Creative & Brand Guardian

Job description

**About Aplazo** *Aplazo is Mexico’s leading “buy now, pay later” platform, giving consumers flexible, transparent payment solutions while helping merchants grow their sales. We’re a fast-growing Series B fintech backed by top global investors, combining technology, data, and design to redefine financial access.* **Role’s Mission** Aplazo needs one creative owner who puts ideas on the table and makes sure they ship on-brand. Today that function—concept, narrative, trend judgment, and craft ownership—is split across leadership, the content team, and the agency. This role concentrates it in one person, giving the brand a single voice and a single eye, from idea to final piece. The Creative & Brand Guardian owns what the brand says and how it looks. You originate the concept and narrative behind campaigns and tentpole moments, and you are the last word on craft—nothing ships that doesn’t meet the bar. **Key Responsibilities** **CONCEPT & NARRATIVE** - **Put ideas on the table** — Originate campaign concepts and brand narrative; ideas start here, not just execution. - **Own tentpole storytelling** — Define the storytelling and creative territory for the brand’s biggest moments of the year. - **Set the trend judgment** — Decide what the brand jumps on, when, how—and when it doesn’t. - **Write briefs that give direction** — Translate concept into clear briefs the content and design team can execute against. **BRAND GUARDIANSHIP & CRAFT** - **Own the design system** — Be the steward of the brand book—know it well enough to defend it and evolve it. - **Guard visual quality** — Review and correct the team’s output before it ships; you are the last word on craft. - **Direct the creative work of others** — Give creative and design direction to the Content Specialists, correcting with a clear point of view. *This role does not own operations: the calendar, scheduling, and publishing live with Marketing Ops.* **Requirements** **Must Have** - 5+ years of experience in art direction, creative direction, or brand design (agency or in-house) - Background in design or art direction—not a pure content strategist; **hands-on craft skills are non-negotiable** - Proven experience originating campaign concepts and brand narrative end-to-end, not just executing briefs - Strong ownership of design systems—able to defend and evolve a brand book - Fluency in digital/social culture and trend judgment—knows what to jump on and what to skip - Experience directing and correcting the work of designers or content creators - **Working proficiency with generative AI tools for creative production** - Bachelor’s degree in Design, Visual Arts, Communication, or a related field (or equivalent demonstrable experience) **Nice to Have** - Experience in fintech, retail, or other fast-moving consumer brands - Background managing or briefing external contributors - Motion, video, or art direction for social-first formats - Experience building or evolving a brand book from scratch **Skills** Technical Skills: Art direction, brand systems, campaign concepting, generative AI tools (Midjourney, Runway, etc.), Adobe Creative Suite Soft Skills: Strong point of view, ability to give and receive critique, cross-functional communication, decisiveness under ambiguity **Languages** - Spanish (native/advanced) - English (advanced) **What Success Looks Like** - There is a defined visual system that nothing ships without going through—craft consistency across every channel - A tentpole campaign has landed end-to-end, from concept to execution, owned by this role - Dependency on the external creative agency for concept and narrative has dropped measurably - Content Specialists are executing against clear briefs and creative direction, with visible improvement in output quality - The brand has a single, recognizable creative voice across campaigns and everyday content **Pro Tip:** How do we review your CV? Help us find you! We filter applications with the help of AI. To ensure your profile is properly evaluated, we recommend describing your experience using the keywords from this job posting. *Personal data collected during the recruitment process will be processed in accordance with the Privacy Notice of Aplaz, S.A. de C.V. (“Aplazo”), available at our* [*Privacy and Policy Notice*](https://aplazo.mx/privacy-and-policy)*.* *Aplazo does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, skin color, sex, gender, age, ethnic or national origin, marital status, disability, social or economic status, sexual preferences, or any other condition or characteristic. Selection is based solely on the qualifications and merits of the candidates.*