Team Lead, Art Direction

Novartis is hiring an Art Director to lead the creative development of integrated campaigns across digital, video, and print touchpoints. This position is ideal for a hands-on creative leader who combines design craft, conceptual strength, technical knowledge, and team leadership to guide complex, high-impact projects from idea to delivery.

The ideal candidate brings a strong agency background (8–9+ years), with at least 3 years leading design teams or directing visual execution. You'll serve as a key creative stakeholder, developing visual concepts, supervising execution, and ensuring brand alignment across omnichannel initiatives. You'll collaborate with motion designers, UI/UX specialists, editors, writers, and strategists to bring holistic ideas to life.

Whether reviewing responsive web modules, print proofs, or storyboard frames, you'll bring clarity, direction, and craft excellence to every phase of production.

Location – Hyderabad #LI Hybrid

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and shape visual Concept Development for campaigns, digital experiences, and branded content.
• Create a Visual Strategy by translating creative briefs into compelling visual solutions that resonate across formats and platforms. Champion design consistency, clarity, and aesthetic quality in all executions.
• Provide Cross-Media Art Direction across diverse formats such as websites, landing pages, animated banners, videos, brochures, eDetailers, emails, presentations, etc.
• Build and review storyboards, wireframes, mood-boards, and visual references with cross-functional partners. Supervise photo selection, illustration style, layout, animation and production design.
• Lead a team of designers offering direction, guidance, feedback, and mentorship to elevate the overall creative output. Review and approve design work from internal and external collaborators.
• Encourage best practices in file structuring, prototyping, versioning and presentation prep.
• Work within existing Design Systems (e.g., Figma component libraries) and propose scalable UI or branding solutions as needed. Collaborate with developers to ensure pixel-perfect implementation and brand fidelity.
• Supervise the Print Design process and help the team create print-ready files for brochures, inserts, leave-behinds, etc.
• Maintain Production Oversight and coordinate with vendors or production teams to ensure accuracy in color proofs, trims, materials, and finishes. Review PDF outputs, provide prepress feedback, and ensure alignment with brand and technical specs.
• Participate in strategy meetings, reviews, and feedback sessions.
• Present creative ideas and solutions clearly to stakeholders across brand, marketing, and medical teams. Defend design rationale and foster alignment around creative direction.

Essential Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in graphic design, visual communication, digital design, or advertising art direction.
• 3+ years' experience in directing visual teams or leading the creative execution of multichannel campaigns.
• 8+ years' creative experience in advertising agencies, design studios, or in-house marketing departments.
• Strong command of visual composition, typography, color, branding, and storytelling. Ability to lead design from concept to polished execution across team members.
• Strong portfolio of cross-format design work: digital, motion, print, experiential.
• High proficiency in Figma, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects). Familiarity with HTML5/CSS fundamentals and web responsiveness. Experience working with component libraries and CMS-based layouts.
• Confident in directing storyboards, motion sequences, brand animation, and visual narrative flow.
• Strong time and priority management; comfortable juggling multiple timelines and feedback loops. Capable of balancing multiple priorities and delivering within timelines with support from the team
• English fluency required (written and spoken); able to lead conversations across global teams. Excellent communication and presentation skills, both visual and verbal.
• Values and Behaviors: Strong principles and lives Novartis' Values and Behaviors - Innovation, Collaboration, Courage, Integrity and Quality every day.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:

Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams' representative of the patients and communities we serve.

Accessibility and accommodation:

Novartis is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the recruitment process, or in order to perform the essential functions of a position, please send an e-mail to and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please include the job requisition number in your message.

Why Novartis: Helping people with disease and their families takes more than innovative science. It takes a community of smart, passionate people like you. Collaborating, supporting and inspiring each other. Combining to achieve breakthroughs that change patients' lives. Ready to create a brighter future together?

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Benefits and Rewards: Read our handbook to learn about all the ways we'll help you thrive personally and professionally:

Division

US

Business Unit

Marketing

Location

India

Site

Hyderabad (Office)

Company / Legal Entity

IN10 (FCRS = IN010) Novartis Healthcare Private Limited

Functional Area

Marketing

Job Type

Full time

Employment Type

Regular

Shift Work

No

Novartis is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the recruitment process, or in order to perform the essential functions of a position, please send an e-mail to [email protected] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Please include the job requisition number in your message.

Novartis is committed to building an outstanding, inclusive work environment and diverse teams' representative of the patients and communities we serve.