Head of Creative and Strategy
29 June 26
Permanent
Hybrid
£60-70k
Description
This is a role with real creative autonomy. For the right person, this is a place to build something.
You will head up ITCH's Creative and Strategy team — a role that sits right at the heart of what we do and how we grow. You'll be leading a team of creatives and strategists, winning work with brilliant ideas and helping shape the next chapter of the agency.
You're someone who thinks in both directions: you can get upstream of a brief and develop the strategic foundation that makes creative land harder and then you can bring that creative to life in a way that excites clients and wins pitches. You understand the 'why' as well as the 'what'.
You'll work across B2C and B2B, with a strong foothold in professional services. You're as comfortable building a brand-level audience strategy as you are directing a social-first campaign. You know how to use AI tools to accelerate research and synthesis, combining that with cultural intelligence and sharp brand thinking to deliver measurable outcomes.
You're a confident, inspiring presenter. You can walk into a room and own it, or build a deck that does the talking for you. Ideally both. You will be a pitch-winning machine - inspiring clients and proactively delivering ideas that win.
You are a driven, passionate leader who brings out the best in the people around them. Managing a creative team isn't just about directing output, it’s about building an environment where brilliant ideas can actually happen. You'll foster a culture of creative ambition at ITCH; running sessions that spark something, giving feedback that pushes rather than deflates, and championing work that takes a risk. You lead from the front but you know the best idea in the room isn't always yours and you're genuinely excited when it isn't.
Key Skills
- 10+ years' experience developing creative campaigns within video and photographic content
- Proven track record across long form, short form and social-first content
- Experience developing strategic frameworks, channel strategies or audience strategies. Not just responding to briefs, but shaping them
- A confident, inspiring presenter, both in the room and on the page
- A creative mind that loves generating multiple routes, not just one safe answer
- Ability to get under the skin of a client and understand what makes them and their customers tick
- Solid understanding of production and post-production
- Sharp written and verbal communication skills
- Experience managing and developing a small team
- Comfortable in a fast-paced environment where priorities shift daily
- Ability to embody ITCH values; collaborative, driven, creative, human
The day to day
Strategy
- Lead strategic development across pitches and live projects — from brand-level audience and positioning work down to campaign and social strategy
- Own the strategic narrative on new business pitches, building the 'why' that makes our creative impossible to argue with. Build proactive outreach into new business, living by the ethos ‘ideas win work’.
- Run discovery and insight work with clients, getting under the skin of their brand, their customers and their market
- Use AI tools to accelerate research, synthesis and strategic thinking — combining data with cultural intelligence to sharpen every brief
- Collaborate with the wider team to ensure strategy and creative are always pulling in the same direction
Creative
- Lead idea generation across new business and live projects, working closely with our team of creatives
- Work closely with our founder/ECD on the agency's creative vision, with real autonomy to shape the creative output day-to-day
- Build and present stunning decks that bring ideas to life — from first concept through to final execution
- Be the creative point of reference across key projects as work moves through production and post
- Lead internal creative sessions with one eye on impact and the other on commercial viability
- Manage a bank of references and stay genuinely ahead of trends across branded content and social
- Write copy for pitches and, where needed, for client work
- Collaborate with filmmakers, editors, animators and illustrators to maintain a strong creative hub
- Be a point of approval on final edits and animations for creative-led projects
- Ensure creative is executed as sold - what's in the deck is what ends up on screen
Leadership & Growth
- Lead and line manage a team of 3–5 creatives and strategists, supporting their development and growth
- Sit on the Senior Management Team, contributing to the growth and direction of the agency
- Proactively identify creative and strategic opportunities with existing clients (with the support of our CP team), be a new business winning machine
- Have a strong understanding of the cost to deliver what we sell, with some involvement at the costing stage
- Champion ITCH as a creative-first agency, helping us deliver just great content
Perks
- The chance to help shape the next phase of growth at ITCH
- Daily collaboration with senior leaders who will value your input and support your progression.
- Room to experiment, learn, and build smarter systems and better outreach.
- Hybrid working
- Team socials and an annual Summer Event
- A salary that reflects your experience and impact.
- Yearly pay review and potential for up to 18% annual bonus (based on business and personal performance)
- Health Insurance
- Yearly training budget and development Days
- 25 days holiday (pro rata)
ITCH benefits
Happy, healthy people do their best work, so we make sure our people have all the things they need to thrive.
Annual Bonus Scheme
When the company thrives, you do too. We share success through an annual bonus.
Christmas Closure
We shut down over the festive period. No emails, no meetings, no need to book time off.
New Business Incentive
Got a lead that turns into a win? We’ll thank you properly for helping grow the business.
Volunteering
Our team each get a day each year to give back to a cause that matters.
Referral Bonus
Know someone brilliant? Introduce them to us and there’s a reward if they fit the team.
Cycle to Work Scheme
Save money on bikes and kit, good for you and for the planet.
Health Insurance
Access to private healthcare so you can look after what matters most.
Extra Holidays with Time
The longer you’re with us, the more time off you get. Because loyalty means a lot in our industry.
Mental Health Support
Get free access to mindfulness tools to help keep your head in the right place.
Annual Training Budget
Everyone gets a pot to spend on learning something new to help develop your skills and knowledge.
Join our team
Complete the form and attach your CV, portfolio and a cover letter to apply.
Make content like this
Everything we do comes back to the quality of the work we make. So if you’re still wondering if ITCH is the place for you, have a look at our latest projects.
