Director, Creative Services

Description

Hi there, we’re Article. 👋 Since 2013, we have been redefining the furniture industry one sofa at a time, it’s not easy — it requires solving challenging, meaningful problems. This is where you come in, as our Director, Creative Services, you’ll lead the business and operations behind our Creative Services function, making sure our teams have the resources, processes, budgets, and direction they need to deliver exceptional creative work at scale.

Why We Need You:

Creative Services supports a high volume of work across Article, from product and campaign assets to design, copy, CG, and physical production. As the business grows and our creative needs become more complex, we need a leader who can build the operating environment that helps our creative teams do their best work.

This is a creative leadership role, but it is not a Creative Director role. Instead, you’ll bring a strong creative background and use that experience to lead the business and operational side of a large-scale creative function. You understand what great creative work takes, and you know how to build the budgets, teams, vendor partnerships, workflows, and operating rhythms that make it possible.

You’ll act as a bridge between creative teams and the broader business, translating business priorities into clear production plans while helping stakeholders understand the resources, trade-offs, and timelines required to deliver high-quality creative.

Why Article?

As a Particle (people of Article), you will have a high level of autonomy to solve challenging, meaningful problems the best way you can. That means you’re trusted to explore solutions you believe will work best (you’re the expert, after all). You’ll do all this while growing your skills within a company that is redefining the furniture industry.

About the Creative Services Team:

Creative Services brings together the teams responsible for producing the creative work that supports Article's brand and business. You’ll lead managers across areas including Production Management, Creative Direction, Copy & Design, CG Production, and Physical Production.

The team works across multiple production streams and partners closely with Marketing, Category Management, and Sales. You'll work closely with internal supplier functions such as Warehousing, Logistics, and Project Management.

We are a hybrid team. You’ll be in the office 3 days per week.

What You’ll Do

Creative Operations

• Own how creative work is planned, resourced, budgeted, produced, and delivered across Creative Services, from intake and briefing through production and final asset delivery.
• Lead strategic and operational planning for the function, translating business priorities into clear production roadmaps, capacity plans, budgets, and priorities.
• Build and monitor meaningful performance measures for Creative Services, including throughput, capacity, delivery timelines, budget performance, quality, and other measures that help the team make better decisions.
• Identify operational bottlenecks and build scalable processes, roles, and ways of working that create clearer ownership and help projects move forward.
• We use G Suite (Gmail, Sheets, Google Docs, Meet, etc) to work and Slack to collaborate and communicate, with your choice of Mac or PC device.

Budget and Vendor Management

• Own the operational budget, including forecasting, cost controls, budget variance, vendor spend, and opportunities to improve cost effectiveness.
• Lead resource and capacity planning across internal teams, external partners, and multiple production streams to balance quality, cost, and speed to market.
• Own key vendor and production partnerships, including procurement, evaluation, negotiation, scope management, contract discipline, and ongoing performance.

Business and Creative Partnership

• Act as a bridge between Creative Service and the broader business, translating business needs into practical production plans while clearly communicating timelines, resources and trade-offs.
• Partner with leaders across Marketing, Category Management, Sales, Warehousing, Logistics, and other teams to understand business needs, resolve competing priorities, and improve how Creative Services supports its internal customers.
• Resolve process breakdowns and priority trade-offs between creative teams and business stakeholders, creating clarity on priorities, ownership, timelines, and next steps.
• Bring a strong creative lens to operational decisions, protecting the standards and conditions required for excellent creative work.

Team Leadership

• Lead and develop managers across Creative Services, creating the conditions for them to make strong decisions, coach their teams, and own outcomes.
• Foster a culture of accountability, customer obsession, high standards, and operational rigor.

Who You Are

• You have significant leadership experience in a high-volume creative environment such as an in-house ecommerce or retail studio, large-scale production studio, or agency supporting high-volume ecommerce or retail clients.
• You have a creative or creative production background that gives you a strong understanding of creative workflows, production requirements, and what high-quality execution looks like.
• You have owned large operational budgets, ideally in the multi-million-dollar range, including forecasting, cost management, and financial trade-offs.
• You have experience leading complex creative operations with multiple production streams, competing priorities, and a high volume of deliverables.
• You have strong experience with procurement, vendor management, contract negotiation, and external production partners.
• You can translate business goals into practical creative production plans and communicate trade-offs clearly with both creative and business stakeholders.

Leadership & Coaching:

• You set direction and clear guardrails so managers understand priorities, trade-offs, and the outcomes they are accountable for.
• You build operating rhythms and ways of working that create ownership and follow-through across teams, rather than relying on you to personally keep every project moving.
• You make sound decisions by balancing data, experience, creative context, and business needs, and remain adaptable when priorities or conditions change.
• You develop managers through direct feedback, thoughtful coaching, and clear expectations, helping them strengthen their own judgment and become stronger coaches for their teams.
• You model above the line behaviour by taking ownership of outcomes, addressing challenges constructively, and creating clarity when teams are working through ambiguity.

Additional Requirements:

• Legally able to work in Canada.
• Completion of criminal background check.

Perks & Benefits

Wealth:

• The salary range is $172,420 to $191,580
  • Starting salary is determined by your transferable skills, knowledge, work experience, and the hiring team’s budget, which is based on business needs, market compensation data, and internal equity
• We believe in Winning Together. When Article hits its annual financial goals, eligible employees will receive a cash bonus
• 4% RRSP matched contributions through Wealthsimple

Life:

• 20 days of vacation*
• 1 extra day off (Inclusion and Diversity Day)
• 6 well-being (sick) days
• Hybrid work: 3 days a week in the office
• Work remotely (anywhere in the world) for up to 3 weeks

Total Health:

• Excellent extended health, dental and vision benefits
• $1000 health/lifestyle spending account* for your total physical and mental well-being
• TELUS Health App
  • Mental Health Assistance/Counseling
  • Virtual medical appointments

Office Space:

• The Article HQ is a converted warehouse, with an open accessible layout and no offices (even for our founders)
• Work from your desk, an Article sofa, collaboration spaces, or a private meeting room
  • Standup desks can be requested too
• Our kitchens are stocked with salty, sweet and healthy snacks, & all the premium coffees and teas to keep you buzzing
• Onsite fitness equipment with showers and towel service
• Pickleball, badminton, and table tennis matches happen, from very competitive to very casual
• A dog-friendly office - well-socialized pups are welcome

Getting here:

• Free street parking (first come, first serve; no reserved spots for senior leaders)
• Indoor secure bike storage with change rooms and showers
• 20-minute walk to either Main Street- Science World or VCC Clark Skytrain stations

Extra:

• 45% discount on our entire product range (15% for friends and family)

*Prorated

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Hiring:

At Article, we value authenticity and transparency in our hiring process. We want to get to know the real you, not an AI-generated version. Here are some guidelines around Artificial Intelligence in Hiring and what we expect from you.

From us, you can expect that humans make hiring decisions.

Criminal Background Checks:

Having a criminal record does not restrict your employment at Article. Criminal background checks are only conducted with your permission and after a conditional employment offer has been accepted.

The decision if a criminal record will restrict your employment will be made on a case-by-case basis, where we conduct an "individualized assessment"—a reasoned, evidence-based determination as to whether the applicant's past conviction has a direct and adverse relationship with the specific job duties of the position.

Work Authorization:

Unless otherwise stated, all open roles require legal authorization to work in the location where the job is based, without requiring VISA sponsorship.

For US-based roles, Article participates in E-Verify

Be Aware of Scam Jobs/ Recruitment Fraud:

Click here for more information on Scam Jobs. If you receive a suspicious message or job offer claiming to be from Article, please do not engage. Forward the message to careers@article.com so we can investigate.

Equal Opportunity Statement:

At Article, we value and respect individuals for their different talents, skills, abilities, and unique contributions. Employment decisions are based on merit and business needs, and not on race, ethnic origin, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, disability, genetic characteristics, personal beliefs, or any other classification protected by federal, state, provincial, and local laws and ordinances.

Accommodations:

Reasonable accommodations are related to a disability or another protected characteristic. Applicants can also request accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process by notifying the hiring team or emailing ta.accommodation@article.com. This email is dedicated to accommodation requests only—non-related messages will not receive a response.

Hi there, we’re Article. 👋
Since 2013, we’ve been redefining the furniture industry one sofa at a time.

Where we’re based:

• HQ: Vancouver, BC
• Asia HQ: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
• Fulfillment centres: Calgary, Jacksonville, Richmond, & Patterson
• Retail Stores: Vancouver (open), San Francisco, Bellevue & Toronto (opening soon), with more locations opening in 2027.