[Hiring] Creative Lead @VAWAA

Role Description

We're looking for a designer-turned-operator to lead the growth of VAWAA's artist supply. You have a trained eye for global craft and understand materials, making, and creative process. You can earn the trust of remarkable master artists and craftspeople, guide them with confidence, challenge ideas constructively, and move conversations toward decisions. You have the execution muscle to get things launched.

• Move between artist conversations, experience development, editing copy, selecting images, and keeping a large pipeline moving forward.
• Build systems, workflows, and AI-enabled processes that let us scale without lowering the quality bar.
• Take over a big part of what our founder does today and help turn it into a function that can scale.
• Start hands-on, build the foundation, and then build the team around it.

Qualifications

• Trained in architecture, interiors, product, furniture, or industrial design.
• At least 2–3 years of professional experience in a high-pace, high-standards creative environment.
• Relationship management experience through outreach, partnerships, onboarding, account management, or client support.
• Independent creative judgement and an ownership mindset.
• Commercially thoughtful with respect for an artist's practice.
• Strong editor with writing and visual judgment.
• Highly organized AI-native operator and systems thinker.
• Careful execution and effective prioritization.
• Openness to feedback.
• Cultural sensitivity, curiosity, and mission alignment.
• Comfortable being hands-on.
• Approximately 6+ years of relevant professional experience preferred.
• An existing network of artists, designers, makers, or cultural organizations is a plus.

Requirements

• Find and curate exceptional artists.
• Review applications, research artists, and build priority shortlists.
• Lead video conversations to assess artistic mastery and overall VAWAA fit.
• Build relationships and move artists forward.
• Shape VAWAA experiences that people will travel for.
• Develop and launch the story.
• Manage contracts, content, approvals, follow-ups, and launch deadlines.
• Build systems as you go.

Benefits

• Remote work with New York working hours.
• 3-4 month paid consulting engagement ($7-$8K/month).
• Transition to full-time employment with a salary of $95,000–$110,000.
• 0.25%–0.5% equity or profit sharing options.
• Health insurance.
• 1 Free and discounted VAWAA experiences.
• Work closely with our founder and community of artists and guests in 50+ countries.
• Growth path to roles like Head of Curation / Artist Development & Supply / Artist Success.

Company Description

VAWAA is a global platform where people travel to learn directly from master artists in their studios for multi-day apprenticeships. We are defining a new category at the intersection of travel, creativity, learning, culture, and transformation.

• 95% of our guests describe their experience as life-changing.
• 98% of the VAWAA artists have stayed on the platform.
• Demand is outpacing supply with 1,200 artists on the waitlist.
• Our founder built VAWAA after two decades in design and tech.
• We have strong fundamentals and believe our mission for human creativity is meeting the moment.