Upwork ($UPWK) is the leading tech solution for companies looking to hire the best talent, maintain flexibility, and get more done. We’re passionate about our mission to create economic opportunities so people have better lives. Every year, more than $2 billion of work is done through Upwork by skilled professionals who want the freedom of working anytime, anywhere. Top companies connecting with extraordinary talent around the globe? Upwork is how.

The Creative Director/ Executive Creative Directorwill lead Upwork’s award-winning creative team of dreamers, doers and thinkers, many of whom hail from leading agencies and notable brands. This strategic leader will shape and direct the design and execution of creative that elevates the Upwork brand, winning the hearts and minds of our target audiences around the world. This person will manage both the creative direction of projects and the career paths of the creative team, ensuring no talent goes to waste and the work is always spot on.

The ideal candidate thrives on the art of storytelling, design and solving complex creative challenges to drive business success. S/he seeks to be a true partner and collaborator with cross-functional leaders, guiding colleagues to ambitiously new on-brand directions that bring to life Upwork’s visual identity, creative platform, brand to demand advertising, social media, virtual experiences, events, and more. This position reports into the VP, Integrated Marketing.

Your Responsibilities:

• Lead a customer-centric, world-class creative team that conceptualizes and develops compelling creative and marketing campaigns that improve awareness, conversion and brand love.
• Develop a comprehensive understanding of our brand strategy, customers and products for the successful creative execution of 360-integrated campaigns across multiple touchpoints.
• Present and champion conceptual ideas and creative executions with a strong ability to hear feedback objectively, iterate and strengthen the work.
• Bring a positive and can-do approach to solving large, strategic, and complex problems with simple and elegant design solutions that address project goals & requirements
• Oversee the prioritization of all creative requests, from “run the business” to bigger conceptual projects, all while managing stakeholder expectations
• Recruit, mentor, manage and grow a diverse team of designers, writers, creatives, illustrators, videographers, and agency partners.

What it takes to catch our eye:

• You’re a seasoned creative visionary with expansive brand and advertising creative experience
• You’ve got 10+ years managing teams at a top brand or agency with a track record of shipping inspiring, well-crafted work across mediums—television, radio, OOH, digital, social, print, direct mail and more 
• You have extensive experience developing, refreshing, and rolling out visual identity systems
• You know how to bridge teams from crafting a narrative through to systematically applying it across all touchpoints and channels
• You’ve delivered compelling stories - written and verbal - in front of audiences of all sizes
• You’ve got the ability to inspire a team to bring conceptual ideas all the way through to fruition
• You’ve demonstrated success as a strong people leader who attracts world-class  talent, inspires and motivates 
• You consistently make creative decisions with a view to business growth
• You can easily prioritize, organize and time-manage within large volumes of projects
• You have an outstanding portfolio showcasing exceptional design and successful marketing campaigns as well as the required skills above
• You’ve got experience working across consumer, business, global and internal audiences

How to really knock our socks off:

• You have proven industry cred with award-winning campaigns and creative execution
• You’ve got deep domain knowledge of staffing or talent platforms and/or two-sided marketplaces