Creative Director position

Design Academy Eindhoven (DAE) is launching the search for its next Creative Director, as Joseph Grima prepares to step down, having completed his second and final four-year term. 

Design Academy Eindhoven (DAE) is internationally celebrated for its radical approach to design education, research and cultural engagement. Located in the Netherlands, DAE nurtures a diverse community of creative minds from around the globe. As a University of the Arts with a distinctive identity, DAE empowers students to become catalysts for social, ecological, and technological change through design.

DAE is now appointing a Creative Director (0.6 FTE) to join the Executive Board (College van Bestuur) and co-lead the Academy alongside the Director of Education, Research and Organisation. This leadership role is responsible for shaping DAE’s artistic vision, educational philosophy, research agenda, and public presence—guiding a school that challenges conventions and fosters meaningful global impact through design.

The Creative Director will provide strategic and visionary leadership, steering the Academy’s artistic direction and contributing to its major transition to a new campus in 2028. The Creative Director will be a familiar and engaged presence within the DAE community: visible in daily life, accessible in conversation, and active in collaboration. In partnership with educational and organisational leaders, the Creative Director will strengthen DAE’s inclusive culture, activate networks across disciplines, and represent the Academy locally and globally.

The Creative Director will be a respected figure in the design field or wider creative sector, with significant leadership experience in a design studio, cultural organisation, educational context or research environment. They will combine strategic insight with collaborative leadership and financial awareness. A global outlook and sensitivity to the local (Eindhoven) context are essential. The Creative Director will embody DAE’s values—curiosity, inclusivity, critical inquiry, and a commitment to social and ecological responsibility—while inspiring others through presence, care and critical engagement. Fluency in English is essential; proficiency in Dutch and other languages is a welcome asset.

Perrett Laver is supporting the Academy in this appointment. Informal enquiries and questions can be directed to Jess Winfield at T +31(0)202404375 or by email at Jess.Winfield@perrettlaver.com.  

To apply, please upload a CV and letter of motivation here, quoting reference number 7843.

The deadline for applications is Friday, May 16 at 9am CEST.

Interviews will take place in June, with the appointment announced ahead of the 2025 Graduation Show.

Design Academy Eindhoven
Design Academy Eindhoven (DAE) is one of the world’s leading design schools, recognised internationally for its forward-thinking and renowned professors and alumni. For over 70 years it has trained aspiring designers to make their mark on the future by thinking freely and openly about what design can achieve, consistently exploring design as an instrument of material, social, environmental and critical innovation. Today it is home to a community of many nationalities and cultures, offering an environment where personal perspectives on the world can be translated into meaningful and daring propositions. They are guided in this by a team of professional designers, architects, researchers, writers and curators, all active within the academy as well as in the professional field.

DAE is a University of the Arts, offering both BA and MA degrees, specialised in training students in different design perspectives in order to produce critical and socially engaged designers.  In conjunction with the educational programmes, DAE has international Readerships focussed on collaborative research projects. The commonality at DAE is the shared political values of an inclusive society that embraces diversity in every aspect. In addition, the hybrid, conceptual, contextual and international approach to design makes DAE’s programmes distinctive.