Creative Development Manager at Thermacell… · Bedford

Disclaimer: Please note, if you are selected to have an interview with Thermacell, you will receive an email from our applicant tracking system Paylocity (reply-to-sender@mail.paylocity.com) or an email from a Thermacell.net domain. Be aware of phishing emails/text messages. Thermacell will never text or Skype you about your candidacy or personal confidential information. If you are unsure, please contact careers@thermacell.net.

THE COMPANY

Thermacell Repellents, Inc. is on a mission to liberate people who love the outdoors from the harmful effects of insects. Thermacell makes the world’s leading zone mosquito repellent, using our proprietary technology to create a zone of scientifically proven protection up to 20ft so people and pets can enjoy their time outdoors.

Founded in 1999 and based outside of Boston in Bedford, Massachusetts, Thermacell has an ever-expanding product line and is trusted by over 6 million consumers worldwide to provide protection for outdoor events from backyard nights to rugged camping weekends. We aim to change the way people repel insects, through our award-winning products, disruptive innovation, and expanding distribution across multiple retail & e-comm channels in over 30 countries across the globe.

Thermacell is a wholly owned subsidiary of a privately held global consumer products company and operated independently. Thermacell is home to 125+ full-time employees across three U.S. hubs — Bedford, MA (Corporate Headquarters), Buford, GA (Manufacturing & Distribution), and Hampton, FL (Science & Research Center) — and is expanding its footprint in the UK & Europe.

ROLE PURPOSE:

The Creative Development Manager at Thermacell is accountable for enabling the company’s Global go-to-market engine by ensuring creative work across packaging, POS (Point of sale assets), campaigns, and commercial assets moves from request to execution with clarity, rigor, and discipline.

This role owns the end-to-end workflow, creation and execution framework for creative work in a highly regulated, seasonal, consumer products environment. They serve as the central point of coordination for creative intake, prioritization, timelines, and resourcing, ensuring work is aligned to Thermacell’s Global commercial roadmap, Global brand standards, Global brand guidelines, and Global regulatory requirements.

Acting as the operational connective tissue between Marketing, Sales, Operations, Regulatory, and external partners, the Creative Development Manager reduces ambiguity around ownership, prevents rework, and ensures creative deliverables are delivered on time, in alignment with established brand standards, and ready for production and retail execution. This role brings an evolution of centralized structure where work has historically been fragmented across teams. This position plays a critical role in scaling Thermacell’s creative output without sacrificing accuracy, speed, or quality.

STATUS: Exempt

WORKING HOURS: Typically, between 8 am - 5pm Monday-Friday (open to some flexibility)

WORK LOCATION: Corporate Office - 32 Crosby Dr Bedford MA 01730; 3 Days a week (generally Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) in office minimum with expectation that if business needs arise, attendance on other days may also be required.

Please note: This position is not eligible for work authorization sponsorship by the company now or in the future. Candidate must be authorized to work for any employer in the United States on a full-time basis.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Manage and continuously improve the lifecycle of creative projects from intake through final delivery, serving as the single source of truth for timelines, status, and execution. Document the creative lifecycle process, train internal and external stakeholders, and ensure adherence.
• Resource & Vendor Coordination: Coordinate internal creative resources and external agencies to ensure balanced workloads, clear expectations, and on-time delivery.
• Project Management & Scheduling: Act as the primary Marketing liaison between Creative, Brand Managers, Project Managers, Sales, Operations, Regulatory, International Distributors, Contract Manufactures, and leadership to reduce friction, resolve conflicts, and drive clarity. Define and manage project plans, milestones, review stages, and approvals for campaigns, packaging, POS, and commercial assets.
• Budget Tracking & Performance Metrics: Track project costs and invoices and report on operational metrics such as volume, velocity, and efficiency.
• Tools & Systems Ownership: Own and optimize creative workflow and asset management tools (e.g., Lytho, Canto, Asana, Oracle PLM, Monday, Workfront).
• Ensure final deliverables align with established brand standards, quality requirements, technical and retailer requirements, and regulatory approvals prior to release or production. Create technical briefs and complete technical artwork reviews. Facilitate annual audits of artwork templates to ensure they are compliant and correct.
• Vendor & Contract Coordination: Support vendor onboarding and coordinate SOWs and project documentation in partnership with Finance and Legal.
• Owns and maintains assets in Thermacell’s DAM (Digital Asset Management) system.
• PLM Stewardship – maintains and sets up key assets in Thermacell’s PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) system.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE:

• Lives our core values of Drive, Ownership, Integrity, Teamwork and Evolution
• Authentic and personable, humble, smart
• Relentless work ethic juiced by results, not titles or activities
• Highly resourceful. Hands-on and practical
• Motivated by challenge, resilient in the face of setbacks or adversity
• Make impeccable agreements, delivers end-to end results with excellence
• Makes high-quality data-based decisions with autonomy
• Effective communicator meeting people where they are
• Manages multiple, complex, and competing priorities

COMPENSATION

Compensation for this position will include a competitive base salary ($86,000 - $115,000) and an Annual Target Bonus opportunity. Details provided separately.

We are proud to offer a competitive & valuable benefits package that enables you to protect your health, your family, and your way of life. It includes best-in-class medical & dental insurance where Thermacell pays for 82.5% of the premiums. Thermacell pays for the first half of your medical deductible through our Health Reimbursement Account for PPO & EPO Plans as well as contributes to your Health Savings Account if you enroll in the HSA plan. Long & Short-term Disability & Group Term Life insurance is also available at no cost to you.

Paid time off for this position will consist of accrued vacation at a competitive level, along with 11 Holidays and a day off for your Birthday! 40 hours of wellness time is also available on your first day of employment. Additionally, a company shutdown period is offered for one week between Christmas and New Year’s Day where the majority of business operations pause, and employees are encouraged to rest and recover together. Critical functions may require limited coverage to ensure business continuity.

Additionally, you will have access to a variety of additional benefits such as vision, supplemental life, critical illness, Medical Flexible Spending Account, Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account, accident, SecureSave savings account, Employee Assistance Program, product benefit, wellness benefit, financial coaching, Voluntary Legal Plan and pet insurance for your furry family members! You can find all these details and more in our benefits guide along with additional discounts. You will be eligible for the employer 401K match up to 5% after completing 30 days of employment.

WHY WORK HERE?

We are proud of our company culture – it’s the fuel behind our dynamic and buzzing community! Our people are authentic, competitive, and compassionate. It’s truly a unique formula for success.

We believe in the virtuous cycle of thriving employees fueling a thriving business. We believe in growing great leaders and helping people to unleash their full human potential. We believe in creating a frictionless organization where clarity and empowerment to do the work that matters as fast as possible. We believe in making impeccable agreements and relentlessly tracking exceptional results and celebrating achievements together! We believe in creating inspiring impact everywhere we can in support of our mission where everyone can be a force multiplier.

OUR CORE VALUES:

• Drive – An optimistic can-do spirit, a passion to delight our consumer, a belief in the importance of determination and the freedom to make a difference.
• Ownership – We are empowered to take accountability for our contributions and desire to do the highest quality work with responsible urgency to drive business results.
• Integrity – We will always do the right thing guided by truth and sincerity. We exercise constructive candor and have the willingness to challenge and be challenged in all interactions.
• Teamwork – The belief that we is greater than me, and with collective brainpower we are better together. We are a community of compassionate support and collective success. We win as one and play hard in celebration together.
• Evolution – We are committed to continuous improvement, always learning, growing, and adapting to constant change. We seek progress over perfection.

OUR COMMITMENT: Thermacell is committed to preserving a culture of diversity, inclusion, and belonging. The collective sum of our individual differences, knowledge, life experiences, and unique talents represents a significant part of our culture and is the foundation for our accomplishments and impact. We strive to create a supportive community where we all can show up as our authentic selves and are confident and comfortable to be genuine with our teammates in our day-to-day work environment. We are proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, citizenship, national origin, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by state, federal or local law.

OUR AWARDS: Great Place to Work Award 2025-2026 | New York Times Wirecutter pick for “The Best Mosquito Control Gear for your Patio or Yard” 2021-2025 | CNN Underscored Editor’s Pick 2024-2025 | Men's Journal Outdoor Award 2025 | Shop TODAY Expert Pick 2025 | Canadian Grand Prix New Product Award 2024 | Outside Gear Guide Editor’s Choice 2022 | Time Magazine Best Inventions 2022 | This Old House Editor’s Choice | Good Housekeeping Home Products Award | CES New Tech Award – IDEA Good Design Award | Canadian Tire Digital Excellence Award | LIV Smart Mosquito Repellent System - CES TWICE Awards 2021-2022 | Good Housekeeping Research Institute #1 Tabletop Mosquito Repellent | Field & Stream “Best of the Best” Award | Backpacker Magazine - Best Backpacking Accessory 2019 | New York Times Wirecutter - Best Car Camping Gear 2018 | Popular Mechanics - Grand Award Winner - Recreation - Best of What's New 2018

SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

• Experience: 3-5+ years in creative operations, project management, or art trafficking, ideally in agency or in-house creative teams
• Proficient in Adobe Suite including Illustrator, Photoshop etc
• Technical Skills: Proficiency in one or more project management tools (e.g., Lytho, Asana, Jira, Monday)
• Operational Mindset: Strong, data-driven understanding of creative production workflows
• Communication: Exceptional organization, communication, and interpersonal skills
• Experience with Stage-Gate process
• Ability to translate marketing brief into creative brief
• General knowledge and understanding of printing process
• Experience in packaging design and working with brand guidelines
• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Design, Communication or Operations preferred