Associate Design Director, Social, MAC at Estée Lauder Companies in New York, NY

Job description

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is one of the world’s leading manufacturers, marketers, and sellers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products, and is a steward of luxury and prestige brands globally. The company’s products are sold in approximately 150 countries and territories under brand names including: Estée Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Lab Series, Origins, M·A·C, La Mer, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Aveda, Jo Malone London, Bumble and bumble, Darphin Paris, TOM FORD, Smashbox, AERIN Beauty, Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, GLAMGLOW, KILIAN PARIS, Too Faced, Dr.Jart+, the DECIEM family of brands, including The Ordinary and NIOD, and BALMAIN Beauty. POSITION SUMMARY: The Associate Design Director, Social will partner closely with the Director of Social Creative to shape and execute M·A·C’s global social media strategy and creative vision. This includes leading the development of social content for new product launches, concepting and executing social-first campaigns, and developing evergreen content strategies across M·A·C’s key social channels. This person should live and breathe short-form content and culture, with a strong understanding of how to create work that feels elevated, distinctive and native to each platform. This role will work closely across Editorial, Brand Image, Production, Consumer Engagement, Digital and Artistry to ensure social creative is strategically aligned and visually cohesive with the broader brand ecosystem. This is a highly hands-on creative role, spanning everything from capturing and editing lo-fi social content to concepting and directing high-production photo and video shoots. The Associate Design Director, Social will be able to concept and direct, while also designing, filming, editing and building social creative themselves as needed based on the project. This person will also manage and mentor a small team of designers, oversee social production and guide creative execution from concept through final delivery, while maintaining a consistent visual and editorial point of view across M·A·C’s global social channels. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES: Collaborate with the Director, Social Creative to develop breakthrough, social-first campaigns across new product launches and equity initiatives—elevating M·A·C’s look and feel, driving engagement and reaching new audiences. Collaborate with Designers and Video Editors based on the scope of each project, while also being able to independently design, film, edit and produce social assets for global 360 campaigns, with a focus on Instagram and TikTok. Oversee creative development, pre-production, production and post-production across assigned campaigns. Lead and art direct creative shoots from lo-fi content to high-production photo and video—ensuring strong visual expression, clear creative direction and social-first execution. Partner with Consumer Engagement and the Social Editor to develop earned TikTok concepts for high-priority campaigns. Collaborate with the Audience team to optimize campaigns through strategic asset development, cadence planning, performance insights and benchmarking. Partner with Editorial to maintain a strong, consistent tone of voice across social, including writing and refining captions to ensure copy feels on-brand, engaging and platform-native. Support community engagement and commenting across select platforms. Extend TikTok and Instagram strategy across M·A·C’s broader digital ecosystem, ensuring social ideas translate effectively across key brand touchpoints. Develop and oversee owned social content briefs for MAC makeup artists, external creators, regional channels and celebrity ambassadors. Clearly communicate creative direction and design requirements to Designers, Video Editors and cross-functional partners throughout all stages of production. Identify and introduce emerging talent, creators, vendors and agencies for social asset creation and campaigns. Stay ahead of industry, cultural and