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Art Director

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Natural Resources Defense Council is seeking an Art Director for its Multimedia department in New York City. This is a hands-on position for an experienced professional who has a diverse portfolio of creative, editorial, and brand materials in both digital and print. We’re seeking a strong and versatile graphic designer who can conceptualize and design cohesive suites of materials that fit within the overall NRDC brand. This may be anything from a suite of digital, printed, and social media materials for a fundraising event to the look of a campaign advancing environmental work. Our designers create a wide range of materials: infographics for social media, T-shirts and buttons, physical experiences at venues and festivals, our Annual Report. Editorial print experience is required, and the successful candidate will be able to conceptualize and design long-form printed materials.

The successful candidate will be a proven visual leader with a definite creative vision, a high level of design sophistication, and a keen eye for photography. Strong typographic skills applied to print, digital and animated text for video are essential. The Art Director will be responsible for maintaining brand guidelines and ensuring all designed material created by NRDC abides by those rules.

Knowledge of NRDC’s core missions is a must and the successful candidate will have a broad knowledge and curiosity about the environment. The multimedia team supports all sections of the organization by producing compelling visual content daily to advance NRDC’s mission to safeguard the Earth, its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends.

Exacting attention to detail, high ethical standards, and effective communication skills are necessary. The Art Director must have experience tracking large and small projects from conception to completion, insuring key stakeholders are informed throughout the process. The ability to manage relationships with internal and external partners, a small team of designers, and executive management is a must.

This Communications position reports directly to the Multimedia Director.

Areas of Responsibility: 
  • Manage a small team of freelance and staff designers. This includes daily duties, setting expectations, giving direction, providing feedback, documenting and rating performance, nurturing top performers and coaching for improvement.
  • Participate in the process of visual content creation from ideation to publication, making sure that content is delivered on time and within budget.
  • Ensure all design projects are in accordance with the overall visual strategy set by the Multimedia Director and Deputy Multimedia Director.
  • Maintain, update, and champion brand guidelines for all visual content produced by NRDC.

Coach others inside and outside the department about proper design, branding, and visual communications.

  • Proven ability to conceptualize and design standard communications, including brochures, posters, manuals, annual reports, etc.
  • Experience designing graphics for all social media platforms, email newsletters and other forms of digital communications.
  • Ability to present all types of data in visual formats including infographics and data visualizations.
  • Conceptualize with multimedia directors and work closely with contributing illustrators.
  • Experience creating animated GIFs and motion graphics a plus.
Educational Background: 
Bachelor’s degree or Master of Fine Arts preferably in graphic design.
Skills/Experience: 
  • A minimum of 7 to 10 years of experience as a designer at an editorial publication, agency, or corporate communications department with at least 2 years in a senior or leadership role.
  • Proven track record of working cross departmentally throughout a complex organization.
  • Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite.
  • Demonstrated ability to successfully manage multiple daily and long-term projects simultaneously utilizing project management tools and software.
  • Organized self-starter but able to work in a collaborative team environment.
  • Responsive and quick thinking in rapid paced environments.
  • Have a firm understanding of how design works with photography, typography, layout within print, digital, and social platforms.
  • Understand and use social media platforms and tools including, but not limited to Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
  • Connections within the creative industry including production houses, freelance designers, illustrators, videographers, photo editors.

Organization Info

Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.

Overview
Headquarters: 
New York, NY, United States
Annual Budget : 
$100-500M
Founded: 
1970
About Us
Mission: 

The Natural Resources Defense Council's purpose is to safeguard the Earth: its people, its plants and animals and the natural systems on which all life depends.

We work to restore the integrity of the elements that sustain life -- air, land and water -- and to defend endangered natural places.

We seek to establish sustainability and good stewardship of the Earth as central ethical imperatives of human society. NRDC affirms the integral place of human beings in the environment.

We strive to protect nature in ways that advance the long-term welfare of present and future generations.

We work to foster the fundamental right of all people to have a voice in decisions that affect their environment. We seek to break down the pattern of disproportionate environmental burdens borne by people of color and others who face social or economic inequities. Ultimately, NRDC strives to help create a new way of life for humankind, one that can be sustained indefinitely without fouling or depleting the resources that support all life on Earth.

Listing Stats

Post Date: 
Jul 25 2018
Active Until: 
Aug 26 2018
Hiring Organization: 
Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
industry: 
Nonprofit