Creative Director

Navan; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 143,100 - 318,000; Full time

Job summary

Navan is seeking a Creative Director to lead its marketing team in San Francisco. This role allows for the development of creative assets that resonate with both corporate buyers and consumers. The ideal candidate will have over 10 years of leadership experience in creative roles, translating multifaceted campaigns into compelling narratives.

The position offers a high degree of creative freedom and the chance to work with a talented team in a fast-paced environment, pushing the boundaries of B2B creative work.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of creative leadership with a proven track record.
• Experience scaling creative operations during growth phases.
• Comfortable with a dual-audience storytelling sensibility.

Responsibilities

• Drive the global creative strategy and brand consistency.
• Oversee and scale the in-house design and copy team.
• Help the creative team understand Navan’s business model.

Skills

Creative leadership

Mentoring design teams

Campaign management

AI tools integration

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

At Navan, our mission is to power the in-person connections that move people, ideas, and businesses forward. We help our travelers focus on being there, not getting there.

Navan’s Marketing team is looking for a Creative Director to lead a talented, high-output creative studio that balances the prestige of a world-class brand with the relentless speed of a social-first newsroom. You won’t inherit a playbook or manage "the look"—you will have greenfield creative authority to shape the brand and business impact of every creative asset. This role requires someone comfortable operating in a dual‑audience world, possessing a consumer-grade storytelling sensibility. You understand that enterprise creative doesn’t have to be boring, and you know how to switch registers to make both corporate buyers (CFOs, procurement) and end‑users feel seen across their emotional and rational journeys.

What You’ll Do

• Own the Creative Vision: Drive the global creative strategy and brand consistency across all marketing assets, platforms, and physical experiences—from TV, OOH, Digital, and Social to flagships like our Navigate conference.
• Lead a High‑Output Engine: Oversee and scale our in‑house design, copy, video, and animation team.
• Integrate Creative into the Business: Help writers and designers deeply understand Navan’s business model, sales cycles, and customer pain points. You are fluent in the metrics of conversion and business impact, not just aesthetics.
• Pioneer AI‑Driven Efficiency: Act as a champion for generative innovation. You will operationalize AI tools to automate ideation, rapid prototyping, mood boarding, and asset generation—enabling your team to move 10x faster and stay focused on "big‑rock" ideas.
• Cross‑Functional Partnership: Act as a strategic peer to Demand Generation, Sales, and regional teams to translate complex functionality into powerful, persona‑centric campaigns.

What We’re Looking For

• Seniority & Growth Experience: 10+ years of creative leadership with a proven track record of building and mentoring high‑performing design/creative teams. You have scaled creative operations through significant growth inflections (e.g., Series C+, rapid headcount expansions, or post‑IPO environments).
• The "Scrappy‑Scale" Paradox: Big‑brand pedigree leading multi‑channel, integrated campaigns for global brands, paired with an infrastructure‑agnostic mindset. You don’t need a massive agency bench to scale; your formative years were spent in fast‑paced environments like newsrooms, agencies, or social‑first shops.
• Transparent Culture: You thrive in an environment of candor and assertive leadership. You provide direct, objective feedback and expect the same from your peers and team.
• Conviction + Flexibility: You hold a "strong opinion, loosely held". You will fiercely defend the best creative concept, but you possess the humility and speed to pivot instantly when stakeholder needs or business data dictate a new direction.
• Target Industry Background: Ideally, you have run creative inside design‑forward travel/hospitality brands (e.g., Airbnb, Away, Expedia), category‑norm‑breaking B2B SaaS spaces (e.g., Stripe, Figma, Brex), or consumer lifestyle brands with a distinct B2B reach (e.g., Squarespace, Notion).

What Will Excite You About Navan

• A post‑IPO company with real momentum and an internal culture that always asks "Can we go bigger?" rather than one that hedges.
• Travel as a creative canvas: rich, emotional visual territory that most B2B corporate creative functions never get access to.
• An execution‑strong, capable team that is hungry to be pushed, elevated, and expanded.

The posted pay range represents the anticipated low and high end of the compensation for this position and is subject to change based on business need. To determine a successful candidate’s starting pay, we carefully consider a variety of factors, including primary work location, an evaluation of the candidate’s skills and experience, market demands, and internal parity. For roles with on‑target‑earnings (OTE), the pay range includes both base salary and target incentive compensation. Target incentive compensation for some roles may include a ramping draw period. Compensation is higher for those who exceed targets. Candidates may receive more information from the recruiter.

Pay Range: $143,100 USD - $318,000 USD