Job Description

At Koala we believe that designing better habitats leads to better lives – for our people, our planet, and the communities we’re part of. For a decade we have been perfecting our approach to furniture design; creating beautiful, flexible, innovative and sustainable products that solve the needs of real people.

Why we have this role @ Koala

We’re looking for a Creative Director who can own the creative direction of the Koala Japan brand — someone who thrives on turning briefs into big, original ideas that spark attention and drive business results. This person will bring together strategic thinking and creative instincts to craft compelling visual and narrative storytelling across paid, owned, and earned channels.

They will work on original concepts for the Japan market, but will also partner with our global brand team to evolve global campaigns for the Japan market.

As the leader of our small but mighty in-house creative team (designer + copywriter), they’ll guide both day-to-day production and larger campaign ideas, ensuring every asset feels purposeful, polished, and unmistakably Koala.

What key responsibilities does this role have @ Koala?

• Ideation: turn brand & growth briefs into breakthrough campaign and content ideas for the Japanese market

• Global collaboration: work with the global brand team to co-develop and localize hero campaign concepts — moving beyond adaptation into market-relevant ideation.

• Lead and contribute to brainstorming, mood-boarding, and early-stage concept development for social content, brand campaigns, and new product launches.

• Team management: manage and mentor a designer and copywriter — fostering a creative environment of open feedback and ambition.

• Hands on support for specialist staff: such as occasional copywriting and/or design tasks

• Reviewing & approvals of design and copy tasks by in-house staff

• Aligned with the Koala Brand guidelines; develop and produce assets for video, print, sales, website and outdoor

• Lead product photo shooting projects; working with project management staff to arrange vendors, creating contact lists, coordinating products, providing art direction, and managing budgets, covering all processes and tasks necessary for product shoots.

• Delegate tasks effectively and support team members' development. Recognize achievements and promote a positive work culture.

• Learn creative format nuances: based on each brief, ensure creative ideas and executions align to best practice/advice for each channel: E.G. difference between YouTube Ad brief vs YouTube Organic brief

Required skills and experience...

• 5+ years of creative experience in the B2C industry (agency or in-house), including campaign ideation, art direction, or copy-led work.

• Proven ability to lead and inspire creative teams.

• Disruptive & creative mindset

• Native Japanese speaker (Business level English)

• Strong cultural understanding of the Japanese market, with an eye for what grabs attention and drives engagement in creative content

• Experience in visual design tools (Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, etc.) and strong aesthetic sensibility.

• Expertise at digital ads for Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter

• Experience in offline ads such as OOH, PR stunts

• Experience in directing and organizing shoots, both photo and video

• Understands how to take a creative concept through to execution stage

• Ability to work under pressure and within required deadlines

Nice to have

• Proven experience in both online/offline asset production, including graphic design, copywriting, videography, and multimedia content creation

• Project management skills, with the ability to handle multiple projects and meet deadlines

• Knowledge of marketing principles and strategies

• Minimum 3 years of experience in ecommerce and visual merchandising at retail storefront

• Strong attention to detail and commitment to quality

• Ability to adapt to changing priorities and work in a fast-paced environment

• Creative thinking and problem-solving abilities

• Strong awareness of technology and digital trends

Treehouse Perks and Privileges…

Koala is only as good as its employees are happy - and we’re one happy international bilingual bunch! We offer our teams hybrid working options and the freedom and autonomy to do their best work in a way that works for them! Whether that’s working your own version of 9-6, working from home in your pajamas from time to time or hanging out at our Treehouse (this is what we call our office digs) in Omotesando, or enjoying the 20+ days annual leave (+generous time off for volunteer, parental, Koala life leave and more) you decide whatever helps you find your flow! The Treehouse has plenty of social activities to get involved with, including Thursday lunches, and help you get to know your fellow Koalas better as well as free Koala products for all employees - who better to shout from the tree tops how awesome our products are, right?! We also recognise that we can’t grow as a brand unless we support the growth of our teams so this is a strong focus for us via our Learning Management platform Juno, as well as individual and team growth budgets and dedicated days. Lastly and importantly our employee experience respects and embraces all families, formed, found and evolving. You’ll have access to our Employee Assistance Program, which includes unlimited sessions for financial, work, relationship, family or wellbeing support. We believe that simply doing ‘no harm’ isn’t good enough. So, how are we doing our part? BCorp Certified, WWF Partnership, volunteer days, a member of SoftLanding , 1% and so much more.

All in all, the Koala Kommunity is a great place to hang out and belong to!

Koalities we look for…

At Koala, we do things a little differently and we don’t shy away from the fact that we expect a lot from our employees! We want you to challenge expectations, always look to make a difference and give us something different from the norm. We want people that bring great energy, that have a long-game focus and are always curious to find new angles and approaches to the way we work. We're a team full of entrepreneurial spirit and have a relentless focus on 'what's next' but while always reviewing 'what's been done' and learning, growing and adapting. We're confident, but NEVER arrogant and we adapt to change uber quickly. Honesty and selflessness drive everything we do, as well as a total focus on exceeding our customers’ expectations. So if you feel like this could be you... well what are you waiting for? Drop us a line, and let's see what you've got! ;)

There’s no such thing as a ‘perfect’ candidate, Koala is a place where everyone has opportunity. So however you identify and whatever background you bring with you, please apply if this is a role that would make you excited to come into work every day. We’re an equal opportunity employer, and recognize that a diverse workforce is crucial to our success as a business.

To read more, check out our careers , LinkedIn , or the great work we do with Work180 .

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