The Senior Creative Manager, Performance Design will lead Directive's Performance Design department, driving both the creative vision and financial success of the team. This role requires balancing strategic leadership, people management, and performance-driven creative execution to scale a high-impact team within a B2B performance marketing agency.
What You'll Do
- Own the creative vision and quality standard for the Performance Design department
- Ensure all work meets both craft and conversion benchmarks — great looking and built to perform
- Review and elevate creative across paid social, display, video, and landing page formats
- Build systems and workflows that help support excellent creative output for our clients both internally and externally
- Lead, coach, and develop a multidisciplinary team of designers, project managers, and motion contractors
- Set clear expectations, foster accountability, and build a culture where creative people do their best work
- Identify growth opportunities for team members and actively invest in their development
- Partner closely with paid media and client success teams to ensure creative is data-informed from the start
- Represent the department in new business pitches, cross-sell opportunities and client conversations
- Meet with clients monthly during leadership meetings to discuss quality & results
- Articulate the value of Performance Design as a strategic capability, not just an execution function
- Own and manage the department P&L - helping to make all budgeting decisions around staffing, tech investments, and other investments for the department
- Monitor margins, manage resourcing decisions with financial impact in mind
- Ensure the department operates as a profitable, scalable business unit with monthly revenue targets and direct margin goals
- Lead adoption of AI creative tools across the team
- Identify where emerging technologies can sharpen output and improve efficiency
- Build AI into real production workflows — not just as a proof of concept
What We're Looking For
- 5+ years in creative roles within performance marketing, paid media, or growth-focused agency environments
- Proven track record managing creative teams and balancing creative quality with business outcomes
- Comfortable presenting department strategy and financial projections to VPs and CMOs just as much as reviewing a creative brief
- 2+ years of agency experience is required
- Strong understanding of how a creative department operates as a business
- Direct experience managing or having visibility into P&L, margin, and resourcing decisions
- You think like an owner and make decisions with financial impact in mind
- Hands-on experience with AI creative tools — generative image, AI-powered video, design analytics, or similar
- Knows how to integrate AI into real production workflows, not just demo it
- Strong communicator with executive presence who can translate creative thinking into business language
- Track record of building trust with both creative practitioners and senior leadership
Nice to Have
- Experience with platforms like EyeQuant, Creatify, or Superside is a plus
Technical Stack
- EyeQuant
- Creatify
- Superside
- Zoom
- Slack
- AI creative tools (generative image, AI-powered video, design analytics)
Team & Environment
- Lead a multidisciplinary team including designers, project managers, and motion contractors
- Part of the Performance Design department with designers, project management, and motion contractors
- Reports to senior leadership
Benefits & Compensation
- Competitive base salary
- Medical, dental, vision plans, disability, and life insurance coverage for you and your family
- 100% employer-paid plan for you
- 50% employer contribution for your dependents
- Access to certified therapists through Spring Health
- Membership to Headspace
- Gympass
- Unlimited PTO (2-week minimum)
- Paid Company Holidays
- Your Birthday Off
- End of Year Recharge (Closed December 24 - January 1)
- Paid Parental Leave
- Traditional and Roth 401(k) with a 3% company match
- Annual bonus based on tenure, which scales in total amount over time
- Annual Anniversary Trip with peers and executive leadership for fun and entertainment
Work Mode
- Remote US
- Irvine, California (optional office access)
- Remote-first company with option to use office in Irvine, CA; 100% virtual operation allowed
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.
