Senior Creative Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Creative Designer

Company: Wise

Location: London, England, United Kingdom

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Creative & Marketing Operations

Date Posted: September 18, 2026

Experience Level: 5-10 years

Remote Status: Hybrid (3 days in office)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the creation of impactful marketing campaigns and content, acting as a brand custodian for a global technology company focused on money movement.

• Drive creative ideation and execution across digital and print channels, leveraging a strong understanding of the marketing funnel and consumer-facing design principles.

• Collaborate closely with internal marketing teams and stakeholders, using performance insights to iterate and enhance campaign effectiveness.

• Utilize a deep understanding of visual design, typography, layout, and hierarchy to ensure brand consistency from micro-interactions to large-scale campaigns.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is crucial for maintaining and elevating Wise's brand presence. The "Senior" title and the requirement for 7+ years of experience indicate a need for strategic thinking, leadership in creative projects, and the ability to mentor or guide less experienced team members, even if not explicitly stated as management. The focus on "impactful" and "recognisable" campaigns suggests a strong emphasis on measurable results and brand recall.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Develop and execute creative concepts for marketing campaigns across various channels (digital, print, social, etc.), ensuring alignment with brand guidelines and campaign objectives.

• Serve as a brand custodian, intuitively applying Wise's visual identity and messaging across all touchpoints, from website elements to large-scale advertising.

• Collaborate with copywriters and marketing teams to shape messaging and design solutions that resonate with target audiences and support marketing funnel progression.

• Own and lead creative projects from conceptualization through to final delivery, managing timelines, resources, and stakeholder expectations.

• Translate marketing briefs into strategic creative solutions, understanding the "why" behind the brief and the desired business outcomes before initiating the creative process.

• Utilize data and performance insights from marketing campaigns to inform creative iterations and improve future campaign effectiveness.

• Conduct art direction for photography and storyboarding sessions to conceptualize visual narratives for campaigns and content.

• Present creative ideas, processes, and solutions to stakeholders, effectively communicating rationale and building consensus.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic creative thinking and hands-on design execution. The emphasis on "ownership," "impact," and "collaboration with internal marketing teams" suggests a role that is deeply integrated into the broader Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy, requiring strong cross-functional communication and project management skills beyond pure design execution.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong educational background in Graphic Design, Visual Communications, Fine Arts, or a related field is implied by the nature of the role and the portfolio requirements.

Experience: A minimum of 7 years of professional experience in a similar in-house creative team or a reputable agency environment is required. This experience should demonstrate a proven track record of delivering high-impact, consumer-facing work.

Required Skills:

• Visual Design Expertise: Exceptional skills in typography, layout design, hierarchy, and overall aesthetic execution across both digital and print mediums.

• Marketing Campaign Design: Proven ability to design for various stages of the marketing funnel and create compelling consumer-facing campaigns.

• Software Proficiency: Deep understanding of Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) and Figma (or the ability to quickly learn Figma).

• Creative Ideation: Strong capacity for generating original, imaginative creative concepts and spotting opportunities for innovative design solutions.

• Art Direction & Storyboarding: Experience in art directing photo shoots and creating storyboards for visual narratives.

• Brand Management: Ability to intuitively understand and apply brand guidelines consistently across all creative outputs.

• Stakeholder Communication: Confidence in building presentations, communicating creative processes, ideas, and solutions effectively to diverse stakeholders.

• Strategic Thinking: Ability to understand the strategic intent behind briefs and develop solutions that align with business objectives.

• Project Management: Organized, capable of taking ownership of complex projects, managing priorities, and meeting deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

• Feedback Navigation: Ability to receive and effectively incorporate feedback to refine creative work.

Preferred Skills:

• AI Tools Proficiency: Hands-on experience using AI tools for creative development, execution, and versioning to achieve high-quality outcomes.

• Motion Graphics: Basic knowledge of After Effects for animation and motion graphics.

• 3D Design: Basic knowledge of Cinema 4D for 3D rendering and visualization.

• Collaboration with Copywriters: Experience working closely with copywriters to ensure messaging and design are synergistic.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for Figma proficiency, even if it's "confidence to learn," is a strong indicator of the modern digital design stack Wise utilizes. The preference for AI tools and motion graphics/3D skills suggests a forward-looking approach to creative production and an interest in candidates who can contribute to evolving visual storytelling techniques.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing a minimum of 7 years of high-impact, consumer-facing work, demonstrating exceptional typographic, layout, and hierarchy skills.

• Examples of successful marketing campaigns designed for digital and print channels, illustrating an understanding of the marketing funnel.

• Visual case studies that detail the creative process, ideation, problem-solving, and the impact of the designed solutions.

• Demonstrations of brand guardianship, showing how brand identity was applied consistently and effectively across diverse projects.

• Examples of work that showcase strategic thinking, problem-solving, and the ability to translate business objectives into compelling creative outcomes. Process Documentation:

• Evidence of a structured creative process, from brief interpretation and research to concept development, execution, and iteration based on feedback or performance data.

• Examples of how performance insights and stakeholder feedback were incorporated into design iterations to improve campaign impact.

• Workflow examples that illustrate effective collaboration with copywriters, marketing teams, and other stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle.

• Documentation of experience in art direction, photography, and storyboarding, showcasing the process of visual concept development.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Senior Creative Designer role, the portfolio is paramount. It should not just display finished work but also the thought process, strategic rationale, and problem-solving abilities behind each piece. The emphasis on "high-impact" and "consumer-facing" work means case studies should ideally include metrics or qualitative evidence of success.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: £62,000 - £88,000 per year.

Benefits:

• Global Mission: Opportunity to contribute to Wise's mission of making the world's money work without borders.

• Creative Freedom & Ownership: Be part of an ambitious team with significant creative appetite, owning projects from start to finish.

• International & Diverse Team: Work within a truly international and diverse team that celebrates differences.

• Inclusive Culture: A commitment to building an equitable and inclusive environment where every employee feels respected and empowered.

• Career Development: Opportunities to learn, grow, and progress within a fast-paced, mission-driven technology company.

• Professional Growth: Be exposed to and potentially utilize cutting-edge tools like AI in creative workflows.

• Standard Benefits: While not explicitly detailed, typically includes health insurance, pension contributions, paid time off, and other provisions common in the UK technology sector.

Working Hours: 40 hours per week.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is competitive for a Senior Creative Designer in London, reflecting the experience level and the company's standing. The benefits focus on the mission, culture, and creative environment, which are strong selling points for creative professionals. The "standard benefits" are an assumption based on industry norms for a company like Wise.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Global Financial Technology (FinTech). Wise operates in a dynamic and competitive market, focused on disrupting traditional banking by offering transparent and low-cost international money transfer and financial services.

Company Size: Large. Wise is a significant global company with a substantial employee base, indicating a structured environment with established processes but also opportunities for impact.

Founded: 2011. Founded over a decade ago, Wise has a mature operational history, demonstrating resilience, innovation, and a proven ability to scale. This history likely means established brand strategies and a clear understanding of its market positioning.

Team Structure:

• Brand, Creative & Strategy Team: This role sits within a dedicated team responsible for the company's overarching brand identity, creative output, and strategic marketing initiatives.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: The Senior Creative Designer will work closely with internal marketing teams (e.g., performance marketing, content marketing, product marketing) and potentially product, engineering, and regional teams.

• Reporting: Likely reports to a Creative Director, Head of Brand, or Marketing Lead within the Brand, Creative & Strategy team.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Creativity: The emphasis on "performance and insights" suggests a blend of creative intuition and data analysis to inform design decisions and measure campaign success.

• Agile & Iterative: The mention of "iterate to have more impact" and navigating feedback points towards an agile approach to creative development, where continuous improvement is key.

• Brand-Centric: A strong focus on brand guardianship ensures consistency and recognition across all communications.

Company Website: https://wise.jobs/

📝 Enhancement Note: Wise's mission of "Money without Borders" and its commitment to inclusivity are central to its culture. For a creative role, understanding this mission and how it translates visually is key. The "global technology company" aspect implies a fast-paced, innovative environment where design plays a critical role in communicating complex financial services simply and effectively.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Senior Individual Contributor. This role is positioned as a senior-level creative professional responsible for leading significant creative projects and contributing strategically to brand and marketing efforts. It implies a high degree of autonomy and expertise.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Creative Designer will likely report to a Creative Lead, Head of Brand, or a similar senior role within the Brand, Creative & Strategy team. They will collaborate extensively with various marketing functions and potentially product teams.

Operations Impact: The Senior Creative Designer's impact is directly tied to the effectiveness of Wise's marketing campaigns. This includes driving brand awareness, customer acquisition, customer engagement, and ultimately contributing to revenue growth through compelling visual communication. Their work influences how Wise is perceived globally and how customers interact with the brand.

Growth Opportunities:

• Creative Leadership: Potential to move into leadership roles such as Creative Lead, Art Director, or Head of Creative, managing teams and strategic direction.

• Specialization: Opportunity to deepen expertise in specific areas like motion graphics, digital product design, or campaign strategy.

• Cross-Functional Expertise: Develop a broader understanding of marketing strategy, product marketing, and business operations through close collaboration.

• Mentorship: As a senior member, there's an implicit opportunity to mentor junior designers and contribute to team skill development.

• Industry Influence: Contribute to shaping the visual identity of a leading FinTech company, potentially influencing design trends in the sector.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" designation, coupled with the responsibilities, suggests a clear path for growth into leadership or deep specialization within the creative function at Wise, a company known for innovation.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid. The role requires attendance at the London office 3 days per week, with the remaining 2 days offering flexibility (remote or in-office). This model is designed to foster collaboration while allowing for focused work.

Office Location(s): Worship Square, 65 Clifton Street, London, EC2A 4JE, United Kingdom. This is a central London location, likely accessible via public transport.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: The office environment is designed to facilitate collaboration, brainstorming, and team interaction, especially on designated office days.

• Tool Accessibility: Likely equipped with modern design software and hardware, including access to Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, and potentially other relevant creative tools.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for face-to-face interactions with colleagues in the Brand, Creative & Strategy team, as well as cross-functional marketing colleagues, fostering a dynamic and supportive work atmosphere.

Work Schedule: Standard 40-hour work week. The hybrid model allows for flexibility in structuring the work week, balancing office presence with remote work.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model is typical for modern tech companies and aims to balance the benefits of in-person collaboration with the flexibility of remote work. For a creative role, the office days are crucial for brainstorming, feedback sessions, and team cohesion.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Application review, focusing on resume and portfolio quality.

• Creative Assessment: Likely a portfolio review session, where candidates present their work, discuss their process, and answer questions about their experience and strategic thinking. This may also include a design challenge.

• Stakeholder Interviews: Interviews with hiring managers and key stakeholders from marketing and creative teams to assess skills, cultural fit, and strategic alignment.

• Final Round: Potentially a final interview with a more senior leader or a panel to discuss overall fit and long-term potential.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-5 of your strongest, most relevant projects that demonstrate your skills in consumer-facing campaigns, visual design, typography, and strategic thinking.

• Highlight Impact: For each project, clearly articulate the brief, your role, your creative process, the challenges faced, and the tangible results or impact achieved (e.g., increased engagement, brand recall, conversion rates). Use metrics where possible.

• Showcase Process: Be prepared to walk through your thought process, from initial concept to final execution. Explain your design decisions and how they addressed the brief.

• Demonstrate Brand Custodianship: Include examples of how you've applied brand guidelines effectively or evolved a brand's visual language.

• Tailor to Wise: If possible, subtly tailor your presentation or commentary to reflect an understanding of Wise's brand, mission, and target audience.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design Challenge: Be prepared for a potential design exercise that tests your ability to quickly grasp a brief, ideate, and produce a concept within a limited timeframe, showcasing your core skills and strategic approach.

• Presentation Skills: Practice presenting your work clearly, concisely, and engagingly. Focus on storytelling and articulating the "why" behind your creative choices.

• Strategic Questions: Anticipate questions about your approach to brand consistency, campaign effectiveness, working with stakeholders, and navigating feedback.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process for a senior creative role will heavily rely on the portfolio. Candidates should be ready to defend their design choices, articulate their strategic thinking, and demonstrate their ability to collaborate effectively within a fast-paced marketing environment.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Adobe Creative Suite: Essential for graphic design, illustration, photo editing, and layout. Proficiency in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign is expected.

• Figma: Critical for UI/UX design, prototyping, and collaborative design workflows. Confidence to learn is acceptable, but existing proficiency is a significant advantage.

• AI Tools: Hands-on experience with AI tools for creative development, execution, and versioning is a plus, indicating a forward-thinking approach to design production.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not a direct responsibility, understanding how to interpret campaign performance data and use it to inform design decisions is crucial. Familiarity with analytics dashboards (e.g., Google Analytics, internal marketing analytics platforms) may be beneficial. CRM & Automation:

• Not directly applicable for a designer role, but awareness of how creative assets are used within marketing automation platforms or CRM campaigns can be helpful for context. Motion Graphics/3D (Bonus):

• After Effects: Basic knowledge for creating animations, motion graphics, and video content.

• Cinema 4D: Basic knowledge for 3D rendering, product visualization, or motion graphics elements.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on Adobe Creative Suite and Figma, along with the growing importance of AI tools, highlights the modern digital design environment Wise operates in. Proficiency in these tools is non-negotiable for efficiency and collaboration.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Global Mission: A shared commitment to "making the world's money work" and removing financial borders, fostering a sense of purpose and impact.

• Inclusivity & Diversity: A strong emphasis on creating a workplace where everyone feels respected, empowered, and can progress, valuing diverse perspectives.

• Customer Focus: Designing with the customer in mind, ensuring that creative output is impactful, intuitive, and serves their needs.

• Innovation & Ambition: An environment that encourages bold ideas, challenging the status quo, and striving for constant improvement ("Money without Borders" is just the start).

• Efficiency & Effectiveness: While creative, the role also emphasizes performance, using insights to iterate and ensure creative efforts drive tangible results.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Strong emphasis on working with marketing, product, and other departments to achieve shared objectives.

• Open Communication: Encouragement of curiosity, challenging assumptions, and asking "what if" to foster innovation and continuous improvement.

• Feedback-Driven: A culture where feedback is seen as an opportunity for growth and refinement, leading to better creative outcomes.

• Ownership & Accountability: Team members are expected to take ownership of their projects and be accountable for their contributions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company values are deeply intertwined with its mission and commitment to inclusivity. For a creative role, demonstrating how one's design philosophy aligns with these values—particularly in creating accessible, impactful, and globally resonant visuals—will be key.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Brand Consistency with Innovation: Maintaining a strong, recognizable brand identity across diverse campaigns while pushing creative boundaries to stay relevant.

• Translating Complex Financial Services Visually: Effectively communicating Wise's value proposition and product features in a clear, engaging, and accessible manner to a broad audience.

• Navigating Fast-Paced Marketing Demands: Adapting to rapidly changing marketing needs and tight deadlines in a dynamic FinTech environment.

• Integrating AI Tools Effectively: Learning and integrating new AI technologies into the creative workflow to enhance efficiency and output without compromising quality or originality.

• Driving Measurable Impact: Proving the direct impact of creative work on marketing campaign performance and business objectives through data and insights.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Creative Skills: Opportunities to hone skills in areas like motion graphics, 3D design, or advanced digital design techniques.

• Strategic Marketing Exposure: Deepen understanding of marketing strategy, funnel optimization, and campaign performance analysis through close collaboration.

• Leadership Development: Potential to take on more strategic project leadership, mentorship roles, or progress towards management positions.

• Industry Trends: Stay at the forefront of design and marketing trends, particularly within the FinTech sector.

• Tool Proficiency: Gain expertise in cutting-edge design and AI tools.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are common for senior creative roles in dynamic companies. Wise's emphasis on innovation and data suggests that growth opportunities will likely involve mastering new technologies and contributing to strategic marketing initiatives.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a marketing campaign you led from concept to completion. What was the brief, your creative process, and what were the results?"

• "How do you ensure brand consistency across multiple channels and touchpoints, especially when working with different marketing teams?"

• "Walk me through your process for interpreting a marketing brief and translating it into creative solutions. How do you address the 'why' behind a brief?"

• "How do you leverage performance insights or user feedback to iterate on your creative work and improve campaign effectiveness?" Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Wise's mission and how do you see your creative work contributing to it?"

• "How do you approach working in a diverse and inclusive team environment?"

• "How do you stay inspired and bring new ideas and cultural relevance into your creative work?"

• "Describe a time you had to navigate difficult feedback on your creative work. How did you handle it?" Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Storytelling: Frame each project as a narrative, detailing the problem, your solution, and the outcome. Focus on the impact.

• Visual Clarity: Ensure your presentation is clean, visually appealing, and easy to follow. Use high-quality visuals.

• Process Explanation: Be prepared to discuss your design process in detail, including your rationale for specific design choices.

• Metrics Focus: Quantify your achievements whenever possible. If direct metrics aren't available, discuss qualitative impact or lessons learned.

• Wise Alignment: If possible, subtly connect your experience or approach to Wise's values or mission during your presentation.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should prepare specific examples that demonstrate not just design skill but also strategic thinking, collaboration, problem-solving, and a results-oriented mindset. The interview will likely assess how well they can integrate into Wise's culture and contribute to its mission.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Creative Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on SmartRecruiters.

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio is up-to-date and highlights 3-5 of your most impactful, consumer-facing projects that align with Wise's brand and marketing objectives. Be ready to explain your role and process for each.

• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to emphasize your 7+ years of experience, specific skills in visual design, marketing campaign execution, Adobe Creative Suite, and Figma. Quantify achievements where possible.

• Interview Preparation: Practice presenting your portfolio and articulating your creative process, strategic thinking, and understanding of brand custodianship. Prepare answers for common interview questions related to design, collaboration, and impact.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Wise's mission, values, brand identity, and recent marketing campaigns. Understand their target audience and the FinTech landscape to demonstrate genuine interest and cultural fit.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

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