Art Director, Creative Design

How You’ll Contribute The Communications division leads the development and execution of integrated communications and marketing strategies to further the mission of the National Geographic Society and advance its position as one of the world's most trusted non-profit organizations and global brands. Driven by the Society's vision to be more globally known for its impactful Explorer-led mission programs, the Division's creative and strategic minds develop strategic communications, marketing campaigns, creative, content, and media to promote the Society's strategic plan and key priorities. The Division comprises six departments: Engagement and Marketing Strategy, Brand, Creative, Strategic Communications, Executive Communications, and Content and Editorial. The Art Director, Creative (ADC), is a pivotal role for the internal Creative Design team and will work collaboratively with the Creative Director to envision and produce integrated campaigns and collateral that communicate our mission, build enthusiasm for the brand, highlight the work of our explorers, and compel our audience to act. The ADC will be the creative lead for many high-level projects and will guide multiple aspects of the design of Society communications and marketing deliverables from concept to design and production. The ADC will work as part of a team of key creative, marketing, and digital partners to develop effective, high-quality design across the division, generating creative options and solutions across multiple platforms with minimal direction. The ADC will collaborate and coordinate with creative team members with a variety of expertise including photo editors, writers, and CAD designers, in support of their work. The ADC is to maintain educational/marketing goals and ensure brand consistency across all campaign elements. The ADC will be responsible for providing leadership and clear direction to a small team of designers, while managing the efficient flow of projects for all daily operations, including approvals, output and the assignment of requests. The ADC will also provide professional goals, reviews, and mentoring to any direct reports, and act as a liaison to vendors and other external partners. The ADC will utilize their experience and expertise as a creative professional and must be well-versed in the most current design and marketing trends, techniques, and programs. What to Expect What‘s so Great About Working Here We have an awesome brand, there’s no doubt about it. National Geographic is an iconic brand with enormous brand equity; we are known, admired and renowned worldwide. The National Geographic iconic yellow border and logo are instantly recognizable symbols of our brand, our promise, and our purpose. We are driven by intrepid exploration and discovery, scientific excellence, education, and unforgettable storytelling to advance better understanding of our world. Being an iconic brand affords us the ability to leverage our tremendous credibility. Our endeavors provide such a diversity of content to work with. From our immense archive of spectacular images, to the global expeditions of our larger than life Explorers in the field, every day presents an new opportunity to create engaging deliverables to share with the world through our many platforms. The Art Director role for the Creative Design team comes with high expectations and responsibility. As the primary creative lead, your design skills will be front and center, translating concepts into reality. One day, you’ll be laying the visual groundwork for our next signature event, and the next, you might be developing a style guide for our next enterprise-wide moment. Leadership qualities are an essential component to this position. Mentorship and management of a small team of fellow creatives, as well as the assignment of work and maintenance of project workflow are integral elements to keeping things humming. Establishing long-term relationships with stakeholders is crucial to successful collaborations and optimizing results from initiatives. Lastly, you’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with the Creative Director on the development of creative concepts for high-level projects that will directly affect brand impact to our external facing audience. Your Impact Your Impact Responsibilities Include Primary Design Lead (40%) Serves as the design lead for marketing and communications graphics across all media platforms. Have a firm understanding on the implementation of corporate style guides and the relevance of adhering to and enforcing established guidelines. Meet with primary stakeholders to interpret content into designs that work to communicate thematic goals. Produce innovative solutions for branding, style guides and other deliverables for use in project visualizations and initiatives, including but not limited to print, digital, social media, web, emails, signage, OOH. Develop and iterate ideas into workable elements using images, artwork, etc. Selects and creates design elements, typography, color, and finishes as part of the graphic design team. Coordinate with outside talent and internal creative team members on copy writing/editing, photo selection, graphics and other needs to ensure completion of projects and ensure top-quality and on-time delivery. Collaborate with divisional and marketing representatives to ascertain production needs and recommend solutions to streamline and value/green engineer our printed and produced collateral. Support the NGS Base Camp redesign project and exhibition work as needed. Team & Project Management (30%) Provide leadership, mentoring and inspiration to direct reports and other members of the larger internal creative community. Management and supervision of direct reports including goal setting and evaluations. Assess incoming projects and communicate with project coordinator on their assignment to individual designers. Provide comprehensive support and direction to designers related to assigned projects. Monitor and manage the project schedule, providing updates and feedback to designers on proofs posted with our project management platforms (Wrike, Slack, email). High-Level Project Concepting (20%) Work closely with VP, Creative, and Creative Director to envision top-level themes, visuals, and messaging into concepts in support of NG divisional goals and programs. Organize and be an active participant in driving brainstorming sessions for new projects requiring branding solutions, naming options, etc. Compile necessary decks for review by direct supervisors and/or stakeholders. Reporting and Administration (10%) Prepare periodic reporting, as needed, on deliverables progress Follow NG design standards and guidelines and proposes ways to continue improving best practices. Work with Creative staff to establish estimates, detailed schedules, and budgets. Creates an accurate, organized, well-documented archive of work to be accessible to future users. What You’ll Bring Minimum Education BA in a creative field or relevant degree. Minimum Years and Experience Minimum 10 years of working on multi-platform marketing campaigns at an in-house agency, ad agency, or design firm. Minimum 2 years experience managing teams. A Stellar Portfolio A portfolio of prior work which demonstrates a history of high-level design acumen, color theory and typography. Ability to show an understanding of campaign development and how integrated deliverables coincide to establish symmetry. An appreciation for the key differentiation between brand and marketing. A clear pattern of creativity through innovation. Knowledge and Skills Proficiency in the Adobe Creative Cloud platform (essential knowledge of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, w/AfterEffects a plus). Knowledgeable about web, responsive, and email design, w/coding ability a plus. Must be well-versed in both the print and digital design, including production processes, w/video production/editing a plus. Self-managed, able to take direction, and be committed to iterative processes. Creative and innovative thinker, possessing the intangibles required to collaborate and communicate effectively (oral and written), manage multiple projects simultaneously, meet tight deadlines, and be highly detail-oriented. Capacity to work cross-divisionally with a large, diverse group of professionals from educators to scientists, to fellow creatives. Supervision 1-3 Staff designers, various temporary contractors, intern(s). Salary Information As a leading nonprofit organization, National Geographic Society offers competitive salary and total rewards to attract, develop, and retain an innovative and dynamic workforce. The salary range for this position starts at $103k Job Designation Hybrid - At the Society, we believe in the advantages of coming together to build community, mentor and learn from colleagues, and connect more deeply with our mission. As a result, the majority of our staff are Hybrid. Our Hybrid category requires that staff work at Base Camp two days each week: every Wednesday plus either Tuesday or Thursday. Because we recognize that we can effectively work remotely, this designation has been updated to provide more flexibility, both in the days staff choose to come into the office and how often they are expected to be at Base Camp. And of course, Hybrid staff are also always welcome to come in additional days each week if they prefer. We encourage you to apply even if your experience is not a 100% match with the position. We are looking for someone with relevant skills and experience, not a checklist that exactly matches the job description. We want to help you grow and in return, you help us grow into a stronger, more inclusive organization.