Managing Director, Creative Strategy

Description

The Managing Director, Creative Strategy leads the creative vision and brand stewardship for GMHC. This is a strategic leadership role responsible for shaping how GMHC's brand is expressed across all touchpoints, managing creative resources and vendor relationships, and ensuring visual consistency and quality across the organization's communications, development, and programmatic work.

Reporting to the Vice President of Communications & Brand, this role owns creative strategy and direction while overseeing production through a combination of internal staff, freelancers, and agency partners. A key priority for this role will be stewarding GMHC's organizational rebrand through implementation, ensuring consistent adoption across all channels and stakeholders. Following the successful completion of the probationary period, the Managing Director will be expected to evaluate creative priorities and propose a resourcing structure that aligns with organizational goals.

The ideal candidate brings strategic brand thinking, strong vendor management skills, and the creative fluency to evaluate and direct work across multiple formats and channels. This role requires someone who can balance big-picture brand vision with the practical demands of a high-volume nonprofit environment.

Essential Job Functions

The following duties are mandatory requirements of the job:

Creative Strategy & Brand Leadership

• Develop and implement creative strategies for organizational campaigns, publications, and events that align with GMHC's mission and strategic goals.
• Serve as brand guardian, ensuring a cohesive visual identity across all digital and print assets.
• Lead visual strategy development, maintaining brand recognition and impact across all channels.
• Oversee storytelling strategies including art direction, photography direction, and video production oversight.
• Maintain and evolve brand guidelines, ensuring internal and external adherence.
• Lead rebrand implementation across all organizational touchpoints, managing rollout timelines, stakeholder adoption, and vendor transitions.

Resource Management & Team Development

• Assess organizational creative needs and recommend staffing structure within first 90 days.
• Provide leadership and direction to creative staff (Graphic Designer or Web Designer).
• Manage relationships with freelance designers, photographers, videographers, and other creative vendors.
• Cultivate and manage relationships with creative agencies, boutique studios, and production partners.
• Promote professional development within the creative team.

Production Oversight & Asset Management

• Oversee and quality-control creative production across Communications, Development, and Program workstreams.
• Direct the production of collateral for events, campaigns, and organizational initiatives including AIDS Walk New York.
• Manage digital asset management systems (Stockpress, SharePoint, Smugmug, GMHC Photo Server).
• Oversee design tools and platforms (Canva, Penji) and ensure effective use across the organization.
• Direct website visual standards and coordinate with web development partners.
• Manage Mesmerize digital screens and other in-facility visual communications.

Vendor & Agency Management

• Serve as primary liaison with creative agencies and production vendors.
• Manage relationships with print vendors (Westprint, Automation Graphics).
• Coordinate with outdoor advertising partners (Intersection, Outfront).
• Oversee event production partnerships (En Pointe, signage and swag vendors).
• Manage freelance creative relationships and ensure quality and timeliness of deliverables.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Communications, Development, Policy, Community Relations, and Program departments to translate needs into creative solutions.
• Lead creative intake and briefing processes to ensure clarity and alignment.
• Collaborate on photo and video shoot production, from concept through execution.
• Support adoption of brand standards across all organizational functions.

Budget & Project Management

• Manage creative and production budgets, identifying opportunities to maximize value.
• Oversee multiple concurrent projects from concept through completion.
• Maintain project tracking systems and ensure deadlines are met.
• Stay current on industry trends and integrate new approaches where appropriate.

Special Skills and Knowledge

In addition to meeting the fundamental job responsibilities and educational prerequisites, the ideal candidate will excel in several key areas critical to this role. These include:

Strategic & Leadership Skills

• Demonstrated ability to develop and articulate brand strategy and creative vision.
• Experience managing organizational rebrands from strategy through implementation.
• Experience leading and motivating creative teams and external partners.
• Strong judgment in evaluating creative work and providing constructive direction.
• Ability to balance strategic priorities with practical execution demands.

Organizational & Communication Skills

• Strong project management skills with ability to manage multiple concurrent workstreams.
• Excellent verbal and written communication for articulating creative vision to diverse stakeholders.
• Skilled in vendor negotiation and relationship management.
• Experience managing creative budgets and production timelines.

Requirements

Education and Certification

This position requires a robust educational background and extensive professional experience that equips them to lead a creative team effectively:

• Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Communications, Marketing, or related field required.
• Minimum ten years of experience in creative roles, with at least five years in a leadership or management capacity.
• Demonstrated track record managing creative teams and/or external creative resources.
• Portfolio demonstrating brand development and campaign work across multiple channels.
• Experience leading or significantly contributing to an organizational rebrand, including implementation and rollout.
• Nonprofit or mission-driven organization experience preferred.

Technical Skills

• Working knowledge of Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator) sufficient to evaluate work and communicate with designers.
• Familiarity with web content management systems and basic understanding of web standards.
• Experience with project management tools (Asana, Basecamp, or similar).
• Understanding of email marketing platforms and digital campaign tools.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.

Work Environment & Schedule

This is a hybrid position:

• Hybrid role with regular on-site presence for meetings and key events.
• Participation in the annual AIDS Walk New York event is mandatory for all GMHC staff.

Physical Demands

While carrying out the responsibilities of this role:

• Sitting: The position predominantly involves sitting for extended periods, which is typical for office environments. The employee will be required to maintain this position while performing most of their daily tasks.
• Communication: Regular participation in conversations is necessary. This involves both speaking and actively listening to colleagues, stakeholders, and external partners during meetings, presentations, and one-on-one discussions.
• Note-Taking: The ability to listen attentively and take detailed notes during meetings and other communicative sessions is crucial. This often requires a high level of focus and the manual dexterity to write or type for prolonged periods.

Successful candidates will welcome the opportunity to work in a racially and gender-diverse environment and to contribute to a positive and inclusive atmosphere. Working at GMHC requires a demonstrated awareness of and commitment to the concerns of the breadth of the communities that we serve.

GMHC is committed to fostering an inclusive, racially, and gender-diverse workplace and seeks candidates dedicated to promoting equity and social justice within our community.