Global Head of Creative

Blue Bottle Coffee; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 168,000 - 253,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision coverage

Best-in-class coffee training

401(k) plan

Paid time off & volunteering

Discounts on all products

Flexible spending & commuter benefits

Employee Assistance Program

Job summary

Blue Bottle Coffee is seeking a Global Head of Creative to define, evolve, and protect the brand’s creative vision worldwide. Reporting to the Chief Brand Officer, you will empower regional teams while ensuring Blue Bottle’s brand remains unmistakably premium and culturally resonant.

You will lead campaigns, product launches, and brand initiatives across the US, Japan, Korea, Greater China/Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia, shaping long-term direction and scalable creative systems.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in creative leadership across global markets.
• Experience building premium consumer brands with high creative standards.
• Portfolio across digital, retail, social, packaging, experiential, film, photography, and storytelling.
• Experience establishing processes and operating models enabling scale.
• Fluency in English; Mandarin or Japanese is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the global creative vision for Blue Bottle.
• Lead end-to-end global creative processes for major brand initiatives.
• Provide hands-on creative leadership through writing, design, and art direction.
• Collaborate with regional teams to adapt global creative for local markets.
• Shape the creative direction for new business, product innovation, and guest experiences.
• Develop integrated creative across digital, retail, social, experiential, packaging, and product touchpoints.
• Strengthen operating models, reviews, workflows, and agency partnerships.
• Represent the organization in executive presentations and brand moments.

Skills

Creative leadership

Global collaboration

Brand building

Influence without authority

Talent development

Job description

At Blue Bottle, our mission is to connect the world to delicious coffee. From seed to cup, we elevate the craft of coffee in everything we do. We strive to build a better tomorrow by investing in what matters: a sustainable future for our people, the company, and our planet.

About The Job

We are seeking a visionary creative leader to join Blue Bottle Coffee's Global Brand Center of Excellence. Reporting to the Chief Brand Officer, the Global Head of Creative is responsible for defining, evolving, and protecting Blue Bottle's creative vision around the world. Through exceptional creative judgment, premium brand experience, and influential leadership, you will ensure every expression of the brand is unmistakably Blue Bottle while empowering regional teams to create work that is locally relevant and culturally resonant.

As the steward of Blue Bottle's global visual and verbal identity, you will establish the creative direction for major campaigns, product launches, collaborations, and brand initiatives across five primary markets—the United States, Japan, Korea, Greater China/Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia—with continued global expansion ahead. Working closely with regional marketing and creative leaders, you will lead through influence, creating alignment across a matrixed organization rather than through direct authority alone.

Your work will span every creative touchpoint—from brand campaigns and digital experiences to retail, packaging, photography, film, and content. Beyond the creative itself, you will strengthen the Global Brand Center of Excellence by establishing creative frameworks, operating standards, governance, and ways of working that enable consistent, world-class execution while giving regional teams the confidence and flexibility to meet local market needs.

The ideal candidate brings exceptional taste, deep experience building premium consumer brands, and a proven ability to lead multidisciplinary creative organizations through periods of growth and transformation. You are an inspiring creative leader who earns trust through vision, collaboration, and craft, and you excel at leading through influence across diverse cultures, markets, and functions. Equally strategic and operational, you are comfortable shaping long‑term creative direction while building the systems, teams, and processes that enable outstanding creative work at scale.

Employees are required to be based within 50 miles of one of the following established Blue Bottle Coffee geographic locations: The San Francisco Bay Area or Los Angeles

You Will

• Define and lead the global creative vision, ensuring every expression of the Blue Bottle brand reflects exceptional craft, consistency, and creativity.
• Lead the global creative process for major brand initiatives, guiding internal teams and external partners from brief through concept, review, stakeholder alignment, and delivery.
• Serve as a player‑coach, contributing hands‑on creative leadership through writing, design, and art direction on the brand's most important work.
• Partner with regional teams to thoughtfully adapt global creative for local markets while maintaining a cohesive global brand.
• Shape the creative direction for new business opportunities, product innovation, and guest experience concepts, honoring Blue Bottle's design legacy while evolving its future expression.
• Develop integrated creative across digital, retail, social, experiential, packaging, and product touchpoints, always with the guest experience at the center.
• Champion Blue Bottle's brand strategy, visual and verbal identity, and creative standards across every market.
• Partner closely with Marketing, Digital, Product, Training, Marketplace, and regional leadership to deliver exceptional creative work on time and within budget.
• Build scalable global creative capabilities by strengthening operating models, creative reviews, production workflows, agency partnerships, and resource planning.
• Use market insights and performance data to continuously improve creative effectiveness while protecting the integrity of the brand.
• Represent the creative organization through executive presentations, company forums, and key brand moments.
• Build an inclusive, high‑performing creative organization through coaching, mentorship, thoughtful feedback, and a culture of creative excellence.

You Are

• A creative leader with exceptional taste and a proven track record building and evolving premium consumer brands.
• A thoughtful decision‑maker with a bias for action, balancing curiosity, listening, and sound judgment.
• An influential leader who excels in matrixed global organizations, building alignment through trust, collaboration, and shared vision.
• Equally strategic and detail‑oriented, able to define long‑term creative direction while ensuring exceptional execution.
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and transforming complexity into clarity and momentum.
• Curious about design, culture, storytelling, hospitality, and emerging creative formats, always looking for new ways to bring ideas to life.
• An exceptional communicator who can inspire teams, simplify complex decisions, and influence audiences at every level of the organization.
• Energized by fast‑paced environments and comfortable leading through change.
• A multiplier who develops talent, raises creative standards, gives candid feedback, and helps people grow in their craft and careers.
• Comfortable building the systems, processes, and ways of working that enable world‑class creative at scale.
• Passionate about exceptional coffee, delicious food and beverage, thoughtful design, and the transformative power of hospitality.

You Have

• 10+ years of creative leadership experience, including at least four years leading multidisciplinary creative teams across global markets.
• Extensive experience building and evolving premium consumer or lifestyle brands with world‑class creative standards.
• A portfolio demonstrating exceptional creative work across digital, retail, social, packaging, experiential, film, photography, and product storytelling.
• Deep understanding of integrated marketing, full‑funnel communications, and modern content ecosystems.
• Experience establishing creative processes, production workflows, and operating models that enable high‑quality work at scale.
• Experience managing production budgets, agencies, freelancers, and complex creative programs.
• Exceptional writing, presentation, and communication skills.
• A proven ability to recruit, develop, mentor, and retain outstanding creative talent.
• Demonstrated success leading highly cross‑functional initiatives through influence, prioritization, and effective delegation.
• Experience working across Asia, with an understanding of the creative and cultural nuances of global markets.
• Professional fluency in English is required. Mandarin or Japanese language proficiency is a strong plus.

A Few Benefits We Offer

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage for eligible employees starting on your first day
• Best‑in‑class coffee training and continuing education
• Free membership into the Specialty Coffee Association of America and discounts on events (including Expos and Championships)
• 401(k) plan
• Paid time off & paid volunteer hours
• 50% discount on all products, both online and in‑cafe; this includes food, beverages, whole‑bean coffee, and merchandise
• Flexible spending account & commuter benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Additional benefits information

$168,000 - $253,000 a year

This position has a salary range of $168,000-$253,000. This salary range is a good‑faith estimate of what we reasonably expect to pay upon hire. The final salary offer will be determined after reviewing relevant factors, which include a candidate's qualifications and experience, where appropriate.

Blue Bottle is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value an open mind, dedication to work, and a collaborative spirit. We hire based on these qualities, a job’s requirements, our business’s needs, and an applicant’s qualifications. We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind in the hiring process or in the workplace.

We comply with the ADA and provide reasonable accommodations that allow qualified applicants/employees to perform the essential functions of the job. We also provide reasonable religious accommodations to applicants/employees to allow them to practice their bona fide religious beliefs. To request an accommodation, contact your People Partner.

We may refuse to hire relatives of present employees if doing so could result in actual or potential problems in supervision, security, safety, or morale, or if doing so could create other conflicts of interest.

We will consider employment‑qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

We participate in E-Verify. We will provide the federal government with employees’ Form I-9 information to confirm authorization to work in the U.S. We will only use E-Verify once an employee has accepted a job offer and completed the Form I-9.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.