VP Creative

The Vice President, Creative at Kanahoma is a senior leadership role responsible for defining and executing the agency's creative vision, leading a multidisciplinary team, and partnering with high-level clients in the education sector to drive innovative marketing and creative solutions.

Location: San Diego, California, United States

Responsibilities

• Own Creative Services as a Product, defining its vision, strategy, and evolution.
• Champion the intersection of creativity, brand strategy, performance marketing, AI, and emerging technology.
• Develop new creative capabilities, services, frameworks, and best practices.
• Partner with executive leadership on agency strategy, product development, and growth.
• Collaborate with Sales on scopes of work and new business development.
• Partner with account services and leadership on project scoping, budgeting, and resource planning.
• Build and lead a multidisciplinary Creative organization of 10+ professionals.
• Recruit, mentor, and retain creative talent, fostering a culture of accountability, curiosity, collaboration, and innovation.
• Develop leaders within the team to scale disciplines while maintaining quality.
• Build systems, workflows, and operational processes for creative excellence.
• Provide creative leadership across integrated marketing campaigns, including brand campaigns, paid social, paid search, websites, digital experiences, video, photography, email, and organic content.
• Partner with Strategy, Paid Media, SEO, Web, and Account Services teams for integrated marketing solutions.
• Help partners communicate their unique value propositions.
• Apply performance marketing insights to improve conversion across the enrollment funnel.
• Ensure creative decisions are data-informed and strategy-driven.
• Evolve creative best practices based on performance and market trends.
• Lead Kanahoma Productions, overseeing high-budget productions and creative direction.
• Lead Casting projects, developing approaches, presentations, and coordinating with respondents.
• Maintain awareness of emerging trends in AI, digital platforms, search behavior, and marketing technology.
• Explore and implement AI applications to enhance creative workflows and outcomes.
• Encourage experimentation, learning, and innovation.
• Represent Kanahoma's Creative organization in executive and partner meetings, pitches, and strategic consulting.
• Present creative strategies to senior stakeholders.
• Serve as a strategic advisor connecting institutional objectives with creative solutions.

Requirements

• 10+ years of progressive creative leadership experience, including agency experience.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary creative teams in copy, design, video, web, and digital.
• Proven success in managing and developing creative leaders and high-performing teams.
• Experience concepting and leading integrated marketing campaigns with measurable performance.
• Deep understanding of paid media creative, paid search, paid social, websites, landing pages, and customer journeys.
• Experience leading website redesigns and digital experience initiatives.
• Experience managing six-figure commercial productions.
• Confidence presenting to executive leadership, clients, and boards.
• Passion for emerging technology, AI, and future marketing trends.
• Higher education marketing experience preferred; experience in other competitive industries valuable.
• A creative portfolio demonstrating relevant experience.