Executive Creative Director of Art and Design

Hello, we’re Starling. We built a new kind of bank because we knew technology had the power to help people save, spend and manage their money in a new and transformative way. We’re a fully licensed UK bank with the culture and spirit of a fast-moving, disruptive tech company. We’re a bank, but better: fairer, easier to use and designed to demystify money for everyone. We employ more than 3,500 people across our London, Southampton, Cardiff and Manchester offices. 

Reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer, the Executive Creative Director of Art and Design will be a critical strategic role responsible for defining, developing, and elevating Starling Bank's visual identity, design language, and creative aesthetic across all touch points. This role combines leadership of the internal design team, strategic guidance of external agencies, and a pivotal mandate to build and enhance the bank's design capabilities.

Key Responsibilities:

Creative Leadership and Visual Strategy

• Develop and maintain a distinctive, innovative visual identity that reflects Starling Bank's brand personality and strategic objectives
• Lead the internal design team, providing strategic direction, mentorship, and creative inspiration
• Establish and maintain exceptional design standards across all visual communication channels

Team Development and Design Capability Building

• Build and nurture an internal design team with exceptional skills and creative potential
• Design and implement comprehensive design training and development programs
• Create robust design frameworks and guidelines ensuring consistency and excellence
• Mentor team members to develop their creative and strategic design capabilities

Multi-Channel Visual Communication

• Oversee design strategy for all customer-facing and internal communication channels
• Ensure visual consistency across digital platforms, print materials, social media, marketing collateral, product interfaces, and brand touchpoints
• Collaborate closely with writing, marketing, product, and user experience teams to create holistic design solutions

Agency Collaboration and Management

• Manage and direct external creative agencies, providing clear strategic briefs and creative direction
• Evaluate agency work against Starling Bank's design standards and brand guidelines
• Develop strong collaborative relationships with creative partners to drive innovative design approaches

Brand Visualisation and Design Innovation

• Continuously evolve and refine Starling Bank's visual language and design system
• Drive creative innovation in visual communication and brand representation
• Monitor global design trends and emerging visual communication techniques
• Develop experimental and cutting-edge design approaches that differentiate Starling Bank

• Minimum 10+ years of experience in design leadership roles, preferably in financial services, technology, or innovative brand environments
• Proven track record of developing and managing high-performing creative design teams
• Deep understanding of brand identity, visual storytelling, and design strategy
• Exceptional design skills across multiple mediums (digital, print, motion, etc.)
• Expertise in design systems, brand guidelines, and visual communication
• Strong strategic thinking and creative problem-solving abilities
• Proficiency in design tools such as Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, Sketch

• 25 days holiday (plus take your public holiday allowance whenever works best for you)
• An extra day’s holiday for your birthday
• Annual leave is increased with length of service, and you can choose to buy or sell up to five extra days off
• 16 hours paid volunteering time a year
• Salary sacrifice, company enhanced pension scheme
• Life insurance at 4x your salary
• Private Medical Insurance with VitalityHealth including mental health support and cancer care. Partner benefits include discounts with Waitrose, Mr&Mrs Smith and Peloton
• Generous family-friendly policies
• Perkbox membership giving access to retail discounts, a wellness platform for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks
• Access to initiatives like Cycle to Work and Salary Sacrificed Gym partnerships

About Us

You may be put off applying for a role because you don't tick every box. Forget that! While we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we're always open to discussion. So, if you're excited about working with us, but aren’t sure if you're 100% there yet, get in touch anyway.

We’re on a mission to radically reshape banking – and that starts with our brilliant team. Whatever came before, we’re proud to bring together people of all backgrounds and experiences who love working together to solve problems.

Starling Bank is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster diversity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Starling Bank are considered without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

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