Associate Director of Creative

• Define and lead the creative vision for live events, meetings, and experiential programs across all markets

• Ensure all creative strategies are rooted in how events are physically built, produced, and experienced by guests

• Establish standards for immersive environments, staging, entertainment, guest flow, and multi-day program design

• Drive innovation in event formats, environments, and experiential storytelling, not just visual design

• Translate industry trends and cultural insights into real-world event applications that elevate the guest experience

• Ensure consistency in delivering high-impact, executable event concepts across all destinations

• Oversee the creative direction of high-value, complex event proposals, ensuring they clearly communicate the live experience

• Ensure proposals demonstrate how ideas come to life on-site, not just how they look on paper

• Guide teams in developing guest experience narratives, spatial layouts, and experiential moments

• Partner with Sales and Events to align on scope, feasibility, and pricing for live programs

• Elevate proposal quality by reinforcing execution confidence, operational clarity, and storytelling impact

• Serve as the executive bridge between Creative, Sales, and Event Operations

• Ensure all creative concepts align with venue capabilities, production timelines, labor, and logistics

• Establish frameworks that require creative teams to design with execution, safety, and guest flow in mind

• Oversee alignment between creative vision, budget, and operational delivery

• Anticipate execution challenges across markets and implement scalable solutions and best practices

• Lead the national strategy for event-focused creative partners, including production, entertainment, fabrication, and technical partners

• Build partnerships that support large-scale, high-quality live event execution

• Drive initiatives around exclusive offerings, custom builds, and scalable event solutions

• Partner with Procurement and Finance to ensure creative partner strategies align with creative ambition and financial performance

• Ensure all partners are equipped to deliver experiential programs, not just design services

• Lead and develop a national team of creative leaders with a focus on live event expertise and experiential thinking

• Establish a culture where teams design for real environments, real guests, and real-time execution

• Mentor Associate Directors and senior leaders to balance creative vision with operational accountability

• Implement training programs that deepen team knowledge in event production, logistics, and experiential design

• Build a leadership pipeline of talent capable of delivering complex, high-value live programs

• Lead the long-term creative strategy to support revenue growth, client retention, and market differentiation through live experiences

• Ensure all creative output contributes to winning business and delivering exceptional on-site execution

• Partner with Executive Leadership to position Access as a leader in experiential design and live event innovation

• Drive consistency in how we deliver high-quality, executable event experiences across all markets

• Influence company strategy by aligning creative direction with operational realities and financial goals

• Establish systems and processes that support efficient, scalable development of live event programs

• Lead capacity planning and resource allocation across markets to support complex event pipelines

• Drive consistency in tools, workflows, and creative systems that improve speed-to-market and execution quality

• Anticipate shifts in client demand and industry trends, ensuring the team is prepared to adapt and deliver at scale

• Champion continuous improvement in how we design, sell, and execute live experiences

• Consistently displays the Access Values (Imagine First, Demand Integrity, Embody Excellence, Always Collaborate, Service Obsession)

Access is a women-owned and women-led destination management company that collaborates with clients to design and execute corporate events and programs. Our expert teams are in coast-to-coast destinations, designing and producing ultimate experiences for our clients.

We know that there’s no one in the world like you. And we know that you have a lot to offer the next company you work with. Below is a list of “nice-to-haves”, but don’t let those deter you from applying. Access believes that an inclusive team and culture is important. We seek applicants from all backgrounds to ensure we get the best, most creative talent on our team.

Nice-to-haves:

• 7+ years of creative experience in a DMC or a related industry such as hospitality or events.

• Comfort with Salesforce with an understanding of the platform’s feature's ability to understand and analyze reports t share insights and identify trends.

• Verifiable knowledge and relationships in the specific, local destination.

• Successful negotiation and relationship-building skills.

• At least 3 year's experience leading high-performing sales teams and achieving KPI targets.

• Strong experience with Social Tables, Canva, AI products and diagramming.

• Solution-Oriented Mindset: Proactive and the tendency to take initiative to contribute to the success of self and team.

• Customer Service: Obsession with providing excellent customer service and a passion for the hospitality and special events industry.

• Interpersonal Skills: Ability to communicate effectively and build positive relationships, both internally and externally.

• Flexibility: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, changing environment while meeting deadlines and exceeding expectations.

• Certified as a Great Place to Work – 3 years in a row!

• 55+ years in the industry!

• Women-owned and women-led

• Fun, creative, and supportive culture

• Focus on recognition and employee value – including annual and quarterly awards

• Paid day off to serve your local community

• Annual all-company retreat to connect, learn, and have fun together

• Annual qualifier-based incentive trip for top performers (certain departments eligible)

• Regional team outings

• Monthly companywide meetings to connect, learn, and celebrate wins

• Work from home opportunities and flexibility (including full home office setup)

• Flexible schedule opportunities

• Generous PTO

• Sick days

• 9 full holidays

• 5 half days off prior to holidays to unplug early

• 2 floating holidays off to be used on holidays of your choice

• ½ day Fridays in July & August (based on achievement of goals)

• Extensive menu of health plans to choose from

• Paid parental leave

• Pet insurance program

• Employee Assistance Plan (EAP)

• Mentorship program

• “Masterclasses” in industry/department-specific topics

• State-of-the-art technology platforms and tools – including training

• Annual and monthly meeting content that focuses on professional development

Access is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We are a proud Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, or genetic information. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the application or interview process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at careers@accessdmc.com.