Creative Director / Head of Visuals

Guardian Careers•New York, NY

3d•$180,000 - $200,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Creatively lead the Visuals team—incorporating design, art direction, interactive formats, photography, data graphics and illustration/animation—as a hands-on practitioner in a fast-paced, dynamic newsroom. Collaborate with the Deputy Head of Visuals and Executive Editor to shape visual ambitions, ways of working and team output, and with editors and journalists to elevate the experience of our journalism. Manage reactive daily demands with longer-term projects, team resources and stakeholders, keep projects on track and budget, and ensure that creativity is respected and protected throughout the process. Bring to life stories such as the US elections 2024, the impact of climate crisis, the investigation into Ice deportations and Bushwick, Brooklyn: the US’s most exciting neighborhood. Shape the visual identity of Guardian US, in conjunction with the US editor, US Executive Editor and Creative Director, Editorial.

Requirements

Exceptional talent and proven track record in editorial design and art direction, interactive formats and coding, graphics and data reporting at a high-profile, deadline-driven, multisection multimedia news organization.
Experienced at managing and giving creative direction on concurrent, complex projects.
Advocacy for creative needs while balancing production requirements.
Editorial workflows and the demands of a fast-paced newsroom.
Demonstrable interest in and knowledge of news, features and multimedia journalism and communicating effectively with readers/viewers/listeners.
Flexible and adaptable to frequently changing news priorities.
A skillful hands-on creative/coach to inspire and manage a multidisciplinary team with a strong spirit of collaboration.
Excellent management and interpersonal skills; ability to deal equitably with a wide range of people at different levels, in line with our values.
Familiarity with The Guardian’s editorial values, and a broad understanding of our existing and potential readership to influence the development of new projects.
Figma, Illustrator, Photoshop, CMS, Premier, AfterEffects, project management software.
Consistent style and approach in line with brand guidelines and design system across products and platforms.
Knowledge of capabilities of web/native capabilities, HTML, SCSS and Javascript.
Awareness of web accessibility guidelines and web standards.
Up to speed on the latest trends and technologies.
Exceptional talent and skill in visual journalism & design
Strong communication skills
Ability to build effective, collaborative working relationships across disciplines and with stakeholders
Firm but diplomatic, able to ensure creative priorities are respected while balancing deadlines and resources.
Collaborative and solutions-oriented, with a focus on getting the best out of teams.
Ability to work with and lead a team
Creative and innovative
Ability to guide others through design process appropriate to briefs and deadlines
Able to work with both basic and complex design briefs, and to show creative initiative.
Attention to detail, patience and judgment
Highly organized, a natural problem solver, with excellent time management skills
Resilience under pressure, adaptable, flexible and comfortable working in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment
Proactive and self-motivated to drive complex projects forward
Confident in own capabilities
Commitment to The Guardian’s values — honesty, integrity, courage, and fairness.

Responsibilities

Lead the team of creative journalists working across photography, graphics, design, illustration, animation and interactive formats; use imagination, energy and flair to innovate and collaborate to create ambitious visual stories in the fast-paced newsroom to amplify our journalism, with the reader in mind.
A hands-on CMS user contributing to and implementing the creative team’s work, you are responsible for the highest standards of journalistic accuracy, storytelling techniques and visual clarity, quality, look and feel in the team’s approach and output, ensuring functionality, accessibility and usability across platforms and devices.
Be a source of visual and editorial expertise for projects and initiatives from inception to implementation. Actively foster a culture of collaboration, collaborative processes and efficiency, and a dynamic, creative office environment to motivate and cultivate the creative, technical and journalistic skills of team members. Support Guardian US journalism with photo research, commissioning, art direction, illustration, data visualization, interactives, motion graphics and animation.
Balance fast-turnaround, reactive requests with longer-form proactive projects, ensuring priorities are clear and achievable while maintaining high editorial and creative standards. Ensure rota and level of visuals cover supports newsroom operations.
Work with clients of the visuals team, including US news, features, the west coast bureau, philanthropy projects and front page editors to ensure the team’s work supports the intended journalistic purpose. Ensure that creative considerations are valued and embedded from the outset—acting as a firm and clear voice in the processes. Assist non-team members in understanding visual journalism, related issues and technologies. Advocate for innovative visual storytelling in the newsroom and encourage greater levels of visual literacy.
Develop an understanding of who our audiences are, how they interact with Guardian US journalism and apply this in the development of visuals work. Work with the audience team, social and multimedia teams to amplify our journalism on other platforms.
Practical application and evolution of our visual guidelines for the day’s news and feature stories across visual media, understanding their relative importance alongside the overall news agenda.
Help evolve and communicate visual journalism output and processes in the constantly changing media landscape, implementing and experimenting with new tools, approaches and structures where necessary.
Coordinate with colleagues in our international editions on shared, global-facing projects.
Catch up regularly with Guardian UK counterparts in photography, design and visuals teams as well as the product & engineering teams who maintain our CMS, apps, website and other services to ensure our work and processes function with their changing codebase and style guides.
Be an ambassador for visual journalism in the newsroom and on related projects, communicating regularly with peers and senior stakeholders across departments, representing the team at meetings, contributing ideas, building relationships and ensuring smooth collaborations.
Cultivate creative contacts and ensure excellent communication and feedback between the team with photographers, illustrators, designers, animators and other creatives to facilitate delivery of contributions of the highest quality. Work with administrators to ensure compliance with terms and payment processing.
Track performance of Guardian US visuals work on and off platform, and enter team’s work in industry awards.

Benefits

25 days of vacation leave in addition to 12 company holidays
Unlimited sick time
Free Headspace subscription for you and your family members(Headspace is a company that offers evidence-based meditation and mindfulness tools, mental health coaching, therapy, psychiatry, and EAP services)
401(k) Match
Subsidized healthcare coverage including medical, vision, and dental
Medical and Dependent Flexible Spending Accounts
Generous parental leave with 100% pay
Long Term and Short Term Disability insurance
Life insurance
Commuter benefits
Work/Life balance: Flexible hybrid schedule
We want everyone to feel like they belong at the Guardian and we champion diversity of thought. You will also have the opportunity to hear unique insight from our journalists in our morning conference, a live discussion on the news story of the day.
We offer great tools to help you prioritize your wellbeing including a free Headspace subscription and access to an Employee Assistance Program.
We encourage personal and professional growth. Employees have access to a broad range of tools and solutions, and we are happy to support the pursuit of professional qualifications through vocational courses and apprenticeships.