L.L.Bean’s mission is to inspire people to discover, experience, and connect with the outdoors. In this onsite role in Freeport, ME, you will set and drive the creative vision and creative strategy across product and brand marketing, shaping how the brand shows up through photo, video, advertising, and social. Reporting to the VP of Integrated Marketing, you will serve as a senior creative authority, translating brand and business strategy into cohesive creative systems and campaigns.

What you’ll be doing

Own the creative strategy for L.L.Bean’s presence across photography, video, advertising, and social, ensuring each medium has a clear, intentional role in telling the brand story.
Translate brand strategy, customer insight, and business priorities into holistic creative platforms that work across channels while still letting each format express itself authentically.
Set and communicate a clear creative north star to guide everything from major campaign work to always-on social storytelling.
Ensure creative work evolves with culture, platforms, and customer behavior while staying true to L.L.Bean’s heritage and values.
Define the creative vision and standards for photography and video, establishing distinct visual approaches that strengthen emotional connection, authenticity, and modern relevance.
Guide the balance between elevated product storytelling, lifestyle imagery, and brand narrative so execution stays consistent without becoming repetitive.
Partner with production, studio, and external creators to advance visual storytelling through innovative formats, pacing, and techniques.
Concept photo and video assets strategically so they can scale across campaigns, channels, and touchpoints.
Lead concept-through-execution creative direction for major brand and seasonal advertising campaigns.
Champion big-idea thinking that differentiates L.L.Bean in a competitive landscape.
Keep advertising creative insight-driven and emotionally compelling, clearly tied to both brand and business objectives.
Drive clarity and conviction in creative decision-making to accelerate timelines and reduce unnecessary iteration.
Provide senior leadership across art direction, design, copy, photography, video, and experiential execution.
Set and maintain a high bar for creative quality, taste, and originality while encouraging thoughtful creative risk.
Translate strategic intent into clear creative direction that enables teams, agencies, and partners.
Integrate AI into creative workflows to improve speed, scale, and effectiveness across concepting, production, and content iteration, including ideation, asset generation, versioning, and optimization across channels.
Use AI-driven insights and creative intelligence to inform messaging, formats, and storytelling that improve performance and customer engagement.
Maintain a point of view on AI in modern creative organizations by balancing automation with human-led craft to preserve originality, brand integrity, and differentiation.
Lead and inspire creative teams and leaders with a culture of accountability, candor, collaboration, and creative ambition.
Encourage creative debate paired with decisive leadership to create momentum and clarity.
Develop talent through coaching, real-time feedback, and clear expectations.
Act as a trusted creative partner to senior leadership, articulating creative strategies, ideas, and trade-offs with clarity and confidence.
Collaborate with stakeholders across Marketing, Merchandising, and other key functions for cohesive execution.

What you bring

10+ years of creative leadership experience, ideally within brand, retail, lifestyle, or purpose-driven environments.
Proven experience setting creative strategy across photo, video, advertising, and social.
A strong portfolio demonstrating taste, originality, and customer-first storytelling.
Experience leading internal creative teams and agencies with clarity, authority, and empathy.
Demonstrated success driving big-idea campaigns, partnerships, and content ecosystems.
Strong creative judgment and a point of view, with comfort making fast, high-impact decisions.
Exceptional communication skills and ability to influence at the executive level.
Passion for the outdoors, authenticity, and L.L.Bean’s brand values.

Benefits at L.L.Bean

Programs and perks designed to support your health and financial goals
Maintaining a healthy work-life balance
Re-charging outside

Compensation and location

USD 180,000 - 215,000 per year. Onsite in Freeport, ME.

Position purpose

Responsible for setting, driving, and owning L.L.Bean’s creative vision and creative strategy across product and brand marketing. Reporting to the VP of Integrated Marketing, the Creative Director is the senior creative authority translating brand and business strategy into compelling creative systems and campaigns.

How success is measured

L.L.Bean delivers cohesive, modern creative expression across photo, video, advertising, and social that strengthens brand equity.
Creative work increases originality, cultural relevance, and emotional resonance with customers.
Campaigns and content move faster with stronger conviction and fewer late-stage pivots.
Social content feels native, engaging, and brand-defining rather than purely promotional.
Creative teams align around a clear strategy, feel empowered to make decisions, and push ambitious ideas forward.
L.L.Bean earns increased attention, engagement, and advocacy through compelling storytelling and experiences.
Creative work remains emotionally resonant for customers and commercially effective for the business.

Creative Director