Creative Manager

Job Description

*** Portfolios must be submitted for consideration ***

About Us

The We Company’s mission is to elevate the world’s consciousness. Our global platform reimagines and positively impacts how we work, live and grow through three distinct business lines: WeWork’s mission is to create a world where people work to make a life, not just a living; WeLive’s mission is to build a world where no one feels alone; WeGrow’s mission is to unleash every human’s superpowers. Through design, technology, and hospitality we are creating a community that helps people live life with purpose and have a meaningful impact in the world. The We Company began in 2019 with more than 400,000 members. In less than ten years, we’ve built a global network of 400 locations across 100 cities and nearly 30 countries, and we’re just getting started.

Role Overview & Responsibilities

As a Creative Manager, you will be a brand ambassador that lives at the nexus of product creation and regional delivery, helping to craft the best workplace product possible for our members. You will be deployed to a specific region to act as the link between the creative studio in HQ and the delivery of that product within your specific region. It is the responsibility of the Creative Manager to work closely with the Regional Creative Director and the Chief Creative Officer to ensure that the brand identity is represented at the cluster level. Not only will you ensure proper roll out of new product to your cluster, but you will also seek out opportunities to innovate our brand by taking lessons learned back to the creative studio. Harnessing and supporting this information exchange life-cycle is key to succeeding in this role and to our objective of producing the best workplaces in the world.

The position requires a proven track record of exceptional design thinking, an understanding of our brand at its deepest level, and demonstrable expertise across many design disciplines. Creative Managers must ensure that the designs produced within their cluster speak with a singular aesthetic voice and are responsible for clearly and effectively communicating this voice across all mediums. Particularly important to the role are the oral and written communication skills to articulately express the rationale behind design decisions.

• Be a Positive Influence - Become a positive influence within your region and beyond by always carrying yourself in a professional manner. Be optimistic and help others do so as well. This applies to our team, our consultants, and other parts of the business. You are a leader representing the Design Department. We should always be solutions oriented.
• Collaborate - Work closely with Regional Creative Director to understand global creative direction and communicate this to the cluster. Collaborate with the Space Planning manager during the programming and layouts phases to ensure strategic planning and design excellence of the building. Work collaboratively with Cluster Directors, Product managers and Discipline managers to execute goals for region, within designated project timelines (Remember, you are all equally responsible to achieve these goals).
• Manage instead of Direc t (Creatively) - Be responsible for reviewing design packages, construction documents, shop drawings and other technical documentation for cluster. Use desk crits to guide and track progress throughout the design process. Facilitate coordination of Interior Design with other disciplines.
• Implementation - Communicate new standards and provide a strategy for designers to implement. Continually update documentation for designers and teams to follow.
• Represent - Be able to effectively communicate the rationale behind design decisions through strong oral and written communication skills to internal and external parties. Be capable of running reviews and presentations with Chief Creative Officer (when appropriate).
• Police - Ensure regional product aligns with global Creative direction of WeWork product, through constant open communication with the Regional Creative Director and the Creative Studio in HQ.
• Communicate - Espouse excellent and efficient communication skills. Excellent communication skills are critical to effective collaboration.
• Mentor - Act as mentor to regional design team members (provide guidance, feedback, and direction on product design methodology). Work to onboard new designers within the cluster to the global creative vision and aesthetic. Create and present onboarding content for new starters and coordinate and run training sessions (within function, and cross function).
• Innovate - Run initiatives at Product Development level to improve both process and product on a global scale. Support technical improvements both in the product as well as the process we use to document our design, by working alongside Technical, Space Planning and Design Directors.
• Tools + Workflow - Work to master and leverage the latest technology to enable our teams to succeed at scale. This may mean updating Revit templates and other documentation to suit local needs. Continually optimize designer workflow to streamline processes and enable efficient and rigorous work.
• Conduit - Proactively gather feedback from regional teams on a regular basis to feed into standards regionalization and global Creative Direction. Be a key member in enhancing the product to better suit regional cultural expectations, sourcing/product availability, GM/community/operations requests, lessons learned, etc.

Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience of all phases of the design process from schematic design through the bid process and construction administration.
• BArch, BA in Architecture or Interior Design.
• Unparalleled design acumen and creative alignment with WW Creative Direction.
• Impeccable and concise communication and presentation skills, verbal and written.
• Be a self-starter, with the ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment.
• Open to feedback, with optimistic and positive attitude.
• Experience mentoring and guiding more junior designers.
• Strong time management skills and demonstrated ability to consistently meet deadlines.
• Highly resourceful problem solver and quick learner.
• Space Planning experience a plus.
• Be familiar with construction industry best practices, building & ADA codes.
• Fluent in Revit.
• Fluency in English and Spanish is required. Portuguese proficiency would be a plus.

*** Portfolios must be submitted for consideration ***