Executive Creative Director

Strava is the leading subscription platform at the center of connected fitness, with more than 100 million community members in over 190 countries. The platform offers a holistic view of your active lifestyle, no matter where you live, which sport you love and/or what device you use. Everyone belongs on Strava when they are pursuing an active life.

Strava is looking for an experienced and passionate Executive Creative Director to join our leadership and Creative Design team in achieving our mission to motivate the world to be more active. You will lead a talented team of 15 brand designers, copywriters, production artists while partnering closely with marketing (growth, product & brand) and external agencies. We need a leader who will create stand-out and memorable experiences that engage and inspire active people off and on platform - existing users, subscribers and prospects.

We are a subscription-based, consumer business, so this role requires empathy and understanding of people who embrace physical activity and movement to lead healthier, happier, lives. As an Executive Creative Director, you’ll be involved in driving every aspect of the brand creative process, leading a cross-functional team and numerous creative agencies from concept to execution. We are looking for someone who has experience in evolving our brand expression and guidelines as well. The role will also involve the evolution of the brand expression and corresponding identity guidelines.

This role will report to the Chief Design Officer and is critical in building a broader creative function at Strava. Close collaboration with marketing leadership will also be a critical aspect to the success of this role.

You are an established Executive Creative Director (or [Senior Director] of Brand Creative) who is excited to join our Design team. You’ll quickly make your mark on the work and the performance of the team.

You will be a vocal leader, advocating for your vision and your team and helping the organization see the power of creative work that can deepen the audience’s connection with the brand and propel the business forward. Collaborating with experts in the marketing team, you’ll find new ways to weave the brand into culture and fuel conversations both on and off our platform. You will evolve a team of creative designers, copywriters, and product artists to drive relevance and distinctiveness with our core audiences (runners and cyclists) while also expanding to new, more diverse audiences, especially women and young people. This role will play a critical part in bringing the company’s commitment to anti-racism to life by explicitly attracting BIPOC athletes to the Strava community and via brand actions that expand the inclusivity of sports and fitness.

You will work cross-functionally with leads across Design, Marketing (Brand Marketing, Country Marketing, Product Marketing, and Global Communications), and Product to bring the brand to life across all consumer touchpoints. As a Global leader, you connect personally with Strava’s mission and have a passion for understanding what motivates people to be active and how to translate those insights into brand actions and stories. As one of Strava’s most senior leaders, you are driven to contribute to the greater health and success of your team and the broader company by cultivating a culture of inclusivity, living a commitment to anti-racism, and championing creativity in the organization.
For more information on compensation and benefits, please click here.

• Be insatiably curious about understanding active people and what motivates them so that we can find even more meaningful ways for Strava to add value to their lives.
• Have the desire to build something and get your hands dirty while doing it. Strava is an incredible brand for the people that already know us; we have a tremendous opportunity to recruit more people to the community with marketing creativity that makes the brand magnetic.
• Work brilliantly with teammates in various product, marketing, communications, partnerships, and revenue functions at all levels in the organization, pushing to elevate the brand expression in the athlete’s heart and mind at all times.
• Understand how to create big, bold brand moments that marry fundamental human truths, brand truths and cultural truths. You can’t wait to one-up yourself with an even better creative concept than your last.
• Value creativity and measurement, ensuring the company understands how brand creative is driving short-term business outcomes as well as long-term brand outcomes.
• Inspire the organization to dream big about what the Strava brand can be. Relish the opportunity to bring the brand to life in key cultural moments that will elevate our brand and drive conversation while also reinforcing our brand values.

• Evolving what brand creative looks and feels like within the organization. You will play a critical role in educating the organization on the role that brand creative can play across the organization - from product development to campaign execution - and will help build the playbook for the processes and practices that we need to cultivate to design for a successful brand.
• Being a champion of simplicity and focus for the brand. As we expand the brand to younger and more diverse audiences, you will distill a seemingly complex set of choices into a simple playbook to unlock relevance with a wider audience. This will include guiding how we incorporate Strava’s global social impact strategy focused on climate change, equity and inclusion in sport, and environmental racism into the broader brand narrative.
• Nurture and continue to develop Creative Excellence - You will be a strong visionary and collaborator with Strava’s global marketing team.
• Living the values of the Brand. As a key leader not only on the design team but across the organization, you will live the values of the brand in the way that you recruit, build and lead the brand creative team. You will lead with authenticity, compassion and create an inclusive environment for all.

• Have 15+ years or equivalent relevant experience in building brands, either agency or brand-side, with some experience driving a digital brand forward.
• Are a respected leader and motivator who is unafraid to roll-up sleeves and lead from the front. People are drawn to you even if they don’t directly report to you.
• You’ve been in a global leadership role before and have an exceptional portfolio of projects to demonstrate setting the bar for creative excellence.
• Can lead and manage a brand creative team and will empower your teams with a clear vision for the work and direction for the creative voice.
• Have experience building and scaling brands to weave together a global brand story that has room for local relevance.
• Have a proven track record of big, global brand campaigns that have driven brand conversations with new audiences in new mediums.
• Are a critical thinker who is comfortable operating without a playbook and is able to be a driving force for a culture of creativity, experimentation, and learning.
• Are adept at collaboration and communicating clearly in a fast-paced, sometimes ambiguous environment. Including experience coordinating, directing, and providing creative direction to contractors, agencies, and in-house designers

Strava is Swedish for “strive,” which epitomizes who we are and what we do. We’re a passionate and committed team, unified by our mission to connect athletes to what motivates them and help them find their personal best. With billions of activity uploads from all over the world, we have a humbling and adventurous vision: to be the record of the world’s athletic activities and the technology that makes every effort count.

Strava builds software that makes the best part of our athletes’ days even better. Just as we’re deeply committed to unlocking their potential, we’re dedicated to providing a world-class, inclusive workplace where our employees can grow and thrive, too. We’re backed by Sequoia Capital, Madrone Partners and Jackson Square Ventures, and we’re expanding in order to exceed the needs of our growing community of global athletes. Our culture reflects our community. We are continuously striving to hire and engage diverse teammates from all backgrounds, experiences and perspectives because we know we are a stronger team together.

In light of the global pandemic, Strava is currently working in a fully remote capacity. As always, we remain committed to fully supporting our employees, especially their mental health and well-being, through these challenging times. Despite challenges in the world around us, we are continuing to grow camaraderie and positivity within our culture, and we are unified in our commitment to becoming an antiracist company. We are differentiated by our truly people-first approach, our compassionate leadership, and our belief that we can bring joy and inspiration to athletes’ lives — now more than ever. All to say, it’s a great time to join Strava!

Strava is an equal opportunity employer. In keeping with the values of Strava, we make all employment decisions including hiring, evaluation, termination, promotional and training opportunities, without regard to race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, physical handicap, mental disability, medical condition, disability, gender or identity or expression, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, marital status, height and/or weight.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

California Consumer Protection Act Applicant Notice