Vans: Senior Social Art Director

Vans•Costa Mesa, CA

11d•Hybrid

About The Position

Vans is seeking a Senior Social Art Director to join their Global Social team. This role is for a platform-native visual storyteller who thrives at the intersection of creativity, community, and self-expression. The ideal candidate will be able to transform products, athletes, artists, and cultural moments into compelling stories for platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. This position requires a blend of creative strategy and hands-on production skills, including shooting, editing, and animation. The Senior Social Art Director will be responsible for developing and executing end-to-end social content, building repeatable social-first series, supporting brand priorities with native content, capturing content independently, and collaborating with external creators, athletes, and internal teams. The goal is to build an organic social ecosystem that is unmistakably Vans.

Requirements

7+ years of professional experience in art direction, creative content development or social-first creative roles, with at least 4 years in an agency or in-house social creative team.
Bachelor's degree in graphic design, Advertising, Visual Communication, Marketing, Film, Digital Media, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education, experience, and a portfolio demonstrating exceptional creative and social storytelling capabilities.
Deep mastery of end-to-end multi-media production, including filming, video editing (Adobe Premiere), motion design/typography (After Effects), and audio layout.
An intuitive understanding of the distinct visual languages, pacing, trends, and subcultures driving Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts.
Proven ability to own the entire creative workflow and deliver high-taste, finished assets under tight deadlines with minimal supervision.
A strong connection to street culture, skateboarding, music, art, and the global creator community.
A self-starter mentality who thrives in ambiguity and is comfortable working on fast-moving, non-traditional production sets.
Eagerness to experiment with and prototype AI-assisted creative workflows to optimize speed and production value.

Nice To Haves

In-house social creative or digital agency experience managing content execution for a global consumer or lifestyle brand.
Experience interfacing directly with high-profile athletes, musical talent, and cultural creators.

Responsibilities

Concept, shoot, edit, animate, and publish platform-native stories from idea to final delivery.
Build and scale repeatable social-first series and editorial formats that engage the 14–25-year-old target audience.
Capture and create compelling native content to support tier-one brand priorities, including product launches, cultural moments, and key energy collaborations.
Independently capture high-quality product, lifestyle, event, and documentary-style content on set or on the fly at key cultural moments.
Collaborate directly with external creators, athletes, internal designers, and regional teams to ensure storytelling feels authentic and platform-optimized.