices.
- Drive forward-thinking, industry-wide campaigns that elevate our collective brand presence and differentiate Hakim Group in the competitive optical marketplace.

**Team Management & Development**:

- Manage, mentor, and develop a multidisciplinary team of creative professionals, fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and proa