Executive Creative Director, SVP

Codeword is a communication design agency that helps brands create breakthrough comms, content, and community experiences.

We're a fast-moving team of writers, editors, designers, strategists, videographers, PR mavens, and even a few traditional marketers.

Our incredible roster of big and small tech clients trust us to launch their startups, run multi-channel campaigns, grow their user bases, and lead comprehensive PR and marketing initiatives. We're storytellers and brand engineers, and we love big ideas that serve a real purpose.

Codeword is a remote-first agency, though we have physical offices in NYC and SF that we won't make you visit.

About You

You're a visionary creative leader with a proven track record of shepherding big, unexpected ideas from concept to execution.

You possess a rare blend of intellectual flexibility, knowing when to build, stick to, or challenge a process to achieve the best work.

You have a decade+ experience in creative roles, including several years in leadership roles, either agency- or client-side.

You are deeply empathetic, generous with clients and team members, and inspiring them to reach new creative heights.

You have an inherent drive for excellence and are internally motivated to push creative limits, striving for work that excites and surprises.

You are a talented communicator, skilled at leading a creative room, and winning over clients with your ideas and your POV.

Bonus points if you're a curious person who's interesting and fun to talk to.

About This Role

This is a pivotal role at Codeword, reporting directly to our partners. You will define the future of our creative culture and leadership.

The team you lead will be a diverse creative team of writers, editors, designers, UX specialists, and web developers. Most of them come from non-traditional backgrounds, which is why mentoring and training is a huge part of this role.

Our creative marketing work also tends toward the non-traditional, so we're looking for the rare creative leader who's comfortable across lots of formats, channels, and communities. Most of our clients are technology companies, so some tech experience is preferred, but what's more important is you speak the language of the internet, and know what gets people excited to join, share, and participate in online communities.

For the right candidate, this is a unique opportunity to build out a comprehensive creative vision for an agency that thrives on challenging norms.

You'll be critical to ensuring Codeword's output is consistently "Creative, Smart, and Real"—work that surprises and excites our clients and their audiences. You'll work closely with our strategy, accounts, and PR teams to integrate creative solutions across all channels, from campaign concepts to long-form editorial, interactive experiences, and video. You'll also be a vital face for the agency, and play a big role in pitching new business and elevating our agency's profile through industry recognition and awards.

What You'll Be Doing :

Providing visionary creative leadership across all of Codeword's output, encompassing writing, design, video, UX, earned media, immersive events, and emerging creative formats.

Inspiring and mentoring a diverse creative team, fostering their growth and helping them do the best work of their careers.

Championing big, groundbreaking creative ideas from ideation through flawless execution for our roster of huge global brands, and innovative startups.

Act as an executive face of the agency, both internally and in the broader industry.

Establishing and refining creative processes that empower autonomy and lead to truly differentiated, award-winning work (not just box-checking).

Guiding the agency's pursuit of industry awards, helping to identify, package, and position our best work for external recognition.

Collaborating closely with strategy, account, and PR leads to ensure creative concepts are strategically sound, client-centric, and deliver measurable impact.

Serving as a tastemaker and vibe-setter for the agency's creative product, always pushing for fresh perspectives and challenging the status quo.

Building on Codeword's unique culture by empowering creative teams and fostering a highly collaborative and independent environment.

Your Compensation

People – that's you! – are the heart of our business, and we believe in pay transparency.

Our budget for this role is in the neighborhood of $190K to $250K, depending on experience.

Minimum 20 days paid vacation annually

401k + financial wellness support

Home office allowance

Bi-annual Wellness Credits

Monthly Technology Credit (to offset internet / phone costs)

A few more things you should know about Codeword

The Codeword dream : Make good money doing work you care about with people you like.

We love our clients (they write the checks!), which means maintaining a high bar for the creativity, smarts, responsiveness, and communication skills we offer them.

We're around 100 people, big enough to handle large-scale marketing programs, small enough that you'll have an impact on our culture.

We're a friendly team, we look after each other, and we grow our careers together.

We respect everyone's personal life. After-hours emails are strongly frowned upon, night and weekend work is very rare, and employees are encouraged to pursue their side-hustles.

We're all grownups here, and we trust each other to get the work done, whether at home or in an office or a time zone on the other side of the world.

We believe in defaulting to openness. Our calendars, our salary tiers, and our doors are open for all to see. (Except for secret client stuff, which we guard with our lives.)

We're a proud member of the global WE Communications family.

Equal Opportunity : Codeword provides equal employment opportunity and doesn't discriminate against employees or applicants because of age, race, color, religion, gender, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, or other legally protected class status.

Diversity and Inclusion : Codeword works hard to foster a diverse team and an inclusive workplace where everyone thrives.

We aren't a traditional agency, so we like to hire people who don't necessarily fit the agency mold or check all the "right" boxes. If you're on the fence about applying, please do!

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