Global Head of Creative, Blue Bottle Coffee
$168-253k
Coffee roaster and retailer
Job no longer available
Coffee roaster and retailer
1001+ employees
Job no longer available
$168-253k
1001+ employees
Company mission
To provide great coffee for everyone.
Role
Who you are
- 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
- 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
- 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
What the job involves
- 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
- 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
Our take
Founded in 2002, Blue Bottle Coffee is a coffee roaster and retailers that became a major player in the third wave coffee movement, helped in part by the investment and expansion opportunities created through Nestlé's majority acquisition in 2017. Blue Bottle now operates more than 100 stores across the US and Asia, and continues to expand product collaborations, read-to-drink beverages, and merchandizing.
Blue Bottle Coffee's subscription business grew significantly following shifts in customer behavior toward premium at-home coffee experiences and recurring subscription services. Showing the company's ability to build a loyal customer base and capitalize on growing demand for higher-quality coffee products outside of traditional cafés.
The company also benefits from the pandemic period, where its scale and backing from Nestlé helped it remain resilient while smaller independent cafés struggled or closed completely.
However, Blue Bottle has now entered a new chapter following Nestlé's decision to sell the company as part of a wider strategy to streamline its portfolio and focus on core brands. The move reflects changing priorities withing Nestlé rather than weakness in Blue Bottle itself, with the brand remaining a recognized name in premium coffee and well positioned to continue growing.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
7% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 4 rounds)
Jun 2015
$70m
SERIES C
Jan 2014
$25.7m
SERIES B
Total funding: $135.7m
Company HQ
Old Oakland, Oakland, CA
Leadership
James Freeman
(Founder)Former Music Analyst at Mongo music and freelance musician.
Karl Strovink
(CEO)Karl initially joined the Blue Bottle team as the President and COO in 2019, becoming CEo in 2020. Prior to this, they spent over 10 years at Converse, holding various VP/GM roles.
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