How to hire creative talent in Armenia
Armenia's creative industry sits alongside an unusually strong technology sector for a country of its size, and the two overlap in product design, UI and motion work made for software companies.
What the creative pool in Armenia actually looks like.
Product and interface design are the deepest pools, with motion design often built on top of that background. Yerevan holds almost all of it. Illustration and 3D exist but are thinner.
- Product design
- Motion design
- Graphic design
- Illustration
Language, hours, contracts and getting paid.
- Armenian is the state language, Russian is widely spoken, and English is common among designers working in technology.
- Four hours ahead of London.
- Wise and Payoneer are standard. Registration as a sole trader is common.
- Most agencies engage people here as independent contractors on a monthly retainer, which does not require a local entity. The contractor invoices you and handles their own tax locally.
The boards people in Armenia actually use.
Job hunting is local. The global boards you already know have almost no audience here, and the sites that do are not in English and mostly will not take a posting from a company without a local presence.
What catches foreign agencies out.
The technology sector competes hard for the same designers, so pay expectations track software rather than advertising.
The pool is small. Expect to look at everyone rather than to filter aggressively.
Or skip all of it and post once.
Everything above is doable on your own. It takes a local number, a local entity on some boards, a translated description and somebody to read applications in Armenian. Elsewhere does that part for you. You write the role once in English, pick your markets, and upload examples of the work you want. We translate it, post it to the local boards, pay the posting fees, and score every applicant’s portfolio against your references before you see them.
- One job description in English, plus examples of the work you are looking for.
- Translation into Armenian, posting to the local boards, and the fees they charge.
- Applicants ranked by how closely their portfolio matches the work you uploaded.
Do I need a local entity to hire someone in Armenia?
Not to engage a contractor. Most agencies engage people here as independent contractors on a monthly retainer, which does not require a local entity. The contractor invoices you and handles their own tax locally. Employing someone on a local payroll is a different question and does normally require an entity or an employer of record.
What language should I write the job description in?
Armenian is the state language, Russian is widely spoken, and English is common among designers working in technology. Elsewhere translates your English description into the local language automatically, so you write it once.
Which job boards should I post on in Armenia?
The boards that matter locally are List.am Jobs, staff.am. Elsewhere posts to them for you and covers the posting fees.
How much overlap will I get with my working day?
Four hours ahead of London.
How do I pay someone in Armenia?
Wise and Payoneer are standard. Registration as a sole trader is common.