Head of Creative, Athleta

Gap Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 320,000 - 350,000; Full time

Job summary

Athleta is seeking a Head of Creative to lead the brand’s visual identity and storytelling across all consumer touchpoints in the San Francisco area. You will drive creative excellence that connects purpose, performance, and community, reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer and guiding internal teams and external partners.

The role requires 10+ years of progressive creative leadership in apparel or agency settings, a strong portfolio, and ability to inspire diverse teams while collaborating

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive creative direction experience within apparel, lifestyle, or agency environments.
• Proven success driving brand evolution through emotionally resonant, purpose-driven creative work.
• Experience building and mentoring diverse, high-performing creative teams.
• Strong ability to build trust and alignment across internal partners and external agencies.

Responsibilities

• Lead and evolve a holistic creative strategy aligned with Athleta’s long-range brand plan and marketing strategy.
• Drive a high-performance creative culture that values inclusivity, innovation, and measurable results.
• Partner with Brand Marketing, Product, and Visual Merchandising to ensure creative direction supports business goals and strengthens market distinction.
• Collaborate with external agencies to deliver integrated campaigns that uphold brand integrity and inspire meaningful consumer action.
• Build and inspire a diverse, world-class creative organization through mentorship and ongoing development.
• Champion creative operations, processes, and new formats to maximize impact across channels.

Skills

Creative leadership

Strategic storytelling

Team building

Collaboration

Execution excellence

Analytical mindset

Inspirational communicator

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

G-Suite

Keynote

Job description

About the Role

The Head of Creative for Athleta leads the brand’s visual identity and storytelling across all consumer touchpoints, driving creative excellence that connects purpose, performance, and community. This role is central to expressing Athleta’s mission of igniting the limitless potential of women and girls through powerful, purpose-driven creative work that inspires movement and belonging.

Reporting directly to the Chief Marketing Officer, the Head of Creative is a key member of the Athleta Leadership Team and oversees the internal creative organization—including art direction, copywriting, design, and styling—while partnering cross-functionally across Marketing, Product, Visual Merchandising, and external creative agencies. This leader will champion emotionally resonant, strategically grounded creative that evolves how customers experience and engage with the Athleta brand.

The Head of Creative will cultivate a diverse and high-performing team that leads with imagination, collaboration, and accountability. By building a culture grounded in inclusion, inspiration, and innovation, this role will ensure Athleta’s creative output reflects the brand’s purpose and elevates its position as a leading performance lifestyle company for women and girls.

At Athleta, how we reach our results is just as important as the results themselves. This leader will model our values-based leadership behaviors, fostering integrity, creativity, and shared success. Through the Power of We, the Head of Creative will help bring Athleta’s vision to life through powerful storytelling and world-class creative expression.

What You’ll Do

Center on the Customer

• Lead and evolve a creative strategy that authentically connects with women and girls, inspiring confidence, movement, and connection.
• Champion creative concepts that build belonging and purpose across retail, digital, social, packaging, and experiential channels.
• Ensure all creative expressions reflect Athleta’s unique brand voice, maintaining consistency and emotional resonance across every touchpoint.
• Leverage consumer and cultural insights to inform creative decisions that drive engagement and strengthen brand connection.

Lead with Purpose and Performance

• Define and execute a holistic creative vision aligned with Athleta’s long-range brand plan and marketing strategy.
• Drive a high-performance creative culture that values inclusivity, innovation, and results.
• Partner with Brand Marketing, Product, and Visual Merchandising to ensure creative direction supports business goals and strengthens Athleta’s market distinction.
• Collaborate with external agencies to deliver integrated campaigns that uphold brand integrity and inspire meaningful consumer action.

Inspire and Develop Teams

• Build and inspire a diverse, world-class creative organization through mentorship, empowerment, and ongoing development.
• Attract and retain exceptional creative talent with a focus on growth, curiosity, and collaboration.
• Encourage cross-functional partnership to align creative execution with marketing and brand storytelling.
• Celebrate the collective success of creative teams who bring Athleta’s mission and values to life.

Drive Operational and Strategic Excellence

• Partner with creative operations and production teams to implement efficient processes that enable impactful, high-quality work.
• Lead creative innovation by exploring emerging trends, cultural insights, and new formats that keep Athleta relevant and aspirational.
• Measure and assess creative effectiveness, optimizing output to maximize brand and business impact.
• Champion creative consistency across all channels—retail, digital, social, packaging, and events—to deliver a cohesive and inspiring brand experience.

Who You Are

• Creative Leadership: 10+ years of progressive creative direction experience within apparel, lifestyle, or agency environments.
• Strategic Storytelling: Proven success driving brand evolution through emotionally resonant, purpose-driven creative work.
• Team Building: Experience developing and mentoring diverse, high-performing creative teams.
• Collaboration: Strong ability to build trust and alignment across internal partners and external agencies.
• Execution Excellence: Expertise in design, photography, and digital best practices with a strong understanding of omnichannel marketing.
• Analytical Mindset: Ability to assess and optimize creative performance against business goals.
• Inspirational Communicator: Exceptional storytelling, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Tools: Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite, G-Suite, Keynote, and related tools.
• Flexibility: Willingness to travel as needed to support creative initiatives and cross-functional collaboration.

Salary Range: $320,000 - $350,000 USD

Employee pay will vary based on factors such as qualifications, experience, skill level, competencies and work location. We will meet minimum wage or minimum of the pay range (whichever is higher) based on city, county and state requirements.