Company Description
Job Description
Hey, g'day, mabuhay, kia ora, 你好, hallo, vítejte!
Thanks for stopping by. We know job hunting can be a little time consuming and you're probably keen to find out what's on offer, so we'll get straight to the point.
About the role
As the Workplace Operations Lead, you'll run the operational heartbeat of Canva's Sydney campus in Surry Hills, a** 20,000 sqm**, numerous office buildings, three kitchen operations, and an external café that runs like a small village. Think of it as general managing a 5-star property, except your guests are Canvanauts, and your job is to make sure every single day feels effortless, energising, and unmistakably Canva.
You'll lead large teams across hospitality, campus logistics and experience, and you'll be part of our Global Vibe Leadership team, reporting directly to our Global Head of Vibe. In this role you'll lead the design and delivery of workplace experience programs that create meaningful, on-brand moments across the campus, enhancing engagement, connection, and day-to-day delight.
What you'll do
In this role, you’ll lead the operational heartbeat of Canva’s Sydney campus across three core craft areas, while contributing to the evolution of our global campus operations model.
Campus experience
- Oversee the end-to-end campus experience for Canvanauts and visitors, ensuring consistency, clarity, and ease of use.
- Work closely with Events, Internal Comms, and Hospitality to ensure campus moments feel intentional and well-orchestrated.
- Use feedback, data, and observation to identify friction points and continuously improve the on-campus experience.
- Ensure the Sydney campus continues to set the benchmark for what “good” looks like across Canva campuses globally.
- Design the experience thoughtfully across all touch points to ensure an inclusive, magical and engaging experience.
Ground control (Campus logistics)
- Lead campus logistics including guest services, workplace services, hospitality logistics support, front of house services, event logistics, deliveries, and regular operational readiness.
- Act as the primary point of accountability for campus incidents, escalations, and real-time decision-making.
- Build and maintain clear operational playbooks for day-to-day operations and exception handling.
- Partner with Space Creation, IT, Security, and Wellbeing to ensure operational continuity and risk management.
- Partner with finance and procurement to ensure workplace services are managed financially with Canva’s best interests at heart.
Global enablement and leadership
- Manage operational budgets, forecasting, and spend with strong governance.
- Capture learnings from Sydney and embed best practice across global campus operations through tools, documentation, and leadership.
- Support regional campus leads by sharing frameworks, standards, and ways of working that enable localised, recognisably Canva experiences.
- Partner with senior stakeholders across Vibe and the wider business to align campus operations with evolving needs.
- Support the operational integration of acquisitions, partnering closely with cross-functional project teams to ensure a seamless and culturally aligned workplace transition.
Hospitality
- Own the day-to-day delivery of campus hospitality, ensuring spaces feel welcoming, cared for, and energising.
- Partner closely with food and beverage, guest services, cleaning, and service providers to maintain high service standards.
- Set clear expectations for hospitality vendors, reviewing performance regularly and driving continuous improvement.
- Ensure hospitality experiences reflect Canva’s culture, values, and commitment to care, inclusion and create a delightful experience.
What you'll bring
- Experience running large-scale, high-service operations, such as tech campus, workplace operations, resort management of similar.
- Proven ability to** design and scale experiential programs** that translate brand and culture into meaningful, measurable workplace experiences (or guest/customer experiences).
- Exposure to facilities, real estate, and vendor management alongside hospitality.
- Strong people leadership — you empower your team, and you connect the dots across different functions.
- Comfort with systems, processes, and frameworks — this is a complex campus and it runs on rigour as much as culture.
- Strategic thinking alongside hands-on delivery — you can zoom out and set direction, then zoom in and get things done.
- A natural host presence — warm, energetic, and the kind of person who sets the tone just by being in the room.
What's in it for you?
Achieving our crazy big goals motivates us to work hard - and we do - but you'll experience lots of moments of magic, connectivity and fun woven throughout life at Canva, too. We also offer a stack of benefits to set you up for every success in and outside of work.
Here's a taste of what's on offer:
- Equity packages - we want our success to be yours too
- Inclusive parental leave policy that supports all parents & carers
- An annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support your wellbeing, social connection, office setup & more
- Flexible leave options that empower you to be a force for good, take time to recharge and supports you personally
Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.
Other stuff to know
We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills and passion, as well as how you can enhance Canva and our culture. When you apply, please tell us the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process.
Please note that interviews are conducted virtually and onsite.
Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.