Creative Director, North America Advertising

Job Description

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.

Hey, g'day, mabuhay, kia ora, 你好, hallo, vítejte!

Thanks for stopping by. We know job hunting can be a little time consuming and you're probably keen to find out what's on offer, so we'll get straight to the point.

Where and how you can work

Our flagship office is in Sydney, Australia, but we've made our way from down under, to a hub in San Francisco, which is now home to our US operations. We offer flexibility in how and where you work. We trust our Canvanauts to choose the balance that empowers them and their team to achieve their goals.

As Canva scales, change continues to be part of our DNA — and this role is no exception. While the current focus is on helping shape how Canva drives value, communicates plan differentiation, and grows our self-serve business, the scope may evolve based on business needs and your strengths. And we like to think that’s all part of the fun.

At the moment, this role is focused on:

We're looking for a visionary creative leader to drive our advertising excellence across the US market and globally.
Reporting to the Global Executive Creative Director, this role combines strategic creative direction in our largest market, the US, with global craft leadership.

As Creative Director for US, you’ll lead the creative direction and execution of our advertising efforts across North America. You’ll shape campaigns that are brave, insight-led, rooted in local storytelling and crafted for impact across TV, digital, social, performance, and emerging platforms. You’ll work closely with in-house teams and agency partners to deliver creative that builds brand love, drives growth, and reflects our distinctive voice in-market.

We’re looking for a creative powerhouse with deep advertising and storytelling expertise, and a passion for growing both people and ideas. This role blends strategic vision with hands-on craft, and calls for someone who can inspire teams while delivering work that drives real results.

The work you do will help raise the bar for Canva’s advertising craft globally, by collaborating with our Creative Director’s in Europe, LATAM and Southeast Asia, to sharing learnings, insights and champion creative excellence across borders.  

This is a rare opportunity to help shape a global brand with big ambitions.
 

What you’d be doing in this role:

US Advertising Creative Direction

• Lead the creative direction for Canva’s advertising in the US, our largest and most strategic market
• Oversee the development and execution of integrated campaigns across TV, digital, social, OOH, and performance channels
• Create bold, culturally relevant campaigns that connect with audiences and drive growth
• Build and manage an always-on creative capability that enables rapid testing, iteration, and optimization at scale
• Embed insights, trends, and data into creative work to increase impact
• Manage in-house teams and agency partners to deliver high-quality execution

Advertising Craft Leadership

• Develop and maintain global creative standards and frameworks for advertising
• Partner with regional creative teams to share toolkits, frameworks, and fresh ideas
• Facilitate global creative reviews and provide hands-on guidance where needed
• Foster continuous learning, mentorship, and collaboration across regions to build a global culture of feedback, growth, and creative excellence.

Brand and Campaign Excellence

• Raise the bar on storytelling and design to help Canva stand out in a competitive market
• Shape messaging and creative platforms that resonate locally and stay aligned globally
• Encourage experimentation and learning from what works (and what doesn’t)
• Drive innovation across formats and platforms, from traditional media to emerging channels

Agency and Production Management

• Manage US creative resourcing across in-house, agency, and specialist partners
• Shape and evolve our global agency partner model to enable seamless collaboration and top-tier execution
• Work closely with central ops to scale creative systems while maintaining quality and speed

Team Leadership and Development

• Build and lead a high-performing creative team in the US
• Develop an always-on creative model that empowers teams to move quickly while maintaining craft standards
• Create a culture where people feel safe to take risks, grow, and do their best work
• Provide mentorship and creative guidance to regional creative teams
• Champion inclusion, collaboration, and regional empowerment across Canva’s global creative teams

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Collaborate closely with marketing, growth, and product leaders in the US and globally
• Translate business goals into creative strategies that deliver results
• Align global and regional teams to ensure consistency without losing local nuance

You will thrive in this role if you have:

Professional Experience

• 12+ years in senior creative leadership roles, across both agency and in-house
• Proven success leading major advertising campaigns in the US
• Experience mentoring and managing creative teams across multiple markets
• Strong understanding of consumer tech or direct-to-consumer brands
• Expertise across brand and performance creative, across digital and traditional channels
• A standout portfolio that shows excellence in storytelling and advertising craft
• Strategic mindset with the ability to connect creative ideas to business impact
• Empathetic mentor with a collaborative, people-first approach
• Confident communicator and presenter, comfortable influencing at all levels
• Thrives in fast-paced, global environments
• Culturally aware and globally minded, with a passion for creating resonant work across markets
• Our Values & Culture
• Expertise across brand and performance creative, across digital and traditional channels
• A standout portfolio that shows excellence in storytelling and advertising craft
• Strategic mindset with the ability to connect creative ideas to business impact
• Empathetic mentor with a collaborative, people-first approach
• Confident communicator and presenter, comfortable influencing at all levels
• Thrives in fast-paced, global environments
• Culturally aware and globally minded, with a passion for creating resonant work across markets
• Our Values & Culture

Skills & Attributes

At Canva, we believe success and impact go hand in hand. Our two-step plan is simple: first, build one of the most valuable companies in the world, and then use that success to do the most good we can. From free access for nonprofits and schools to volunteering and global partnerships, we’re driven by empowerment at every level.

We’re building a culture that’s inclusive, collaborative, and deeply ambitious, a place where creative people are encouraged to take risks, push boundaries, and grow together. If you’re excited by the idea of shaping a brand with real purpose, surrounded by curious, creative people who are genuinely in it together, you’ll feel right at home here.

What's in it for you?

Achieving our crazy big goals motivates us to work hard - and we do - but you'll experience lots of moments of magic, connectivity and fun woven throughout life at Canva, too. We also offer a range of benefits to set you up for every success in and outside of work.

Here's a taste of what's on offer:

• Equity packages - we want our success to be yours too
• Health benefits plans to support you and your wellbeing
• 401(k) retirement plan with company contribution
• Inclusive parental leave policy that supports all parents & carers
• An annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support your wellbeing, social connection, office setup & more
• Flexible leave options that empower you to be a force for good, take time to recharge and supports you personally

Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.

At Canva we value fairness, and we strive to provide competitive, market-informed compensation whilst ensuring internal equity within the team in each region. We make hiring decisions based on your skills, experience and our overall assessment of what we observed and learnt in the hiring process. The target salary range for this position is $181,000 USD to $237,000 USD. When calculating offers, we make salary decisions based on market data and candidates' skills and experience.

Other stuff to know

We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills and passion, as well as how you can enhance Canva and our culture. When you apply, please tell us the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process.

We celebrate all types of skills and backgrounds at Canva so even if you don’t feel like your skills quite match what’s listed above - we still want to hear from you!

Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.