We’re seeking a Creative lead who is passionate about integrating artificial intelligence into creative strategies to optimize workflows and output while maintaining and championing our Brand standards. Reporting directly to the CMO, this role will be the driving force behind KCL’s visual identity. Partnering closely with the co-founders, in this role, you’ll create and maintain the framework necessary to optimize brand consistency across all internal and external customer touchpoints. You will also lead and manage the UX, Graphic Design, and photography teams in developing experiences and visuals that engage and delight KCL’s shoppers and clients alike. 

So if you are a collaborative, self-motivated, and inspiring leader, and have a passion for creating operational efficiency and crafting the systems for how a brand shows up, then read on!

The ideal candidate is a proficient creator—a seasoned, go-to Creative who not only sets the standard for deliverables but also for cross-functional relationship building within the entire creative department. Serving as a manager, you will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Creative team. Building trusting relationships among your creative team, peers, and stakeholders is imperative for success in this role. Operating within a startup environment, where leaders wear multiple hats, you should thrive in a culture of perpetual innovation and iteration while upholding high standards. The optimal leader will demonstrate a proven understanding of (a) bringing written content to life through intuitive and compelling visuals, (b) experience in developing scalable creative design systems, and (c) the ability to elevate creative strategies that remain authentic to the brand yet push boundaries and exceed expectations, guided by thorough market research.

Responsibilities include:

• Managing a team spanning UI/UX, Graphic Design, and Photography.
• Leading the creation of best-in-class breakthrough marketing creative that supports and reinforces the KCL brand in B2B and B2C content/collateral.
• Raising the bar on brand storytelling and how we present products and features, to authentically engage and inspire customers.
• Building trust, respect, and credibility with stakeholders, management peers, direct reports, and executives.
• Partnering with the Product, Content and Sales teams to build the appropriate frameworks to empower and enforce consistency across all brand touchpoints. 
• Understanding how to advocate for customers and integrate user research into the creative process.
• Partnering with our Business Intelligence team to intake and synthesize customer insights and data into creative that is impactful to the customer and delivers measurable results.
• Demonstrating a command of creative methods, tools, communication, and presentation skills.
• Building a team culture around strategic testing and learning, focused on KPI optimization.

About You:

• 10+ years of relevant B2C and B2B brand and creative experience.
• 7+ years leading and building creative teams.
• 1+ years of experience in a fully remote professional environment. 

Leadership

• Proven ability to build, lead, motivate, inspire, and retain remote creative talent.
• Thrives as a member of a cross-functional multidisciplinary team.
• Excel at promoting collaboration, identifying problems/opportunities, and setting the broader creative team up for success.

Communication

• Excellent communication, presentation, interpersonal, and analytical skills, including the ability to communicate creative vision and concepts clearly and persuasively across different audiences and varying levels of seniority.
• Strong active listener with the ability to gather diverse perspectives, knowing when and where to provide sometimes divergent perspectives.
• Excels in online collaboration with a remote team.
• Communicates with authenticity, intention, and curiosity.

Creative Mastery

• Demonstrable understanding of digital and social platforms.
• Ability to deep dive into quantitative data around the business, customer perceptions, and behaviors and then translate those into clear, actionable creative direction.
• Ability to bridge creative and strategy, grounded in business objectives.

Operations

• Ability to operate efficiently within fast-paced, ambiguous situations; a self-starter.
• Proficiency with scalable design solutions, processes, and tools.
• Strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to set priorities, multi-task, and meet deadlines.

Physical Requirements

• Use of Fingers: Picking, pinching, typing or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand or arm as in handling.
• Talking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word; those activities where detailed or important spoken instructions must be conveyed to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly.
• Hearing: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction, and having the ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and making fine discriminations in sound.
• Repetitive motions: Making substantial movements (motions) of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers.
• The worker is required to have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading.