At Navan, our mission is to power the in-person connections that move people, ideas, and businesses forward. We help our travelers focus on being there, not getting there.
Navan’s Marketing team is looking for a Creative Director to lead a talented, high-output creative studio that balances the prestige of a world-class brand with the relentless speed of a social-first newsroom. You won't inherit a playbook or manage "the look"—you will have greenfield creative authority to shape the brand and business impact of every creative asset.
This role requires someone comfortable operating in a dual-audience world, possessing a consumer-grade storytelling sensibility. You understand that enterprise creative doesn’t have to be boring, and you know how to switch registers to make both corporate buyers (CFOs, procurement) and end-users feel seen across their emotional and rational journeys.
What You’ll Do
- Own the Creative Vision: Drive the global creative strategy and brand consistency across all marketing assets, platforms, and physical experiences—from TV, OOH, Digital, and Social to flagships like our Navigate conference.
- Lead a High-Output Engine: Oversee and scale our in-house design, copy, video, and animation team.
- Integrate Creative into the Business: Help writers and designers deeply understand Navan’s business model, sales cycles, and customer pain points. You are fluent in the metrics of conversion and business impact, not just aesthetics.
- Pioneer AI-Driven Efficiency: Act as a champion for generative innovation. You will operationalize AI tools to automate ideation, rapid prototyping, mood boarding, and asset generation—enabling your team to move 10x faster and stay focused on "big-rock" ideas.
- Cross-Functional Partnership: Act as a strategic peer to Demand Generation, Sales, and regional teams to translate complex functionality into powerful, persona-centric campaigns.
What We’re Looking For
- Seniority & Growth Experience: 10+ years of creative leadership with a proven track record of building and mentoring high-performing design/creative teams. You have scaled creative operations through significant growth inflections (e.g., Series C+, rapid headcount expansions, or post-IPO environments).
- The "Scrappy-Scale" Paradox: Big-brand pedigree leading multi-channel, integrated campaigns for global brands, paired with an infrastructure-agnostic mindset. You don't need a massive agency bench to scale; your formative years were spent in fast-paced environments like newsrooms, agencies, or social-first shops.
- Transparent Culture: You thrive in an environment of candor and assertive leadership. You provide direct, objective feedback and expect the same from your peers and team.
- Conviction + Flexibility: You hold a "strong opinion, loosely held". You will fiercely defend the best creative concept, but you possess the humility and speed to pivot instantly when stakeholder needs or business data dictate a new direction.
- Target Industry Background: Ideally, you have run creative inside design-forward travel/hospitality brands (e.g., Airbnb, Away, Expedia), category-norm-breaking B2B SaaS spaces (e.g., Stripe, Figma, Brex), or consumer lifestyle brands with a distinct B2B reach (e.g., Squarespace, Notion).
What Will Excite You About Navan
- A post-IPO company with real momentum and an internal culture that always asks "Can we go bigger?" rather than one that hedges.
- Travel as a creative canvas: rich, emotional visual territory that most B2B corporate creative functions never get access to.
- An execution-strong, capable team that is hungry to be pushed, elevated, and expanded.
Check My Fit
