The Senior Director, Creative & Production sets the creative vision within Global Communications for how Lilly's news, stories, and brand come to life across our owned channels and content - leading an in-house team specializing in video, design, and multimedia, and partnering with the masterbrand team to carry Lilly's visual identity in everything we do.
The mandate is engaging creative that's unmistakably Lilly: human, caring, and centered on the people we serve. It's a rare opportunity to turn a global company's purpose - making life better - into stories and content the world wants to watch, read, and share.
Reporting to the AVP, Global Communications Strategy, Innovation and Operations, this leader operates with the pace of a newsroom and the craft of a best-in-class creative studio - building and leading a team that moves at the speed of the conversation, concepting, producing, and shipping high-quality work against the editorial calendar and in real time as moments emerge. A player-coach who sets the creative bar and lifts everyone to it, this leader brings together in-house talent and strategic agency partnerships to scale - and builds a team where top talent and creative risk-taking can thrive.
Key Objectives/Deliverables
• Set the creative vision and direction for Global Communications - partnering with the masterbrand team to carry Lilly's visual identity into everything we make and evolve how the brand shows up in storytelling.
• Concept and produce social-first, channel-native content in close partnership with the Senior Director, Digital & Social Media - bringing the editorial vision and calendar to life across LinkedIn, Instagram, X, Facebook, YouTube, and Lilly.com.
• Build and lead an in-house creative studio across video, design, and multimedia that produces against the editorial calendar and in real time as moments emerge - at newsroom pace, without compromising craft.
• Attract, develop, and retain top creative talent, building a high-standards culture with the clear expectations and psychological safety for people to take real creative risks.
• Champion storytelling excellence across Global Communications - finding the human truth in complex science and strategy and shaping it into clear, emotionally compelling narratives that connect Lilly's work to the people it's for.
• Push creative boundaries with new technology - integrating automation, generative and agentic AI, and intelligent workflows that increase speed, precision, and consistency.
• Own how creative moves through the pipeline - the project tracking, milestone management, and operating rhythms that keep work efficient, on time, and visible to leadership.
• Scale production beyond the in-house team - building and stewarding a network of agencies and freelance creatives, and partnering closely with Thread Collective, Lilly's in-house agency, on execution, shared resources, and budget.
• Activate Lilly's history as a strategic storytelling asset, leading the historians and archivists who preserve it and bring it into narratives that resonate with diverse audiences.
• Partner across Global Communications - with Enterprise and Executive Communications, Workforce Engagement, and therapeutic area and business unit teams - to translate strategy into campaign, launch, and leadership creative.
• Own rights, licensing, and consent across produced content - music, talent, stock, and patient and caregiver imagery - ensuring everything is properly cleared before it ships.
Basic Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, advertising, journalism, design, or a related creative field.
• 10+ years of creative and leadership experience within a corporate, agency, or global communications environment, with deep experience in consumer brand, retail, sportswear, ecommerce, healthcare/pharma, or other high-velocity consumer categories.
• Qualified applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Lilly will not provide support for or sponsor work authorization or visas for this role, including but not limited to F-1 CPT, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, J-1, H-1B, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, or L-1.
Additional Skills/Preferences
• Experience creating strategic, channel-native social media content optimized for performance across platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube.
• Validated experience in a fast-paced newsroom or newsroom-style environment, where speed, editorial judgment, and reputation pressure are constant.
• Additional experience in a regulated/healthcare organization or high-profile consumer brand environment is a strong plus.
• Extensive portfolio demonstrating creative excellence across various media, including video, design, and multimedia, with a focus on enterprise storytelling.
• Experience using data and insights to inform creative strategy and evaluate content impact.
• Deep technical expertise in design software (Adobe Creative Suite) and proficiency with emerging AI-powered design tools.
• Creative Vision & Craft: Sets a high creative bar, shaping visual identity and breakthrough storytelling that partners with the masterbrand and resonates with audiences.
• Newsroom-Paced Studio Leadership: Player-coach who runs an in-house studio across video, design, and multimedia and delivers with craft, consistency, and speed-at the editorial calendar's pace and in real time as moments emerge.
• Storytelling Excellence: Finds the human truth in complex science and strategy and shapes it into clear, emotionally resonant stories audiences remember, share, and connect to Lilly's purpose.
• Partnership & Resource Management: Skilled steward of agency relationships and contract creative networks who scales production smartly and optimizes budget.
• Global Perspective: Brings a global perspective to creative direction, with the cultural fluency and awareness to lead creative that resonates across markets and partner effectively with teams worldwide.
• Leadership & Collaboration: Builds and develops high-performing creative teams, partners seamlessly across communications, and develops a culture of innovation and accountability.
Additional Information:
• Indianapolis, IN
Actual compensation will depend on a candidate's education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is
$154,500 - $226,600
Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly's compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.
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