VP, Creative ($150K-$175K) at Kanahoma | San Diego, CA | $150K/yr – $175K/yr

Kanahoma

VP, Creative ($150K-$175K)

San Diego, CA (Remote)

$150K/yr – $175K/yrSenior LevelFull time

Posted 4 weeks ago

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Job Summary

Own the Creative Services product and build a best-in-class agency function that blends brand storytelling with performance and AI enabled creativity; own cross-functional strategy with execs, sales, and production to scale profitable engagements across channels; groom leaders who can scale disciplines and maintain exceptional craft while adopting new tech.

Creative product ownership: vision, strategy, and evolving capabilities
Cross-functional ownership: strategy, growth, and production with execs and partners
Performance-driven creativity: data-informed decisions across funnel stages and emerging technology

Job Description

Responsibilities

Own Creative Services as a Product
Serve as the executive owner of Kanahoma's Creative Services product, defining its long-term vision, strategy, and continued evolution
Champion the intersection of creativity, brand strategy, performance marketing, AI, and emerging technology to ensure Kanahoma remains ahead of where the market is going
Develop new creative capabilities, services, frameworks, and best practices that strengthen the agency's competitive advantage
Partner closely with executive leadership on agency strategy, product development, and long-term growth
Collaborate with Sales on scopes of work and growth opportunities while supporting strategic partner presentations and new business development
Partner with account services and executive leadership on project scoping, budget estimation, and resource planning to ensure creative engagements are staffed appropriately and delivered profitably
Build & Lead a Best-in-Class Creative Organization
Lead and develop a multidisciplinary Creative organization of 10+ professionals across Copy, Design, and Video through a leadership structure of Associate Creative Directors
Recruit, mentor, and retain exceptional creative talent while fostering a culture of accountability, curiosity, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement
Develop leaders who can scale their respective disciplines while maintaining consistently exceptional creative quality
Build systems, workflows, and operational processes that allow creative excellence to scale without sacrificing speed or craftsmanship
Serve as the executive leader responsible for the overall performance, health, and continued development of the Creative organization
Lead Creative Strategy Across Every Channel
Provide executive creative leadership across integrated marketing campaigns spanning awareness through enrollment
Lead creative strategy across brand campaigns, paid social, paid search, websites, landing pages, digital experiences, video, photography, email, and organic content
Partner closely with Strategy, Paid Media, SEO, Web, and Account Services teams to deliver integrated marketing solutions that drive enrollment growth
Help partners uncover and communicate what makes their institution uniquely competitive in an increasingly crowded higher education landscape
Elevate Creative Performance
Apply a deep understanding of performance marketing to improve conversion across every stage of the enrollment funnel, from inquiry through enrollment
Ensure creative decisions are informed by strategy, audience insights, testing, and performance data, not simply subjective opinion
Continually evolve creative best practices based on campaign performance, market trends, and emerging consumer behavior
Lead Kanahoma Productions, the agency's in-house production company, with six-figure productions and on-set direction
Own Kanahoma Casting Deliverables and lead partner-facing Casting presentations
Shape the Future of Creative by exploring AI and emerging trends to elevate workflows and outcomes
Serve as a Strategic Agency Leader and trusted advisor to partners, informing executive-level decisions with creative strategy

Requirements

10+ years of progressive creative leadership experience, including meaningful time within an agency environment
Demonstrated success leading multidisciplinary creative organizations spanning copy, design, video, web, and digital experiences
Proven experience managing and developing creative leaders while building high-performing teams and strong creative cultures
Significant experience concepting and leading integrated marketing campaigns that successfully combine brand storytelling with measurable performance marketing
Deep understanding of paid media creative, paid search, paid social, websites, landing pages, conversion optimization, and full-funnel customer journeys
Meaningful experience developing creative strategies that support complex, multi-step consideration cycles rather than simple awareness campaigns
Demonstrated experience leading website redesigns, digital experience initiatives, and cross-channel creative strategy
Significant experience leading six-figure commercial productions, including meaningful on-set creative leadership
Confidence presenting creative strategy and campaign recommendations to executive leadership, clients, university presidents, and boards
A passion for emerging technology, AI, and the future of marketing, with demonstrated experience leveraging AI to elevate creative thinking, workflows, and outcomes, not replace them
Meaningful higher education marketing experience is strongly preferred; experience in other highly competitive industries is equally valuable, and candidates who bring both perspectives are especially encouraged to apply
A creative portfolio demonstrating candidate experience is required

Preferred

Meaningful higher education marketing experience is strongly preferred; experience in other highly competitive industries is equally valuable, and candidates who bring both perspectives are especially encouraged to apply

Benefits

Kanahoma

Our mission is to build a better agency for organizations building a better world. Whether we’re building a brand or driving the bottom line, we pride ourselves on being progressive performance marketers called to serve and support mission-driven organizations across the education, nonprofit, and healthcare industries.

Founded in 2020

San Diego, California, USA

35 employees (18 in marketing)

kanahoma.com