Creative Director Full Time NEW

ALOHA Collection is a fast growing lifestyle brand that was born out of a love of travel, adventure and the ocean. This California based brand with Hawaiian roots located in Encinitas, CA focuses on travel accessories. Travel is our inspiration, the beach is our home.

ROLE OVERVIEW

A great Creative Director doesn’t just craft visually compelling work, they shape the emotional world a customer steps into. They are the creative strategist and visionary who defines how a brand thinks, feels, and shows up in the world, and that is exactly what this role is for ALOHA Collection.

Reporting to the Vice President of Marketing, the Creative Director is the creative strategy and visionary leader of the brand, working directly alongside the executive team to set the overall creative direction and ensure it flows with intention and consistency across every channel, touchpoint, and season. This is not just an executional role. It is a strategic one. This person owns the creative platform, strategy, and vision that everything else ladders up to, then leads the full creative organization to bring that vision to life across every touchpoint, end-to-end, from concept to customer.

The ideal candidate thinks in consumer insight and cultural relevance before they think in visuals. They bring both strategic depth and creative vision under one leader, and partner closely with marketing and cross-functional leaders to ensure every expression of the brand is cohesive, intentional, and emotionally resonant.  They are digitally native — fluent in how content moves across channels, how creative drives conversion, and how data and intuition work together to build a brand, creative’s core role in growth, providing the ingredients that will resonate and perform across channels, including high performing paid media to support brand growth.  They shape how ALOHA is felt, not just how it looks.

This is a critical leadership role for a brand with significant domestic and international growth ahead. The right person brings a rare combination of aesthetic instincts, storytelling ability, cultural fluency, and leadership depth, with the range to build the global creative strategy that allows ALOHA to scale successfully into new markets while keeping its authentic roots in Hawai’i intact. They bring the creative thinking, cultural fluency, and storytelling depth to ensure that as ALOHA grows, it never loses the soul that made it special.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Creative Vision & Leadership

• Drives creative strategy and vision for the brand, partnering directly with the executive team on seasonal creative direction and serving as the creative visionary across all cross-functional teams ensuring cohesive, intentional execution at every touchpoint, from concept to customer
• Define and uphold a compelling, cohesive brand narrative across every channel and touchpoint
• Develop the seasonal creative strategy, vision and platform, translating the brand’s emotional world into a clear visual and narrative direction that flows consistently across all executions
• Partner with cross-functional teams to define and evolve the brand’s voice, tone, and messaging hierarchy, ensuring language and copy direction are as intentional and consistent as the visual identity
• Ground all creative decisions in consumer insight, cultural fluency, and market intelligence  producing work that shapes how ALOHA is felt, not just how it looks, and drives both emotional resonance and action.
• Digitally native — fluent in how content moves across channels, how creative drives conversion, and how data and intuition work together to build a brand
• Develop the seasonal creative strategy, vision, and platform, setting the visual and narrative direction that serves as the creative north star across all 360 teams, from Marketing, Creative and Content to Visual Merchandising, Retail, LAB, and Product, guiding every expression of the brand from concept to customer so it tells the same story in a different room.
• Spearhead the partnership with Merchandising and Product Design at the start of each season to align on design direction, translating the seasonal brand vision into emotionally resonant creative concepts that flow seamlessly from concept to customer
• Build and drive the creative direction across all product packaging and physical touchpoints, partnering with Product to ensure a cohesive and emotionally resonant brand experience at every touchpoint
• Own and evolve the brand book and visual identity system, ensuring guidelines are clearly documented, consistently applied, and scalable across markets
• Serve as the final creative authority across all 360 touchpoints, ensuring every expression of the brand, from digital to physical, meets the same standard of intention, craft, and emotional resonance
• Protect and thoughtfully evolve brand identity as the business expands as a global lifestyle travel brand into new markets and categories, while honoring ALOHA Collection’s authentic roots in Hawai’i and without ever losing the soul that made ALOHA special
• Build and maintain a high-performing, creatively ambitious team, fostering a culture of bold thinking, craft, and accountability across all functions under the CD

Integrated Creative Campaign Execution

• Own the creative concept and big idea for every campaign, developing the story, visual world, and execution direction that brings it to life across all channels
• Develop and distribute the seasonal creative brief to all cross-functional teams, establishing the visual world, campaign narrative direction, and executional guardrails for the season
• Develop and execute integrated 360 creative campaigns spanning every touchpoint from digital, social, email, and paid media to retail, wholesale, print, influencer, partnerships, events, experiential, and beyond ensuring creative vision and business objectives move in lockstep across the full brand ecosystem, from every channel to every customer interaction
• Oversee and collaborate on directing all photo and video production from shoot concepts and art directing on set to final asset delivery, ensuring every production reflects the brand’s visual standards
• Provide creative direction to the copy team, ensuring brand voice, tone, and messaging are consistent across every channel and format
• Partner with Marketing to align on messaging hierarchy and campaign copy direction
• Develop and present creative showbacks to stakeholders, articulating campaign concepts, narratives, and execution plans with clarity and conviction
• Translate business objectives into visual stories that drive engagement, conversion, and long-term brand equity, using data to continuously refine
• Hold the line on creative integrity while meeting production timelines, budgets, and quality standards

Content & Creative Strategy

• Set the creative vision for all shoot concepts in partnership with the Sr director of Art and Content Director, aligning on mood boards, styling, art direction, and set design before production to ensure every execution honors the brand’s DNA while serving the distinct needs of each channel and audience
• Collaborate with the Sr Director of Art to lead and guide the creative team across all 360 brand executions, ensuring a cohesive and globally aligned approach that supports business objectives and balances acquisition and retention goals
• Develop scalable creative frameworks, storytelling systems, and content guidelines that reinforce brand positioning across all markets

Retail & Experiential

• Lead the creative vision for all retail, wholesale, and physical environments, work collaboratively with the Visual Merchandising team to ensure in-store presentation is cohesive, elevated, and brand-right, with a physical experience as intentional and immersive as the digital one
• Lead the creative vision for all brand events and experiential activations, partnering closely with channel owners on execution

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to create shared understanding and alignment in a fast-paced, high-growth environment
• Partner with cross-functional Marketing partners to ensure creative direction is fully integrated with campaign planning, channel strategy, and brand messaging priorities
• Partner closely with LAB, Product, Merchandising, Retail, Wholesale, and Digital teams to ensure creative is synchronized with launches, new products, partnerships / licensing, and key moments in the business calendar
• Collaborate with the VM team to ensure creative direction translates cohesively into physical retail environments, in-store storytelling, and wholesale presentations
• Partner with executive leadership to align on seasonal creative vision, creative investment, timelines, and strategic direction
• Work cross-functionally with Finance to manage creative budgets, forecast production costs, and ensure investment decisions are aligned with business priorities
• Partner with business analytics teams to inform creative strategy with customer data, performance trends, and market intelligence
• Manage and direct external creative partners, including photographers, videographers, agencies, and freelancers, ensuring all production output is on-brand, on-time, and on-budget

Brand Governance & Quality

• Set and maintain the highest standards for visual, editorial, and experiential output across all creative work
• Ensure brand standards are upheld across all external partners, agencies, and vendors

Team Management & Development

• Build, lead, and grow the full creative and content organization, including direct oversight of the Sr. Director of Art , with a focus on collaboration, craft, and continuous development
• Inspire, mentor, and challenge creative and content teams to consistently deliver work of the highest caliber
• Foster a culture of curiosity, experimentation, and continuous growth

EXPERIENCE WE’RE LOOKING FOR

• 10+ years of progressive creative experience, with at least 5 years in a senior creative leadership role at a consumer brand, agency, or equivalent
• Proven track record of building and evolving a brand’s visual identity from campaign concepting through execution across digital and physical channels
• Proven track record developing iconic, culture-driving creative that builds brand heat and business growth
• Deep experience directing photo and video production, including art direction, shoot concepting, and on-set creative leadership
• Deep understanding of digital-first storytelling and how to translate brand identity across platforms
• A strong portfolio demonstrating omnichannel campaign work, brand storytelling, and the ability to operate at both a strategic and executional level
• Experience leading and developing high-performing creative and content teams
• Demonstrated experience owning and managing a creative budget, allocating across campaigns, production, headcount, and agency relationships

WHAT YOU’LL BRING TO THE TABLE

• A rare combination of aesthetic instincts, storytelling ability, cultural fluency, and leadership depth
• A digitally native mindset — fluent in how content moves across channels, how creative drives conversion, and how data and intuition work together to build a brand
• The ability to think in consumer insight and cultural relevance before visuals
• A strategic thinker’s mind paired with a craftsman’s eye, able to balance brand magic and commercial impact
• Exceptional ability to translate business strategy into creative direction, and to present and sell creative ideas to senior stakeholders
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to create shared understanding and alignment in a fast-paced, high-growth environment
• Confidence as a presenter and creative evangelist who can articulate vision, inspire others, and bring ideas to market with speed and excellence
• A natural mentor who raises the craft of everyone around them

WHAT WE OFFER 

From the start, our founders, Heather and Rachael, envisioned a company culture that was dynamic, intentional and sustainable. We provide education about Hawaiian culture and opportunities for personal and professional growth for every member of Team ALOHA. We believe in work-life balance and trust, which is why we offer flexible remote working options and show up with compassion when life’s unexpected moments arise. And if you haven’t heard, we LOVE working together!

Benefits

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Vision insurance

Schedule

• Hybrid: 2-3 days in office and attending big meetings as needed
• Location: San Diego or OC/LA Area – must be willing to commute 2-3 days to Carlsbad, CA office

Pay

• $185,000-$225,000