Creative Director, Newsela

• Experience: 10+ years of design experience, ideally blending top-tier creative agency environments with sophisticated in-house brand teams
• Executive Presence: Proven track record of presenting complex creative concepts, mood boards, and visual systems directly to executive leadership, with the ability to articulate the "why" behind design choices
• Creative Leadership: Demonstrated success leading and developing high-performing creative teams through coaching, clear creative direction, and constructive feedback. Experience building collaborative creative cultures while managing internal designers, agencies, and external creative partners
• Brand Evolution Expertise: Deep experience working within, evolving, and scaling complex visual identity systems. You understand how to transition brands through periods of growth and modernization
• Process-Driven: Experience working within highly mature, structured creative workflows, and a passion for establishing those frameworks (briefs, review cycles, asset management) in a growing environment
• Portfolio: A stunning portfolio demonstrating exceptional craft across digital, print, and multi-channel brand campaigns, showcasing an ability to handle complex, multi-product ecosystems
• Tech Stack:
• Expert-level mastery of Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere/After Effects a plus)
• Proficiency in Canva (for building scalable templates for broader team use)
• Experience utilizing JIRA (or similar enterprise project management tools) to manage creative ticketing, workflows, and timelines
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Fine Arts, Communication Design, or equivalent practical experience
• In-person collaboration: You value in-person time and collaboration and are willing to travel for special projects and occasions

Desirable

• We are looking for a Creative Director (Director, Creative) to join our Marketing team
• Reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer, you will define and evolve Newsela's creative vision across our portfolio of brands, ensuring every customer touchpoint reflects a cohesive, differentiated, and high-impact brand experience
• As the senior creative leader within Marketing, you'll partner with executive stakeholders to translate business strategy into compelling creative direction while building the operating model that enables scalable, high-quality creative execution
• While remaining close to the creative work, you'll personally lead design for select high-visibility initiatives and serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on brand, storytelling, and customer experience
• Define and evolve Newsela's creative vision and visual identity across Newsela's portfolio of brands, ensuring a cohesive, differentiated, and high-impact customer experience
• Translate business priorities, audience insights, and brand strategy into compelling creative direction across marketing campaigns, product launches, and corporate initiatives
• Develop and evolve scalable visual systems, design frameworks, and brand standards that enable consistency while allowing each brand to maintain its unique identity
• Lead ongoing brand governance by reviewing and elevating creative assets across brands to ensure consistency, quality, accessibility, and alignment with Newsela's brand standards
• Establish and uphold creative standards that drive excellence across digital, print, motion, web, and campaign creative
• Serve as the final creative authority for high-impact campaigns, executive communications, and major brand initiatives
• Partner with Marketing leadership to align creative priorities and investments with business objectives and measurable business outcomes
• Lead the creative vision and execution for Newsela's highest-priority marketing campaigns, digital platforms, corporate initiatives, and executive communications
• Provide hands-on creative leadership for select initiatives while establishing the quality standards and creative direction that guide all work across the portfolio
• Partner cross-functionally to deliver integrated creative solutions that advance business objectives and strengthen customer engagement
• Serve as the creative lead throughout the lifecycle of strategic initiatives, ensuring exceptional quality, consistency, and business impact
• You will establish the operating model that enables the Creative function to scale, ensuring the team delivers exceptional work with speed, consistency, and efficiency
• Establish and continuously optimize the creative operating model, including intake, prioritization, resource planning, production timelines, and quality standards
• Develop scalable workflows, governance, and creative review processes that improve collaboration across Marketing and cross-functional partners
• Balance internal team capacity with external agency and contractor resources to meet evolving business needs
• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency while maintaining a high bar for creative excellence
• Partner with Marketing leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to shape creative strategy and campaign direction from concept through execution
• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on brand positioning, visual storytelling, customer experience, and creative strategy
• Influence creative priorities and investments by aligning recommendations with business objectives, customer insights, and marketing goals
• Build, manage, and optimize relationships with external agencies, freelancers, and creative partners to expand the team's capabilities
• Establish clear creative briefs, quality standards, and performance expectations for external partners, ensuring work consistently reflects Newsela's brand and creative vision
• Evaluate agency performance, resource allocation, and external partnerships to ensure high-quality delivery, operational efficiency, and scalability