Head of Studio

New York Road Runners•New York, NY

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Head of Studio, Creative Services, shapes the creative vision for the New York Road Runners brand, developing visuals and design that showcase the organization’s mission and bring its events, products, and services to life. The role combines creative direction and creation with strategic leadership and management of people, processes, and priorities. The Studio has two connected functions: Design & Creative, covering brand storytelling, art direction, campaigns, identities, and still and motion content; and Production & Operations, covering the physical fabrication and delivery of race-day materials such as signage, medals, bibs, wayfinding, and event hardware. The Head of Studio leads creative and production professionals and works with internal and external stakeholders to deliver consistent, high-quality work across digital and physical experiences. The role is accountable for ensuring projects are on strategy, on budget, and on time, including physical deliverables with fixed event-day deadlines. This position provides strategic and operational leadership for the Studio, fostering collaboration across Marketing, Creative & Digital and other organizational teams. It also emphasizes inclusive people leadership, team development, performance management, and continuous improvement of creative and production workflows.

Requirements

15+ years leading strategic and creative development in an advertising or creative agency, consumer brand, or relevant creative capacity.
Demonstrated experience overseeing physical production and fabrication, such as signage, premiums, print, or comparable event hardware, including vendor management and knowledge of production processes.
Experience leading teams directly and indirectly, ideally across creative and production disciplines.
Expertise in art direction across campaigns, brand identity, out-of-home signage, print, shoots, production, and digital.
Demonstrated commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Acute understanding of the audience served and the cultural platforms on which they operate.
Collaborative approach and strong interpersonal skills.
Strong time management and ability to manage multiple creative and production projects simultaneously against fixed event-day deadlines.
Proactive, entrepreneurial approach to identifying and acting on opportunities to improve work.
Ability to build relationships and collaborate with brand marketing, content production, creative leads, and external fabricators and vendors, and to work effectively with varied leadership styles in unstructured, ambiguous, and fast-paced environments.
Strong design experience, ability to take direction, conceptual and strategic thinking, awareness of trends, and knowledge of the design industry.
Ability to flex and reprioritize team workloads to meet critical deadlines.
Proven ability to mentor, develop, and empower teams and individuals in a positive and inclusive manner.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Experience with Adobe Creative Suite and Canva.
Strong attention to detail and meticulous organizational skills.
Excellent written, verbal, and visual communication skills in individual and group settings.
Strong operational and facilitation skills, including the ability to plan, coordinate, and execute projects and physical production timelines.
Ability to work occasional weekends or evenings.
Ability to work a hybrid schedule, with two days per week in the NYRR office in New York City.

Nice To Haves

Experience with high-volume, recurring live events, including repeatedly shipping the same category of deliverables and understanding production challenges at scale.
Passion for New York City, running, sports, community, and art.
Bachelor’s degree or higher, or an equivalent combination of relevant education, experience, and training.
Familiarity with signage and production management systems and workflows.

Responsibilities

Oversee a team of 10, including 4 direct reports.
Provide inspirational leadership, strategic vision, and mentorship across the Studio’s design and production functions.
Lead creative strategy from early development through execution, with a focus on the constituent journey.
Partner with Marketing Strategy, content studio, and digital marketing counterparts to develop project, event, and campaign visions and creative strategies.
Manage annual budgets and forecasts for creative and production initiatives.
Oversee vendor and fabricator relationships for physical production, including sourcing, negotiation, and quality control.
Build and maintain scalable systems, templates, and specifications for production across NYRR’s races and major events.
Drive cross-functional inclusion and alignment during creative ideation and production execution, working with teams including Events, Legal, Strategic Partnerships, Youth, Community, Public Relations, and Membership.
Coordinate with Design, Planning, Studio Production, Operations, and Finance colleagues to deliver work on time and within budget.
Mentor and develop direct reports across design and production in an inclusive manner consistent with NYRR’s values and guidelines.
Act as a leader, advocate, and educator for the Studio team.
Analyze competing business priorities and collaborate on deliverables that frame growth objectives, challenges, findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
Collaborate with the MCD team to evaluate and improve creative and production processes, including briefing, ideation, fabrication, logistics, and project management.
Lead creative design that drives impact and action across NYRR-owned platforms and physical touchpoints in support of the organization’s mission.
Assist with planning and execution of NYRR’s Strategic Planning Process.
Track and communicate team progress, keep projects on track, facilitate decisions, resolve blockers, and surface creative and production challenges.
Work the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon, RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon, and TCS NYC Marathon.
Perform other responsibilities as needed.