The Multimedia Director will have overall responsibility for Human Rights Watch’s video and photographic storytelling. The Multimedia Director will lead and empower our diverse, talented multimedia team to produce compelling stories that expose abuses, present solutions to advance rights, showcase activist partners worldwide and persuade key audiences to embrace and value human rights.
The Multimedia Director will collaborate closely with other departmental directors and help the Media Director to develop strategic goals, set priorities, and implement the division’s annual work plan. The successful candidate will have a sophisticated understanding of visual journalism and of HRW’s mission. The Multimedia Director will promote a culture of collaboration and innovation, manage the consistent production of high-quality stories aimed at diverse audiences, and encourage staff to flourish.
- Set out a vision and strategy for creating and distributing compelling multimedia stories aimed at diverse audiences and delivered on multiple platforms;
- Manage and empower a passionate, skilled, and ambitious team to produce powerful and persuasive multimedia stories, using available formats including video, photographs, graphics, and audio;
- Collaborate with the other Media team leaders to develop and implement the department’s priorities and strategic goals;
- Operate as a thought leader within HRW on the use of visual storytelling to achieve human rights impact and help colleagues to reach advocacy goals;
- Investigate and champion new forms of visual storytelling;
- Work with Media colleagues to develop content distribution and promotion strategies and cultivate news media partnerships;
- Ensure a culture of open and direct communication and information sharing and a positive, fair and accountable working environment;
- Recruit/retain, lead, develop and mentor direct reports, including communicating clear expectations, setting objectives, providing constructive feedback, ensuring balanced workloads, fostering professional growth, and monitoring staff well-being around stress and resilience issues and self-care;
- Commission camera people, producers, photographers and editors around the world with an eye to fostering local talent and diversity;
- Ensure compliance with HRW’s ethical and security standards;
- Manage the Multimedia budget to meet revenue and expense targets;
- Develop best practices to measure the effectiveness of HRW’s multimedia products and use data to refine strategy and production decisions;
- Help develop training materials and sessions for HRW staff and partners to improve visual story-telling and broadcast interview skills;
- Communicate effectively and lead presentations with diverse audiences, including staff, board members, supporters, journalists and vendors;
- Meet fundraising goals and assist Development colleagues in identifying and cultivating supporters on behalf of Human Rights Watch;
- Perform other responsibilities, as required.
The successful candidate will be an experienced, thoughtful, and inspiring manager with a passion for stories and for human rights, a proven track-record of creative story-telling, and experience leading successful visual teams.
The Multimedia Director will be a leader of integrity, with proven experience in guiding and motivating a diverse and high-performing staff to achieve ambitious goals, and a positive, can-do, collaborative attitude.
Required Qualifications / Skills:
- At least 10 years of experience in visual storytelling, working in journalism, documentary film-making, advertising, marketing or a related field;
- Demonstrated ability to lead and manage a successful and diverse visual storytelling team;
- Track record of being a collaborative team player with excellent leadership, management and interpersonal skills. A thoughtful, empathetic manager with great integrity and a strong listener;
- Demonstrated expertise and experience in multimedia and video production;
- Experience working with news media and sophisticated understanding of evolving media landscape, including social media;
- Demonstrated ability to think strategically, work effectively under pressure, and thrive in a fast-paced environment;
- Excellent presentation, communication, and listening skills;
- Demonstrated commitment to and knowledge of human rights and/or international issues;
- Demonstrated awareness and sensitivity to the needs and concerns of individuals from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and orientations; and
- Experience promoting resilience and a life/work balance.
Desirable Qualifications / Skills:
- Proficiency in at least one other language in addition to English; and
- Proficiency in producing, editing and/or shooting video.
HRW seeks exceptional applicants and offers competitive compensation and employer-paid benefits. HRW offers a relocation assistance package and will assist employees in obtaining necessary work authorization, if required; citizens of all nationalities are encouraged to apply.