Creative Director, Video & Design
Kikoff
$163,000 - $225,000 / year
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Description
Kikoff: The Fintech Powering Financial Security at Scale
Kikoff is a profitable, pre-IPO fintech company on a mission to empower everyone to achieve financial security. With record revenue growth in 2025 and a unicorn valuation, we've built a suite of products that help millions of people build credit, access liquidity, and save money.
We're scaling fast. Join us if you want to build something meaningful and help millions of people move forward financially.
Why Kikoff:
This is a consumer fintech startup, and you will be working with serial entrepreneurs who have built strong consumer brands and innovative products. We value extreme ownership, clear communication, a strong sense of craftsmanship, and the desire to create lasting work and work relationships. Yes, you can build an exciting business AND have real-life real-customer impact.
About the Role
We’re looking for a Creative Director to lead our video and visual design teams and shape the next chapter of Kikoff’s creative, bringing exceptional creative judgment and a strong understanding of what makes performance advertising effective. You’ll help define our visual identity and lead evergreen performance creative across TV, paid social, and other marketing channels, making our brands more recognizable and driving efficient acquisition.
You bring exceptional taste, strong advertising instincts, and a clear point of view on what makes creative effective. You can see the potential in an idea and give specific direction that makes it stronger. You’re equally invested in developing people, helping creatives build their judgment, sharpen their craft, and take on greater ownership.
Please include a portfolio featuring TV and paid social advertising, measurable results, and examples of a visual identity you helped define or evolve.
What You’ll Do
- Lead creative direction for evergreen performance advertising across video and visual design. Turn consumer needs and product benefits into clear, compelling creative that drives acquisition and conversion.
- Partner with Brand leadership to define and evolve Kikoff’s visual identity. Translate brand strategy into a distinctive, practical system of design, imagery, and motion that makes our creative more consistent and recognizable.
- Oversee creative across multiple brands and products, giving each a distinct expression while maintaining appropriate connections across the portfolio.
- Manage and coach the internal video and visual design teams. Build on individual strengths, develop creative judgment, and support growth through clear expectations, regular feedback, and thoughtful delegation.
- Set creative standards across internal teams, freelance and contract resources, and our editing agency. Align priorities and capacity with business needs to deliver a high volume of effective work.
- Give specific, strategic feedback that strengthens both the idea and the execution. Help the team connect choices in messaging, design, and storytelling to the audience, consumer benefit, and desired action.
- Guide design across paid social, digital marketing, and other brand touchpoints, strengthening layout, typography, and visual hierarchy to make product benefits clear and drive action.
- Help shape the creative vision for TV and video shoots in partnership with brand and production leads.
- Guide post-production across our internal editors and editing agency, with clear direction on narrative, pacing, motion, sound, and finishing to strengthen creative quality and effectiveness.
- Partner closely with Growth Marketing to understand priorities and apply the performance learnings they bring, continuously improving creative across concepts, messaging, and formats.
- Collaborate with Creative Strategy, Copy, and Product Marketing to translate insights into effective advertising, and with Legal and Compliance to keep creative clear, accurate, and compliant.
What We’re Looking For
- 10+ years in advertising, design, or creative roles, including 5+ years managing and developing creative teams.
- Exceptional taste and strong art direction skills across video and visual design.
- Experience defining or significantly evolving a brand’s visual identity and applying it consistently across channels.
- Deep expertise in evergreen performance creative, especially paid social, with a track record of driving measurable business results.
- TV advertising experience and a strong portfolio spanning TV and paid social, with clear examples of your role and impact.
- Strong post-production experience, including directing editors and giving actionable feedback on edits, motion, sound, and finishing.
- A strategic approach that connects creative choices to consumer needs, product benefits, and business objectives.
- Proven ability to coach talent at different career stages and give specific feedback that develops both craft and judgment.
- Experience overseeing high-volume creative across multiple brands or products and a mix of internal and external resources.
- Ability to translate performance insights into stronger creative and collaborate effectively with the Growth Marketing team.
- Practical experience using AI tools to improve creative exploration or workflows.
Nice to have
- Familiarity with video production and experience collaborating with producers and production teams.
- Experience with UGC and creator-led advertising.
- Experience in consumer fintech or other regulated categories.
A note on applying: We know great candidates sometimes hold back if they don’t meet every qualification listed. If you’re excited about this role and believe you can do the work, we encourage you to apply. We’re looking for capability and trajectory, not a perfect checklist match.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Kikoff Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to complying with all federal, state, and local laws providing equal employment opportunities and considers qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other legally protected class.
Please reference the following for more information.
About this role
Kikoff is seeking a Creative Director to lead video and visual design at a profitable, pre-IPO fintech company scaling rapidly with record 2025 revenue growth. You'll oversee creative direction for performance advertising across TV and paid social, manage internal and external creative teams, and partner with brand leadership to define and evolve Kikoff's visual identity across multiple products and brands. The role demands someone who can translate consumer insights and product benefits into measurable, effective creative while maintaining visual consistency and distinction across a portfolio.
This position requires 10+ years in advertising or creative roles, with at least five years managing creative teams. You'll need exceptional art direction skills spanning video and visual design, proven expertise in performance creative with measurable business results, and a strong portfolio demonstrating TV and paid social work. Deep post-production experience—including directing editors and giving specific feedback on narrative, pacing, and finishing—is essential, as is the ability to coach creatives at different levels and connect creative choices directly to business objectives. Experience with AI tools, UGC, or consumer fintech is valued but not required.
The contract role is based in San Francisco and pays $163,000–$225,000. Kikoff emphasizes extreme ownership, clear communication, and craftsmanship, and explicitly welcomes applications from candidates who may not check every box but believe they can do the work.
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Pay for this role
$163,000 to $225,000 per year
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