Creative Director

Kinder's BBQ; Walnut Creek (CA); On-site; USD 215,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k

Bonus eligibility

Equity grants

Health benefits

Parental leave

Job summary

Kinder’s is seeking a visionary Creative Director to lead brand storytelling and creative expression across consumer touchpoints. You’ll translate strategy into emotionally resonant, culturally relevant work that connects people through food and family.

You’ll oversee brand storytelling platforms, drive omni-channel campaigns, and lead cross-functional teams to deliver compelling, high-impact creative at scale.

Qualifications

• 20+ years of creative leadership experience in CPG, food & beverage, or lifestyle brands.
• Strong portfolio showing storytelling, branding, and execution across channels.
• Experience with Wrike, DAM, and PIM systems.

Responsibilities

• Brand Storytelling & Creative Vision: craft cohesive brand narratives rooted in family, friends, and food.
• Omni-Channel Creative Leadership: oversee campaigns across platforms with a unified narrative.
• Creative Operations, Workflow & Content Systems: manage workflows in Wrike; maintain DAM and PIM assets.
• Hands-On Creative Execution: contribute to concepting and production, not just direction.
• Leadership & Team Development: mentor and empower a multi-brand creative team.
• Brand Advocacy & Presence: elevate Kinder’s flavor leadership through compelling creative.

Skills

Creative leadership

Brand storytelling

Omni-channel campaigns

Wrike experience

Tools

DAM

PIM platforms

Job description

BUILT ON FLAVOR. FUELED BY PEOPLE.

What’s it like to work at Kinder’s? Well, there’s a lot of snacking and geeking out over what we all cooked over the weekend. Beyond that, there’s also plenty of hard work. Because we don’t just like flavor, we’re obsessed with it.

With over 100 products sold nationwide, we’re now a top-five brand in multiple flavor categories at Costco, Walmart, Whole Foods, and more. We’re not your typical CPG company. Privately held and founder-led, we like to think of ourselves as a pirate ship in a sea of cruise ships. Our crew is adventurous and fearless. We chart our own course and chase big ideas to make food unforgettable.

As we expand globally and approach $1 billion in revenue, we need more smart-and-scrappy, flavor-obsessed people to come aboard. If you’re looking for a place where you can see the real impact of your work... this is it! Every day, you’ll be part of a journey to add flavor to millions of meals and lives.

About this Role:

Kinder’s is seeking a visionary and hands-on Creative Director to lead the evolution of our brand storytelling and creative expression across every consumer touchpoint. This role is for a brand builder. Someone who has applied experience shaping big brands and knows how to translate strategy into compelling, culturally relevant creative that connects people through food, family, and shared experiences.

Today, we have over 600 products sold nationwide at retailers including Costco, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Whole Foods, Sprouts, Kroger, Safeway and many more. While we have been around for over 75 years, we have experienced explosive growth in the last 5 years and are now a top 5 brand in the U.S. in multiple flavor categories including seasoning blends, BBQ sauce, and wing sauce. To keep our momentum rolling, we need more passionate flavor advocates and builders to come and join our team and help us reach every kitchen across the U.S. and maybe even the world.

You will play a critical role in defining and executing how Kinder’s shows up in the world. Crafting narratives that move seamlessly across channels and drive impact from awareness to engagement to conversion. This is not a role for a delegator; it’s for a doer, a collaborator, and a leader who thrives in the work alongside their team - while also ensuring the systems, workflows, and content infrastructure that support great creative are operating at a high level.

Key Responsibilities Include:

Brand Storytelling & Creative Vision

• Develop and lead a cohesive, emotionally resonant brand narrative rooted in family, friends, and food.
• Build storytelling platforms that scale across omni-channel ecosystems, from retail and digital to social, packaging, and experiential.
• Translate brand strategy into tiered creative execution across:
  • Awareness (top-of-funnel brand building)
  • Engagement (community and content-driven interaction)
  • Conversion (performance-driven creative that drives action)
• Ensure consistency and excellence in brand voice, tone, and visual identity across all outputs.

Omni-Channel Creative Leadership

• Oversee creative development across all consumer touchpoints, ensuring a seamless and integrated brand experience.
• Guide the creation of campaigns and content that flex across platforms while maintaining a unified narrative.
• Partner cross-functionally with Brand, Marketing, Product, and Commercial teams to align creative with business objectives.

Creative Operations, Workflow & Content Systems

• Own and champion creative workflow management through Wrike, ensuring clear prioritization, visibility, and efficient project execution across teams.
• Establish and optimize operational logic over traditional processes that enable speed, clarity, and scalability in a fast-paced, multi-brand environment.
• Oversee ongoing support and maintenance of PIM (Product Information Management) and DAM (Digital Asset Management) systems to ensure accuracy, accessibility, and consistency of all product specific assets and entities.
• Ensure product data, imagery, and content are organized, up-to-date, and aligned across all channels and partners.
• Lead the development, management, and quality control of:
  • Product renders and visual assets
  • Product and category copy
  • Core product information and specifications
• Partner with cross-functional teams to ensure all product content supports both brand storytelling and commercial performance.

Hands-On Creative Execution

• Actively contribute to concepting, ideation, and execution - not just direction.
• Jump into the work alongside the team, helping shape ideas from concept to final output.
• Maintain a high bar for craft, detail, and creative excellence.

Leadership & Team Development

• Be an empathetic, motivating leader who inspires teams through shared experience and mutual respect.
• Lead by example - working alongside your team rather than above them.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, creativity, and accountability across multiple brands and projects.
• Support and mentor team members, helping them grow their skills and confidence.

Brand Advocacy & Presence

• Serve as a visible and credible voice of the brand - internally and externally.
• Champion Kinder’s as a leader in flavor by bringing our products initiatives to life through compelling creative.
• Elevate how we showcase food, flavor, and usage occasions in a way that feels authentic, inspiring, and culturally relevant.

Skills + Experience:

• 20 + years of creative leadership experience, ideally within CPG, food & beverage, or lifestyle brands.
• Proven track record of building and scaling creative for well-known or high-growth brands.
• Deep experience developing omni-channel campaigns and content ecosystems.
• Experience working within or alongside creative operations systems such as Wrike (or similar), DAM, and PIM platforms.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating storytelling, brand building, and execution across multiple platforms.

Pay Transparency:

The expected starting salary range for this role is $215,000- $240,000 per year. The salary range posted for this role reflects the good-faith base pay range Kinder’s reasonably expects to offer at the time of posting and may vary based on the location of the role. Individual compensation within the posted range will be determined based on factors such as relevant education, experience, qualifications, skills, and business needs.

SEASONED FOR SUCCESS:

• No two days here are the same.
• We try to be good team members and good communicators, but we don’t live by hierarchy and structure – everyone is a difference maker here.
• We make a lot of decisions in the face of incomplete information – our team embraces ambiguity and tries to make good decisions fast rather than great decisions slow.
• We believe our job is to take smart risk, not to eliminate risk.
• We believe in growing our skills and becoming a better company with more managerial expertise, but we are an entrepreneurial company at heart.
• We aren’t trying to be average – we want to do exceptional things, and we are willing to work hard to achieve them.

BENEFITS THAT BRING MORE TO THE TABLE:

We offer a range of total rewards that may include paid time off, 401k, bonus / incentive eligibility, equity grants, competitive health benefits, and other family-friendly benefits, including parental leave. Kinder’s benefits vary based on eligibility and can be reviewed in more detail during the interview process.

OUR RECIPE FOR BALANCE:

We believe great culture starts with people. We’re a people-first company built on connection, collaboration, and balance. Most of our work happens in the office to spark creativity and community, but we also offer flexibility so team members have the autonomy to work outside the office when needed to support their work-life balance and personal commitments.

WHERE EVERY INGREDIENT MATTERS:

Kinder's is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, gender, citizenship, marital status, religion, age, disability, gender identity, results of genetic testing, veteran status, as well as any other legally-protected characteristic. If you have a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar law, and you need any accommodation during the application process or to perform these job requirements, please reach out to us at [e-mail]