We're looking for a Head of Creative to lead our Performance Design department — a team that sits at the intersection of creative craft and performance marketing. In this role, you will often wear two different "hats". You'll be equally responsible for the strategic & financial direction of the department and the day-to-day development of the people and work within it. You'll inherit a team with strong momentum, an established methodology, and a clear positioning — and your job is to scale it. This role reports to senior leadership and manages the full Performance Design team, including designers, project management, and motion contractors.
Responsibilities
Own the creative vision and quality standard for the Performance Design department; Ensure all work meets both craft and conversion benchmarks — great looking and built to perform; Review and elevate creative across paid social, display, video, and landing page formats; Build systems and workflows that help support excellent creative output for our clients both internally and externally; Ensure we're running campaigns vs. ads; Ensure we are testing & learning; Partner with Directive senior leadership to develop our unique and ownable creative process that supports DiscoverabilityOS; Lead, coach, and develop a multidisciplinary team of designers and motion contractors; Set clear expectations, foster accountability, and build a culture where creative people do their best work; Identify growth opportunities for team members and actively invest in their development; Partner closely with paid media and client success teams to ensure the creative is data-informed from the start; Represent the department in new business pitches, cross-sell opportunities, and client conversations; Articulate the value of Performance Design as a strategic capability, not just an execution function; Own and manage the department P&L - helping to make all budgeting decisions around staffing, tech investments, and other investments for the department; Monitor margins, manage resourcing decisions with financial impact in mind, and ensure the department operates as a profitable, scalable business unit with monthly revenue targets and direct margin goals; Lead adoption of AI creative tools across the team; Identify where emerging technologies can sharpen output and improve efficiency; Build AI into real production workflows — not just as a proof of concept
Requirements
5+ years in creative roles within performance marketing, paid media, or growth-focused agency environments; Proven track record in managing creative teams and balancing creative quality with business outcomes; Comfortable presenting department strategy and financial projections to VPs and CMOs, just as much as reviewing a creative brief; Strong understanding of how a creative department operates as a business; Direct experience managing or having visibility into P&L, margin, and resourcing decisions; You think like an owner and make decisions with financial impact in mind; Hands-on experience with AI creative tools — generative image, AI-powered video, design analytics, or similar; Knows how to integrate AI into real production workflows, not just demo it; Strong communicator with executive presence who can translate creative thinking into business language; Track record of building trust with both creative practitioners and senior leadership; Current, permanent work authorization in Canada, Mexico, or the UK is required
Nice to have
Experience with platforms like EyeQuant, Creatify, or Superside
Benefits
Set living wage; Medical, dental, vision plans, disability, and life insurance coverage for you and your family that fit your lifestyle, including a 100% employer-paid plan for you and a 50% employer contribution for your dependents; Mental - Access to certified therapists through Spring Health, membership to Headspace; Physical - Physical therapy through Omada, fertility support through Carrott, thousands of Aaptiv virtual workouts, complimentary One Medical membership for primary and virtual care; Time Off - Unlimited PTO (2-week minimum), Paid Company Holidays, Your Birthday Off, End of Year Recharge (Closed December 24 - January 1), Paid Parental Leave; Financial - Traditional and Roth 401(k) with a 3% company match; Bonus - Annual bonus based on tenure, which scales in total amount over time
Stany Zjednoczone · Irvine
