Creative Director

Vivobarefoot; West of England; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Vivobarefoot in Bristol is seeking a Creative Director to own the brand’s look, sound and feel—from shoe design cues to campaigns and packaging. You won’t design shoes; you’ll shape how the brand is perceived and experienced across channels.

You will lead a 9-person creative team, work with marketing and product leads, and guide AI-assisted processes to keep the work bold and distinctive. Experience in outdoor or sustainability-focused footwear is a plus.

Qualifications

• Led bold campaigns, collections or launches with proven ideas.
• Obsessed with materials, making and detail.
• Shaped products and how they’re shot, filmed and sold.
• Made nature, landscape and movement feel fresh and alive.
• Led a creative team and hired well, sharing credit.
• Collaborated closely with commercial colleagues.
• Fluent with AI tools.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve Vivobarefoot's creative direction for all campaigns and markets.
• Own the visual identity across type, color, photography, film, retail and packaging.
• Own the tone of voice, including AI-assisted copy model.
• Shape the range look and feel with the Product Design lead during seasonal reviews.
• Sign off on creative for brand and craft, raising standards each season.
• Lead a team of 9 across Commercial creative, Campaign creative and studio coordination.
• Leverage AI to accelerate studio output without homogenizing work.

Skills

Daring ideas

Craft first

Product to image

Taste outdoors

Team leadership

AI tools fluency

Footwear/outdoor experience

Job description

THE WHY

We have a core belief that our toxic, sedentary lifestyles are making humans, and the planet, sick. So, we’re on a mission to change it.

THE WHY

We have a core belief that our toxic, sedentary lifestyles are making humans, and the planet, sick. So, we’re on a mission to change it.

We make barefoot footwear for people who want to move the way nature intended. We are purpose-led and sell direct across the UK, US and international markets. Our platform: natural movement is human freedom, with Outdoor at its heart.

As Creative Director, you will own how Vivobarefoot looks, sounds and feels, from the shoe to the campaign to the box it arrives in. You won’t design shoes. You’ll shape the eye of the people who do.

📍Bristol Nature HQ, Wrington

WHERE YOU’LL PLAY

• Brand creative direction: Define and evolve our creative direction, and set the seasonal platform every campaign, channel and market grows from.
• Look and feel: Own the visual identity (type, colour, photography, film, retail and packaging) and keep it unmistakably Vivo everywhere.
• Tone of voice: Own how the brand sounds, including the voice model behind AI-assisted copy.
• Product creative steer: Shape the range’s look and feel with the product Design lead through seasonal reviews. You steer; they design.
• The quality bar: Sign off creative for brand and craft, and raise the standard every season.
• The team: Lead a team of 9 across Commercial creative, Campaign creative and studio coordination.
• An AI-assisted studio: Make the team faster with AI without making the work more generic.
  
  

How you’ll work: Activation owns the brief, you own the creative answer

• Activation lead (marketing strategy, priorities, calendar and budget): co-signs campaign ideas against the brief, with a monthly pipeline review.
• Brand managers (campaign briefs, launch and rollout): Campaign creative answers their briefs.
• Category marketers, Outdoor and Active (trade briefs and category plans): set Commercial creative’s weekly priorities.
• Design lead, Product (shoe design): seasonal look-and-feel reviews of the range.
• Growth Director (performance marketing): weekly creative testing and learning.
  
  

ALL ABOUT YOU

Part rebel, part magician, with a proven record of leading bold ideas. You come from a design studio, not an ad agency.

• Daring ideas, proven: You’ve led ideas that broke convention and got people talking: campaigns, collections or launches where the idea was yours.
• Craft first: You’re obsessed with materials, making and detail.
• Product to image: You’ve shaped products (footwear, apparel, leather goods or objects) and how they’re shot, filmed and sold.
• Taste that goes outdoors: You make nature, landscape and movement feel fresh and alive, never cliché.
• A leader: You’ve led a creative team, you hire well and you share credit.
• A good partner: You welcome a brief and thrive alongside commercial colleagues.
• Fluent with AI tools.
• Bonus points for footwear, outdoor or sustainability experience.
  
  

Vivobarefoot believes that diversity is the essence of its ecosystem. We encourage diversity of thought and believe that it enables creativity and innovation to flourish. Our mission is to create a fair and equitable workplace where people thrive and are empowered to become their true selves at work. We believe that feedback and fostering collaboration will allow employees to blaze new trails and enjoy every aspect of the Vivobarefoot community.

Every opportunity for recruiting a new member of the Vivobarefoot family should be an opportunity for us to introduce fresh perspectives, talent and skills into our community. Therefore, our commitment is to recruit regardless of race, colour, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, mental health illness, disability, marital or parental status, national or social origin, gender identity, age or any other characteristics protected by law. We look forward to walking this barefoot journey with you!