What we're looking for:

Rover is looking for a Head of Creative to play an essential role in developing Rover’s brand expression. You’ll push our creative operation into vibrant new territories that drive business impact—and you’ll bring more dog and cat love into the world while you’re at it.

In this role, you’ll lead our in-house creative studio, overseeing Rover’s design, copywriting, and creative development teams. Know how to inspire a business to think strategically about brand expression? Do you bring to the table experience conceptualizing, designing/writing, and producing visionary and results-driving creative work? We want to hear from you! 

Successful candidates will be passionate about pet care; influential cross-functional leaders; and ready to steer a talented in-house brand studio toward high-impact creative. This cross-functional role will promote insight-driven messaging and visual alignment at all touchpoints to grow the integrity of our brand expression. You must be skilled at navigating high-growth entrepreneurial or startup environments. A background in fast-paced, highly analytical businesses will serve you well. Bring along experience launching persuasive, high-impact campaigns. Comfort juggling creative that serves integrated marketing, performance/growth marketing, and CRM/retention is critical to success.

You’re skilled at seeing the big picture while aligning creative objectives to business goals. That’s crucial when you’re leading a team of writers and designers to tell Rover’s story in fresh and inspiring ways across every deliverable. You know how to create an environment in which your team can thrive. With your leadership, Rover’s creative team will feel supported and inspired; they’ll demonstrate that by taking smart, bold risks that drive impressive business outcomes—all while being stewards of the brand. 

You will drive:

• Brand health performance: Are Rover’s brand messages and visuals resonating across desired brand attributes? Are we building trust and affinity in the hearts and minds of pet parents?
• Creative performance: Do our campaign concepts and creative executions deliver against the performance metrics of our internal clients? Are we always seeking opportunities to be smart, bold, distinctive storytellers while producing high-impact content?
• Brand studio performance: Does our studio deliver creative that’s on-brief, on-time, and on-budget? Are we identifying opportunities to drive efficiency while raising the bar on powerful, high-integrity content?
• Brand studio health: Do our creative team members feel inspired, supported, and challenged? Are we partnering effectively as cross-functional thought partners to drive business results?

Your Responsibilities:

• Grow, lead, and inspire a team of designers, writers, and creative development managers from day-to-day creative workshopping to long-term professional development.
• Promote continual, performance- and brand-driven creative growth and improvement.
• Facilitate creative direction for new campaigns and executions across the marketing org.
• Translate key business objectives into influential directives that power creative development.
• Define and evolve Rover’s brand expression including developing libraries, tools, guidelines, and skills across the team. Champion and socialize those resources across the business.
• Partner with leaders across the business—including Product and Marketing—to evolve and refine Rover’s brand expression, messaging, and visual identity.
• Support and guide the creative briefing process to ensure briefs are top-notch and inspiring; feedback is constructive and incorporated; creative meets deadlines, briefs, and budgets; executions drive results; and those results are shared back to create a feedback loop that translates into improved brand integrity and performance metrics.
• Provide holistic creative oversight, including articulating campaign concepts; achieving buy-in on creative visions; and ensuring consistency and distinctiveness of brand expression across all channels and executions. 
• Analyze brand expression tracking, market and consumer trends, and the competitive landscape to develop and implement creative objectives.
• Develop a strong creative vision that will advance our brand expression and inspire pet parents and sitters nationwide. 
• Help your team achieve exceptional partnership across internal teams and projects.
• Develop strategic and tactical plans to own desired brand expression and brand health attributes and achieve campaign objectives; evangelize those plans across the business; and actively monitor and report on progress.

Your Qualifications:

• 7+ years experience—some in-house—leading high-impact creative teams and developing resources and processes. 
• Experience as a creative director/lead for a consumer brand demonstrating creative vision.
• Experience partnering effectively in a tech environment and/or with product teams to influence brand expression.
• Strong experience implementing brand strategies across creative teams. 
• Deep knowledge of digital advertising and email communication standards. 
• Proactive and solutions-oriented approach to leadership.
• Progressive success in translating a brand strategy into compelling expressions of the brand.
• Strong ability to influence cross-functionally and drive alignment on creative direction.
• A proven track record of bold creative executions and campaigns that drive business impact.
• Ability to leverage customer feedback/research, data, and business metrics to evaluate creative and champion continuous improvement.
• Outstanding verbal and written skills, with the ability to present data and conclusions in an organized, concise manner at all levels throughout the company.
• Professional, reliable, enthusiastic, and self-motivated with a demonstrated ability to work well under pressure.
• Skilled at courageous and empathic communication.
• Some experience managing client-agency relationships is desirable, as is a background supporting both emerging and established consumer brands.

Benefits of Working at Rover.com:

• Competitive compensation
• 401k
• Stock options
• Flexible PTO
• Competitive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Commuter benefits
• Bring your dog to work (and unlimited puppy time)
• Doggy benefits, including $1000 toward adopting your first dog
• Stocked fridges, coffee, soda, and lots of treats (for humans and dogs)
• Free catered lunches semi-monthly
• Regular team activities, including happy hours, snow tubing, game nights, and more
• 50 free dog walks a year (Seattle only - for now!)

Rover is an equal opportunity employer committed to promoting a diverse, inclusive and inventive environment with the best employees. We’re driven by seeing our people succeed and grow, and we work to ensure everyone contributes to their fullest potential. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, disability, protected veteran status, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. If there are preparations we can make to help ensure you have a comfortable and positive interview experience, please let us know.