Art Director

Sago Mini is an award-winning publisher of preschool apps and toys worldwide. We are supported by a team of artists, designers, developers, product managers, thinkers, and doers devoted to play. With over 100 million downloads and three subscription services featuring 45+ apps, Sago Mini brings thoughtful design to life for kids and parents worldwide. Along with Toca Boca and Originator, we’re part of the Piknik family – a collection of top-rated apps for kids in one subscription.

About the Role

Sago Mini is seeking an Art Director to play a key role in shaping creative vision and execution for a range of exciting projects in the kids’ app space. Working closely with both internal teams and external partners, you’ll develop pitch materials that sell the vision while fostering strong relationships and ensuring a high standard of creative quality. This role is ideal for someone who is not only passionate about creative leadership, but also has a deep understanding of the kids’ media space, a strong attention to detail, and a commitment to delivering high-quality work that resonates with both children and parents.

This is a senior position suitable for candidates with 10+ years of relevant experience.

This is a hybrid role that requires your presence in our downtown, Toronto office 2-3 days a week.

You’ll thrive in this role if you…

• Are skilled at building and maintaining strong relationships with both internal and external partners
• Have a keen understanding of the kids’ media space and enjoy staying ahead of trends
• Possess a high bar for creative quality and a commitment to excellence
• Are an expert in art direction with a keen ability to champion brand style guides
• Are highly organized and take pride in having systems in place for project planning and tracking
• Consider yourself a strong mentor and leader, supporting your team’s professional growth
• Can make smart decisions under pressure, adapting quickly to changing priorities
• Are a true team player who leads by example, demonstrating humility

What You’ll Be Doing

• Building Relationships : Cultivating and maintaining strong partnerships with external studios, consultants, and internal stakeholders, ensuring alignment on creative goals and quality standards.
• Creative Leadership : Leading the development of pitch materials that communicate the vision and generate excitement, while ensuring consistency and excellence across all visual assets.
• Brand Stewardship : Championing the correct use of brand style guides, characters, and backstories across products, working closely with Brand Art Directors to ensure alignment and high-quality standards.
• Providing Constructive Feedback : Offering candid, actionable feedback on creative work—including art, sound, animation, and interaction—to ensure it meets or exceeds expectations.
• Marketing Collaboration : Providing feedback on illustrative elements of marketing materials to maintain brand consistency and ensure a compelling visual representation of the products.
• Project Planning : Collaborating with project managers to assist with high-level planning, offering insights, solutions, and support to keep projects on track.
• Organizing Assets : Implementing systems for organizing and cataloging work-in-progress, completed assets, and resources to facilitate collaboration and efficiency across projects.
• Staying Current : Keeping up to date with the latest creative tools, techniques, and software, using them to create innovative and compelling pitch materials and work outputs.
• Team Leadership and Development : Conducting regular 1:1s, providing mentorship, conducting performance reviews, and identifying professional development opportunities to support team growth.
• Fostering a Feedback Culture : Promoting an environment of open feedback and introspection, helping yourself and others integrate constructive criticism to continuously improve creative work.
• Managing Priorities : Helping guide decision-making and prioritization, ensuring creative tasks align with overall project goals and timelines, and adjusting course as needed.
• Supporting the Team : Providing guidance and extra support to the team during challenging moments, ensuring the collective success of the creative group.
• Industry Engagement : Acting as an ambassador for the company by engaging with art and design schools, attending speaking events, and staying connected with industry trends and competitors.

Qualifications and Skills

• 10+ years of relevant experience
• Excellent verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills
• Expertise in the Adobe Suite
• Strong attention to detail
• Ability to manage competing priorities
• Great at gathering information from many stakeholders and filtering to achieve the best solutions
• Proven leadership skills including mentorship, hiring, and feedback
• Project management experience

Nice to Haves

• Proficiency with Figma
• Experience designing for children and/or families

About the Process

• You’ll get an email response confirming we’ve received your application, and we’ll let you know within a few weeks if we’d like to schedule a follow-up.
• If you’re moving ahead, we’ll book a call to learn more about your experience.
• If that goes well, we’ll send you a short homework assignment to get a better feel for your skillset.
• If the assignment goes well, we’ll book an interview with you and the hiring team to dive deeper prior to making a final call.

We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

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Based in Toronto, Sago Sago Toys of Spin Master Limited a leading global children’s entertainment company that creates, designs and manufactures a diversified portfolio of innovative toys, games, products and entertainment properties. We hire humble and collaborative people who care about doing great work. Sago Mini is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity at our company.