Creative Director

Job Description

Job Description

At Yerba Madre, we're more than a beverage company—we're a movement inspired to help people Come to Life. Rooted in the sacred energy of yerba mate,  a magical drink like no other, our products are designed to make you feel not just awake, but truly alive. Through a regenerative, circular business model—from sip to seed to shelf—we turn fans into agents of change who give back more than they take. By honoring yerba mate culture, strengthening communities, and restoring the Atlantic Forest, we create a positive impact on both people and planet.  

As a company, our core values and fundamental beliefs are guided by these four principles that shape how our company operates: 

• Alive with Energy: We bring vitality to everything we do 

• Brave the Unknown: We lead with conviction and unafraid to disrupt 

• Sacred Service: We lead with care and serve from the heart 

• Resilient Roots:  We grow stronger together a help others do the same  

If this resonates with you, we invite you to Come to Life with us.  

Yerba Madre is the leading yerba mate brand in the United States. A beverage with centuries of cultural history, rooted in the Atlantic Forest and built for the people who move through life with intention. We are entering a pivotal chapter. The brand strategy is set. The creative platform is defined. Now we need someone to make it live and breathe on social every single day.

The Creative Director is the brand's creative conscience. You are the guardian of the visual identity across every consumer touchpoint– social, packaging, point of sale, seeding kits, campaigns, digital assets, and everything in between. When someone picks up a can, sees a post, opens a kit, or walks past a display, that's our work. This is a creative leadership role for someone who understands that great creative is a business tool, one that drives trial, builds memory, and translates into measurable growth. You can defend a creative decision in a board meeting and brief a photographer on the same day. This person reports into the Head of Marketing, mentors a small in-house design team, builds and manages a network of creative partners, and works hand-in-hand with our Community and Social Director

THIS ROLE REQUIRED TO WORK ON-SITE IN OUR VIBRANT OAKLAND, CA OFFICE 3 DAYS A WEEK

What You'll Do

Primary, full accountability:

• Social — You own visual direction, content standards, and creative supply; Social owns channel and content strategy, editorial calendar, cadence, publishing, and performance.
• Packaging — can, glass, seeding kits, limited editions • Campaigns — tentpoles, launches, brand moments

Core, high involvement:

• Shopper — POS, shelf talkers, display, fridge decals
• OOH — truck wraps, transit, out-of-home

Contributor, directional input:

• D2C — landing pages, email, digital assets
• Events — festival presence, activations, kits
• Innovation — new flavor and formats

Creative Direction & Brand Identity:

• Own and evolve the Yerba Madre visual identity & brand voice across every consumer touchpoint
• Translate the new brand platform and positioning into a consistent, distinctive visual language
• Build and maintain a living creative brief: the visual toolkit, photography standards, typography, color, and motion principles that give the whole organization a shared language
• Apply the 'Yerba Madre creative filter' to every piece of work before it ships

Social & Content:

• Own visual direction of the @yerbamadre feed, the highest-visibility expression of the brand
• Build a network of photographers, videographers, and creators who can execute to the brand standard
• Integrate both, the craft and the building, of content at a player-coach level. A unique opportunity to 'do' and 'lead'.
• Partner closely with Social Director on channel strategy; you bring the creative POV, they bring the strategy and distribution instincts
• CD has final call on brand/visual standard; Social has final call on what ships, when, and where.
• Know who's next before everyone else does– creators, aesthetics, formats, trends

Packaging & Product:

• Lead creative direction for packaging, eg can design, glass, limited editions, seeding kits
• Bring the same creative rigor to packaging as you do to social

Campaign & Content Strategy:

• Craft, lead, and drive end-to-end conceptualization and execution of brand campaigns, product launches, and fast-turn digital assets
• Apply a consistent visual POV that works across our annual brand tentpoles
• Partner with Brand Management, Innovation, and Commercial teams to translate consumer insights into visual narratives that drive action
• Build the creative brief that the whole team can execute against, from in-house designers to external production partners

Team & Studio Leadership:

• Develop the in-house design team, with a specific focus on building repeatable systems– shot lists, content templates, brief formats, that let the ideas team execute more independently over time, not just direct their output personally
• Set the creative standard: what good looks like, how work is reviewed, what gets shipped
• Curate and match the right network of talent to the right brief
• Opportunity to run a lean, fast studio: small team, high output
• Use external agency partners specifically to absorb execution overflow during packaging and campaign crunch periods, keeping the CD's own quick-turn capacity protected for social the rest of the year

Who You Are

• You are a doer and a leader, quick to roll up your sleeves in a cross-function collaborative environment.
• You have a genuine, specific point of view on what brands should and shouldn't look like and you can defend it in a room that doesn't agree.
• You've built or shaped a brand's visual identity across multiple touch points, not just one channel or one medium.
• You understand that creative is a business tool. You can translate a design decision into a growth argument and a growth problem into a creative brief.
• You're as comfortable art directing a packaging shoot as you are briefing a TikTok creator.
• Savvy in AI and maintain a daily curiosity with emerging technology and how to integrate new tools into the creative process.
• You move fast, make decisions, and don't wait for perfect, but you know the difference between fast and sloppy.
• You've worked in or around culture: fashion, music, food, beverage, wellness. You understand what aspirational looks like for a life seeker audience.
• You lead people well. You give clear direction, develop talent, and build creative cultures that attract good work.

What You'll Bring

• 7–10+ years in CPG brand marketing, creative agencies, or social media, with a portfolio demonstrating omnichannel creative success
• Proven track record in fast-growing lifestyle, health, wellness, or beverage categories
• Experience leading and developing in-house creative teams
• Strong hands-on craft; Adobe Creative Suite fluency at a player-coach level
• Prior print production experience preferred
• Demonstrated ability to translate creative work into commercial outcomes: trial, conversion, brand equity
• Experience managing external creative partners: photographers, production companies, art directors, agencies
• Social-native: deep understanding of how platforms work, what performs, and what builds a brand over time

Physical Requirements

• May sit or stand to complete work at a computer for many hours during the day.
• Heavy use of the computer.
• Utilize visual acuity to operate equipment, read technical information, and/or use a keyboard.
• Accurately complete detailed forms and reports.

The pay range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors; actual pay offered may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Sales commissions and/or variable pay plans are also offered depending on the position (ex: monthly, quarterly, annual bonuses). Additionally, we offer a competitive benefits package including top-tier benefits, comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans, employee life and disability, mental health benefits, paid medical leave, paid company holidays, and paid time off, as well as opportunities for career growth and advancement within our team!

Salary Range

$157,000—$205,000 USD

 

Yerba Madre—formerly Guayakí Yerba Mate—is the nearly 30-year pioneer of regenerative yerba mate [yer-bah ma-tay] and the category leader in ready-to-drink mate beverages across North America. The name Yerba Madre, meaning "Mother Herb," is a tribute to Mother Earth and the ancestral wisdom of the Indigenous communities who have cultivated yerba mate for generations —a reflection of the values the brand has championed since day one. 

Headquartered in Oakland and Los Angeles, California, Yerba Madre sources organic, shade-grown yerba mate in direct partnership with 255 family farmers and Indigenous communities across Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Using its Market Driven Regeneration™ model, every purchase helps reforest the Atlantic Forest, support fair trade premiums, and build long-term economic resilience for grower communities. 

In 2025, the brand became the world's first yerba mate to achieve Regenerative Organic Certified™ Gold® status——setting a new global standard for ecological integrity, cultural respect, and environmental restoration. 

As an original founding member of the B Corp community and a founding member of the Purpose Pledge, Yerba Madre is committed to ethical business practices across ten key pillars, including climate positivity, living wages, circularity, and inclusion. Yerba Madre is available in over 45,000 retail locations across the U.S. and Canada. To learn more, visit .  

 

Yerba Madre is an equal-opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. All qualified applicants will be treated with respect and receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender identity, genetic information, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, uniform service, Veteran status, age, or any other protected characteristic per federal, state, or local law, including those with a criminal history, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the CA Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.