Creative Strategist R&D

About TimeleftTimeleft is the world's largest IRL social connection platform, connecting strangers through small-group experiences – dinners, drinks, runs, and coffee – to build real friendships. We operate across 50+ countries and 200+ cities, facilitating 150,000 participant experiences each month. We’re a team of ~100 members, a 5-year-old startup backed by external investors, which means we move fast, think creatively, and achieve ambitious targets through disciplined resource allocation.Role OverviewAs R&D Creative Strategist, you'll own the creative strategy for all research-and-development offers (called "POD #2") that sit in our testing pipeline.Your mission: determine what ads to create and why, then systematically test hypotheses to move winning offers into our main product line.You’ll oversee the entire ad creative lifecycle for experimental offers – from audience research and strategy development through briefing, quality assurance, and performance analysis. You’ll work at the intersection of data, creativity, and product, translating customer insights and campaign metrics into clear creative direction that the Content Studio can execute at the highest quality.Required experienceMust have3+ years in performance marketing (copywriter, media buyer, creator/influencer) where you've owned creative strategy, testing, or optimisation for paid ad campaigns (Meta or TikTok)Experience with ad creative testing frameworks (A/B testing, multivariable testing, Bayesian statistics, probabilistic thinking, or similar methodologies); you understand statistical significance and how to isolate variablesExperience in growing mobile apps or subscription-based products.Nice to haveExperience launching offers or features across multiple geographies and optimising for local nuanceBackground in user research, ethnography, or understanding consumer psychology and motivationExposure to Bayesian statistics, probabilistic thinking, or advanced analytics methodologiesKey ResponsibilitiesData Analysis & InsightsBuild data-driven creative briefs and actionable dashboards that make performance trends visible to the whole teamAnalyse historical ad performance: identify what worked, why it worked, and how to iterate on those patternsForecast creative needs for upcoming tests based on capacity, pipeline, and learning prioritiesSystematically log learnings in a centralized knowledge base so that insights compound over timeRun internal competitions or gamification to align the team around growth targets and celebrate winsCreative Research & StrategyLead audience research through multiple lenses: reviews and user feedback, support tickets, surveys, and behavioral dataIdentify where our current offers hit audience saturation and propose creative angles to unlock new audience segmentsAnalyse demographic, psychographic, and behavioral patterns to understand what drives conversions for different user cohortsTest creative hypotheses systematically – each brief should articulate the assumption being tested and the success metricQuality Assurance & ExecutionQA that the Content Studio's deliverables match your brief and Timeleft's quality standards (visual polish, tone consistency, brand alignment)QA that media buyers have correctly launched ads and that performance data is properly trackedIdentify gaps between brief intent and final execution; provide clear feedback to improve future workEnsure all assets are documented, tagged, and stored in a system that makes future analysis and iteration easyTeam Collaboration & CommunicationCo-host the weekly Ad Creative Performance session: share results, discuss learnings, and propose next creative testsCo-host the monthly Ad Creative Retro: reflect on what worked, what didn't, and what we'll changeFacilitate alignment between the Media Buyers (who understand performance at scale) and the Content Studio (who own execution)Document and share learnings across the broader growth team to prevent knowledge silosTranslate data into insights that non-analysts can act on; communicate with clarity and energyProject Management & PlanningMaintain a prioritised ad creative pipeline for R&D offers, balancing quick wins against strategic betsContinuously manage and organise the "Ad Brief Ideas Storage" for R&D offers – a backlog of creative concepts to testForecast timelines and capacity constraints; communicate trade-offs to the Growth Creative Strategy LeadEnsure briefs flow smoothly from strategy through design and into launch with minimal bottlenecksSkills & AttributesYou’ll thrive at Timeleft if you embody these qualities:Love organised chaos. You find joy in bringing structure to fast-moving, ambiguous environments. Startups energise you, not exhaust you.Nerd out over systems. You don’t just manage projects, you see patterns, build frameworks, and create repeatable processes that scale.Are an amazing communicator. You can translate "I need this yesterday" into "Here’s what’s realistic, why, and what we need to prioritise." You keep teams aligned and happy while being honest about constraints.Hypothesis-driven: You treat your work as experiments. Every creative direction should test an assumption. Every failure should yield a learning. You’re biased toward action and iteration, not endless planning.Collaborative by default: You bridge worlds: between the data team and the creative team, between the media buyers and the content studio, between strategy and execution. You’re genuinely curious about how other functions think.What’s in it for you?Impact on a mission that matters: Your work directly supports a solution to one of the world's most pressing problems—chronic loneliness. You’ll help millions of people build real, meaningful friendships.High-growth opportunity: We’ve scaled from 20 to 100+ employees in less than 2 years. That velocity creates rare opportunities for fast skill development and expanded scope. Your role will grow with the company.Team quality: You’ll work with unusually smart, thoughtful marketers and creatives who care deeply about the work. This is the kind of team people talk about years later.Autonomy with support: You’ll have clear ownership of your domain, but you won’t be alone. Your direct manager is invested in your growth and will actively mentor you.Recruitment ProcessWe’ve designed this to be respectful of your time while giving us a clear picture of how you think and work:6 LinkedIn questions Quick questions to assess the core requirements.Introduction Call (30 min, Live) Meet with our Talent Acquisition Lead to explore your background and what drew you to Timeleft.Video Submission (1 minute, Async) Record a short video showing your personality and creative perspective. We want to see how you communicate. + Preliminary Questionnaire (15 min, Async) Targeted questions about your technical depth and motivation for the role.Team Lead Interview (30 min, Live) Conversation with the Growth Creative Strategy Lead about your experience, how you approach creative strategy, and your career goals.Business Case (Take-home, 3-5 days, ~2–3 hours) A realistic scenario from our business. Show us your analytical thinking, frameworks, and communication.Final Interview (30 min, LIVE) Meet with the Global Head of Marketing to discuss technical fit, team alignment, and next steps. #J-18808-Ljbffr