Head of Creative Design

WHO WE ARE

Harding Display Corp (HDC) is one of Canada’s pre-eminent point-of-sale and in-store marketing solution providers. Based in Scarborough, Ontario, we’re a family-owned company that’s proudly served clients across Canada and the U.S. since 1927!

Our clients include premier tier-1 CPG organizations who rely on us for our best-in-class customer-focused approach and innovative designs of temporary and permanent displays. More importantly, though, we are backed by a strong team of dedicated, diverse employees in all segments of our temporary and permanent business divisions including Sales, Creative/Structural/Industrial Design, Production, Manufacturing, Logistics, Accounting, and People & Talent.

THE OPPORTUNITY

We are seeking a visionary, hands-on Head of Creative Design, bringing together creative direction, graphic design and 3D conceptual design. In this role, you will be both a strategic leader and an active creator. You will directly manage our graphic and 3D designers, tracking and measuring performance, while personally executing high-impact visual designs.

Reporting to the Studio Director, you will be responsible for establishing and maintaining the department’s creative vision and design standards, leading and developing the graphic and 3D design team, and driving innovation strategy that support customer objectives and company growth across our deep client roster.

The ideal candidate possesses a deep understanding of consumer market trends, in-store shopping behaviour, and retail marketing, with the ability to translate customer briefs and brand objectives into compelling visual concepts and retail display experiences. They combine creative thinking with strong people leadership, operational discipline and commercial awareness to build a high-performing design team that delivers quality work efficiently and consistently.

HOW YOU’LL MAKE AN IMPACT

Strategic Leadership

• Define and communicate the creative vision and standards for the Creative Design department.
• Champion creative excellence across all customer-facing deliverables.
• Drive innovation in retail display design, visual communication, rendering techniques, presentation methods, design technologies and AI-assisted workflows.
• Establish and maintain department best practices, standards and processes.
• Partner with Studio Director and Senior Leadership to align design capabilities with business objectives.
• Build department capabilities that support future growth and competitive differentiation.

Creative Direction

• Monitor and analyze evolving market trends to design effective, high-converting in-store marketing campaigns and point-of-purchase (POP) displays.
• Direct and approve major creative concepts prior to customer presentation.
• Provide strategic creative guidance on high-profile or complex projects.
• Ensure all creative solutions meet customer objectives while supporting manufacturability and commercial viability.
• Maintain consistency and quality across all design outputs.
• Participate in customer briefings, ideation sessions and strategic presentations.
• Act as the senior creative authority within the organization, providing direction across graphic and 3D design.

People Leadership

• Guide, mentor, and inspire a team of graphic and 3D designers. Establish clear performance expectations, monitor performance, conduct regular performance reviews, and foster professional growth.
• Identify succession opportunities and future skills requirements.
• Mentor emerging design leaders and senior creative staff.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, accountability and continuous improvement.
• Lead recruitment, onboarding and talent retention initiatives.
• Manage department resource allocation and workload balancing, ensuring the team has the capacity and capabilities to meet business needs.

Operational Excellence

• Monitor and report on team workload, capacity and key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Lead the team to ensure On-Time In-Full delivery and adherence to agreed deadlines
• Proactively analyze workflows and identify opportunities for improvement
• Ensure new solutions and improved processes are documented and standardized
• Work cross-functionally with structural design, sales and production to ensure design accuracy, manufacturability and effective execution.
• Lead innovation initiatives within the Visual Design team
• Stay current on industry trends, software, and technologies through tradeshows, events, and customer brainstorming sessions
• Monitor project timelines, scope changes, budgets, and workload while proactively resolving issues and escalating risks as required.

Financial

• Ensure deliverables meet customer requirements while maintaining focus on project budgets and profitability
• Appropriately manage project scope changes, to protect timelines and budgets, escalating issues to relevant internal teams when necessary.
• Identify work or projects that are “Out of Scope” and collaborate with relevant individuals to find a solution to optimize timelines and/or project profitability, elevating matters to senior management when necessary

Hands-On Design Contribution

• Review design briefs and ensure all project requirements and deliverables are clearly understood
• Develop concept renderings and contribute to high-impact visual design work based on customer requests, expectations and specifications
• Develop and prepare final graphics templates in adherence with brand guidelines
• Occasionally proof hard copy content from printing vendors following established checklists to ensure images, fonts, and graphics are accurate
• Manage project files in accordance with Company standard requirements and policies
• Adhere to company standard operating procedures and policies and utilize company tools and resources to operate as required daily

YOU’LL SUCCEED IN THIS ROLE IF YOU HAVE

Qualifications and Experience

• Post-secondary degree in Graphic Design, Packaging Design, Digital Media Design or equivalent work experience/education
• 10+ years of progressive graphic design and 3D design roles within POP display/packaging

*POP display/packaging industry experience required*

• 5+ years of people leadership and strategic leadership experience within a creative environment, including team development and performance management.
• A diverse portfolio showcasing effective graphic design and conceptual 3D design work
• Demonstrated ability to translate customer briefs into compelling creative concepts while balancing brand objectives, manufacturability and commercial considerations.
• Proven experience in retail, CPG, or shopper marketing environments
• Expert experience using 3DS MAX specific to the retail design and POP industry
• Expert experience using Adobe Suite
• Expert understanding of printing processes and production requirements.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to give constructive, actionable creative feedback
• Ability to manage multiple competing priorities while maintaining quality and meeting deadlines.
• Strong teamwork, organizational and time management skills, with a high level of attention to detail.

Assets

• Ability to produce informal and formal sketches.
• Knowledge of AI tools and their application within creative design workflows.
• Process improvement mindset; Lean certification is an asset.

Don’t tick every box? We’d still love to hear from you! We place high value on mindset, motivation, and the strengths you may bring to our team. If this role excites you, go ahead and apply. We’d love to learn more about what you bring to the table.

To be considered for this role, please ensure your application is fully completed. Only candidates with complete profiles will be reviewed, and only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

WHY WORK WITH US?

Our business continues to evolve, and we are looking for top talent to join our team and fuel our continuous growth. At HDC, we believe in People First, where everyone is welcome, and everyone knows you by name – you are never just a number! We acknowledge that Powerful Communication is our oxygen, and that we can’t live without it. Our Growth Mindset encourages us to be open to learning and adaptable to new ways of doing things. We are leaders in our industry, and our expertise allows us to Innovate Forward, bringing the best and brightest products and services to our clients. We relentlessly seek Continuous Improvements, looking for opportunities to work smarter, not harder.

Benefits of Joining Us

• Competitive pay + bonus opportunity
• Paid time off including vacation and sick/personal days
• Health benefits package that includes medical/dental/vision care, short and long-term disability (STD/LTD), life insurance, and an employee & family assistance program (EFAP)
• Ongoing team and company social events and celebrations
• Exposure to cutting-edge projects with high-profile clients
• Fun, collaborative work environment with a group of seriously talented individuals!

Compensation

We strive to offer compensation that is fair, competitive, and reflective of each individual’s experience and contributions. Compensation will vary based on experience and skill level (Developing, Proficient, Highly Proficient, Expert, Management, Senior Leader). Candidates who are continuing to develop key skills may be considered below the range, while those who bring specialized expertise, exceptional impact, or deep industry knowledge may be considered above it.

The target compensation for this role is $120,000 to $130,000 annually and reflects a professional at a Proficient level.

HOW WE HIRE:

Artificial Intelligence

We prioritize a human-first approach to hiring, while also recognizing that AI tools can provide valuable support. AI may be used to assist with certain early steps in the process, such as reviewing and scoring questionnaire responses, but applications are ultimately reviewed by a member of our People & Talent Team and the hiring manager. Final hiring decisions are always made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Diversity and Accessibility

At Harding Display, we want people to love their work and show respect and empathy to all. We are committed to building a diverse workforce representative of the communities we serve and encourage applications from all genders, races, religions, ages, and sexual orientations, as well as parents, veterans, people living with disabilities, and any other groups that could bring diverse perspectives to our business.

We are proud to be in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), 2005 and the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR). If you require accommodation at any point through the hiring process, please contact the People & Talent Department at [email protected] using the subject line: Accommodation Request.