Creative Director

OUR STORY

Victory Cruise Lines is a purpose-driven, American-owned and employee-owned cruise line founded by industry icon John Waggoner. We operate small ships on the Great Lakes, Canadian Maritimes, and the Eastern Seaboard, offering immersive, culturally rich journeys that connect guests with history, destination, and one another. Our team members don't just work here - they help create experiences our guests remember for a lifetime.

If you're a creative leader who enjoys building brands, shaping how a company shows up in market, and working close to the business to drive real results, we'd love to hear from you.

OUR VALUES

Safety First
Teamwork
Integrity
Service Excellence
Innovation
Having Fun and Celebrating the Victories

Victory Cruise Lines is more than a workplace-we are a community of professionals who care deeply about what we do, who we serve, and how we show up for one another.

THE POSITION

The Creative Director is responsible for owning, shaping, and executing the Victory Cruise Lines brand across all consumer-facing touchpoints.

This role sits within Marketing and reports to the Vice President of Marketing but operates across the entire business-partnering closely with Sales, Revenue, Guest Services, and leadership to ensure the brand is not only consistent, but effective in driving engagement and bookings.

This is a hands-on leadership role. You will be responsible for both the quality of the work and the speed at which it gets done-translating business priorities into clear, compelling creative that elevates brand perception and supports revenue growth.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Onsite - Fort Lauderdale / Pompano Beach, Florida

This is an in-office role working closely with the VP of Marketing and cross-functional leadership.

Occasional travel may be required for ship visits, content capture, and key company initiatives.

WHAT GREAT CREATIVE DIRECTORS DO

Creative Leadership & Brand Ownership

• Own the Victory Cruise Lines brand standards across all channels, ensuring a consistent, elevated, and differentiated presence in market

• Define and evolve brand standards, tone, and visual identity to reflect a premium, small-ship experience
• Translate commercial objectives into clear, compelling creative strategies that drive awareness, engagement, and bookings-not just aesthetics

• Develop campaign concepts, messaging, and visual direction across digital, print, email, and direct mail
• Own the accuracy and consistency of all creative across channels-including website, email, digital, and print-ensuring imagery, messaging, and details are correct, up to date, and aligned with brand standards

Creative Development & Execution

• Serve as both strategist and executor-concepting, reviewing, and at times directly creating assets as needed
• Contribute to high-impact deliverables including:
  • Digital (paid & owned)
  • Campaign creative
  • Website and landing pages
  • Email marketing
  • Direct mail and print collateral
  • Sales materials and trade assets
• Ensure all creative balances premium brand positioning with strong conversion performance
• Establish and maintain a structured system for managing creative assets and project files, ensuring all materials are organized, accessible, and easily retrievable across the organization

Revenue Partnership

• Partner closely with Sales and Marketing leadership to align creative with revenue goals and booking performance
• Understand campaign performance and optimize creative based on results, not just aesthetics
• Support key selling initiatives, promotions, and occupancy-driving strategies with timely, effective creative

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with leadership across Sales, Guest Services, and Operations to ensure creative supports the full business
• Translate complex operational and itinerary details into clear, compelling guest-facing messaging
• Serve as a business partner-not just a service function-to the broader organization

Resource & Vendor Management

• Manage and direct external partners including designers, photographers, videographers, and agencies as needed or requested
• Provide input to photo and video shoots that capture the onboard and destination experience
• Ensure efficient use of resources while maintaining a high standard of output

Brand Growth & Opportunity Identification

• Identify opportunities to strengthen brand presence, improve creative effectiveness, and elevate the guest perception of Victory Cruise Lines
• Bring forward ideas-not just execution-to support growth and differentiation in a competitive market

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We strongly prefer candidates with experience in cruise, however will consider other related hospitality marketing environments.

Education:

Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Marketing, Advertising, or related field preferred (or equivalent experience)

Skills & Abilities:

• Strong creative eye with the ability to elevate brand positioning while maintaining commercial effectiveness
• Ability to think strategically and execute tactically
• Comfortable operating in a lean, fast-moving environment with high ownership
• Strong understanding of performance-driven marketing, not just brand storytelling
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Proficiency in design tools and creative software
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple priorities

Experience:

• 7-10+ years in a creative leadership role
• Experience within cruise, airline, travel, or hospitality strongly preferred
• Proven ability to develop and execute integrated campaigns across multiple channels
• Experience working in lean teams where speed and adaptability are critical
• Background in luxury or boutique brands preferred

OTHER

As part of the interview process, candidates will be asked to present a portfolio of relevant work and complete a short, practical creative exercise aligned to the role.

Post Offer / Pre Employment criteria must be satisfied to complete a successful hiring process; this may include, but may not be limited to: background screening, culture index surveys, and any other assessments deemed necessary by the Company.

This job description is intended to describe the general requirements for the position. It is not a complete statement of duties, responsibilities, or requirements. Other duties may be assigned as necessary to support business operations.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines. Must have a legal right to work in the United States.