Senior Director, Executive Creative Director

Job Description

We’re looking for a Visionary Senior Director, Executive Creative Director to join and lead us in our continued mission to build a best-in-class global creative studio for the iconic brand of VISA, and the Clients we serve.

This candidate will support us in growing, upleveling and expanding our remit for the Visa North American brand and clients that we serve. The work ranges from full 360 campaigns, experiential, digital, and social. Nothing is too big or too small. The work is diverse in range and exciting.

The ideal candidate will have come with an extensive creative background and a proven track record of leading highly successful campaigns and teams - either within advertising agencies or at brand-side internal creative studios. This person must have experience running and supporting award winning advertising campaigns (on a global scale is a plus), with a deep understanding of creative that works throughout the funnel – every part counts, every asset matters.

They will have come with extensive experience as an ECD, or GCD running and building teams, winning business for agencies – growing the client roster, and thus growing the business. Successful Pitching is part of your DNA as you ambitiously think of how to expand your remit, team, and business.

They must have a passion and a portfolio to prove how their creative campaigns have been used to influence culture and be a part of cultural conversation. Fresh unique thinking in this space is a must. They must be strategic in their thinking and have an ability to articulate and execute strategy through the creative output. They must be ahead of all trends and ensure that the brands that they touch are current, innovative and always looking forward.

They must have the ability to build, hire and mentor a talented team that consistently produces innovative and cohesive creative across the full spectrum of the media mix. They need to be able to thrive in a global environment, and must be comfortable guiding internal creative teams, agencies and production partners, but also willing to roll up their sleeves to do the work when necessary.

Effortless collaboration is a must - as this role will work closely with clients and marketers to ensure best in class creative is implemented. This candidate must have a genuine appetite for building: for building and motivating people, for building a culture that fosters creativity, for building teams, and for building new capabilities.

This role will report into the VP Global Brand Creative.

What you’ll do:

Build a Center of Creative Excellence

• Be a part of the Creative Studio leadership team who will support in strategically shaping and building upon the vision and operating model for the Creative Studio who serve the Visa Brand and Clients.
• Lead by example by putting the craft into concepting, creating, rolling up your sleeves to do the work when necessary and inspiring others with clear guidance in the craft.
• Build and maintain key relationships with senior marketing executives and external client marketers by demonstrating a deep understanding of any campaign needs and a commitment to driving a cohesive brand across all touchpoints.
• Ensure the Global Creative Studio is delivering best-in-class capabilities and partnership across all regions instilling a culture of collaboration
• Consistently innovating and staying ahead of advertising trends and capabilities to ensure VISA is always a future forward brand.
• Influence and inspire teams across the globe with beautifully crafted and strategic creative campaigns.
• Care deeply about every part of the funnel – Upper funnel, middle and lower funnel – every asset matters
• Consistently deliver best in class creative campaigns for the VISA brand and all Client Marketing.
• Own the pitch presentations and how we show up to convince anyone that we are the best team to deliver the best results through the creative output.

Build relationships

• Help lead, inspire and manage both internal and external agency partners in creative brand campaign ideation, execution and production.         
• Provide thought partnership to business partners both regional and global and regularly make recommendations on directions to improve area under scope
• Help build client relationships with a skillset of strong presentation skills to influence creative decisions.

Build upon a culture that fosters remarkable creativity

• Contribute to an environment that fosters remarkable creativity by providing inspiration, thought leadership, and mentorship for the creative studio.
• Maintain a culture where people love to work (and want to come and work), feel they can flourish, and are proud of what they contribute
• Support the development of remarkable ideas - across a variety of marketing touchpoints - that resonate with our audiences, earn an outsized share of cultural conversation, and create competitive advantage.
• Influence and achieve consensus on direction, priority, and decision making of area under scope
• Ensure quality output in all creative output.

This is a hybrid position. Expectation of days in office will be confirmed by your hiring manager.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications
• 15-20 years of work experience in advertising either in house or agencies

Preferred Qualifications
• Deep agency-side or brand side experience working with or at global brands.
• Thought leader of highly successful creative, brand development, and multichannel marketing campaigns
• Experience leading campaigns that have driven outsized business results and won recognition in the industry.
• Excellent people leader with proven ability to manage teams, the work, and influence outcomes in highly matrixed organizations with multiple stakeholders.
• Role models and influences aspirational behaviors of leading courageously, obsessing about customers, collaborating as one Visa, and executing with excellence.
• Strong executive presence with highly effective written and verbal communication skills including the ability to present with impact.
• Strong planning, organizational and problem-solving skills.
• Resourcefulness with strong sense of accountability and results-oriented drive.
• Ability to initiate and drive opportunities independently across multiple complex projects that have strategic implications for the brand and company, while operating in an environment that changes quickly.
• 5-10 years of experience at brand side internal agencies building and delivering client marketing creative campaigns a huge plus.
• Experience working and living in multiple countries as well as managing teams across geographies to have an informed market-first view to global marketing.

Additional Information

Work Hours: Varies upon the needs of the department.

Travel Requirements: This position requires travel 5-10% of the time.

Mental/Physical Requirements: This position will be performed in an office setting.  The position will require the incumbent to sit and stand at a desk, communicate in person and by telephone, frequently operate standard office equipment, such as telephones and computers.

Visa is an EEO Employer.  Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status.  Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.

Visa will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable local law, including the requirements of Article 49 of the San Francisco Police Code.

U.S. APPLICANTS ONLY: The estimated salary range for a new hire into this position is 210,900.00 to 329,500.00 USD per year, which may include potential sales incentive payments (if applicable). Salary may vary depending on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this position may be eligible for bonus and equity. Visa has a comprehensive benefits package for which this position may be eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401 (k), FSA/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, and Wellness Program.