Head Of Studio

About NYRR

New York Road Runners (NYRR) was founded in 1958 when a small group of passionate runners vowed to bring running to the people, and has grown from a local running club into the world's premier community running organization. NYRR's mission is to help and inspire through running, aiming to empower people of all ages and abilities to improve their health and well-being through the power of running and fitness.

NYRR's year-round offerings of races, community events, programs, and training resources provide hundreds of thousands of people with the motivation, know-how, and opportunities to start running and keep running for life. NYRR's premier event, the famed TCS New York City Marathon, attracts the world's top professional runners and committed amateurs alike, while also raising millions of dollars annually for charity and driving economic impact for New York City. NYRR is equally committed to the runners of tomorrow, passionately providing youth fitness programs that educate and inspire children in underserved communities in New York City, nationwide, and around the world.

Headquartered in New York City, NYRR is a 501(c)(3) organization. To learn more, please visit www.nyrr.org.

At New York Road Runners, we are committed to building an inclusive, diverse workplace by finding the best candidate for the job. We understand that skills come from a variety of different backgrounds. Checking off every single requirement on our job description is not necessary to apply. If you think you are a good fit and have a passion for the work we do, please submit your application. We are eager to learn about your experience and skills! You may be the right candidate for this or other open positions.

New York Road Runners is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

About the Department

New York Road Runner's Marketing department is charged with managing the organization's creative

services, editorial, advertising, and digital operations. The team's efforts build upon NYRR's recent brand initiative and Run for Life platform as the organization seeks to tell the bigger NYRR story of huge positive impact; our ongoing focus on broadening our engagement with runners of all types; our efforts to strengthen our alignment with, and support of, our corporate partners; and our opportunity to unlock the power of our community in supporting our youth- and cause-related efforts.

About the Position

As the Head of the NYRR Studio, you are responsible for shaping the creative vision for the New York Road Runner's brand, developing innovative visuals and design that showcases our mission and brings our events, products, and services to life. Reporting to the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications, this role is part creative visionary, part creator, and part consultant. Overseeing strategic vision and execution across creative design, narrative direction, creative design still and motion content. This role will lead a team of creative professionals internally and partner with external creatives to drive excellence.

The ideal candidate will simultaneously collaborate across multiple projects to ensure that all work is completed on strategy and time. Assuring projects and stories are crafted and delivered thoughtfully. The delivery of NYRR's creative storytelling will require continuity and collaboration across all Marketing Department verticals.

This candidate is well experienced and passionate about empowering diverse perspectives and leaders, building opportunities for individual development, performance management, recognition, and rewards. They champion and lead ideas through innovative thinking, collaboration, and partnership.

In essence, you are a creative lead for our brand, you are people-centered and are focused on achieving organizational objectives in the short and long term.

Job Responsibilities (primary and secondary duties):

Team

• Provide inspirational leadership, strategic vision and mentorship to the NYRR studio.

• Works end-to-end to drive upstream creative strategy and downstream executions for the NYRR Studio with a focus on the constituent journey.

• Partner with brand marketing, content, and digital marketing counterparts to craft the vision for a project, event, or effort, and be able to distill that further to a sharp creative strategy that is inspiring and meaningful.

• Manage the development of annual budgets and forecasts in order to develop an aggregated view of all ongoing Studio initiatives and connect them to the strategic-level vision.

• Drive cross functional inclusion and alignment throughout the creative ideation and execution process, within the creative team as well as other NYRR functional teams including, Events, Legal, Strategic Partnerships, Youth, Community, Public Relations and Membership.

• Lead from a strategic lenses to determine the elements that will best deliver the creative idea across both the traditional and digital landscape, as well as in new and emerging methods of engaging with consumer, ensuring the work is inspiring, impactful, and innovative.

• Work closely with Design, Planning, Studio Production, Operations, and Finance colleagues to ensure work is delivered timely and on budget.

• Mentor and develop direct reports, in a manner that is inclusive, inspiring, and is consistent with New York Road Runners' brand values and organizational guidelines.

• Act as a leader, advocate, and educator on behalf of our Studio team, elevating the team's presence within the organization.

Organization

• Identify competing business priorities and collaborate with teammates to develop high quality analysis and deliverables that clearly frame growth objectives, issues/challenges, and articulate compelling, insightful findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

• Collaborate with the larger Marketing and Communications team to critically evaluate the creative process (including, briefing, ideation and project management) and continually improve it.

• Bring a leadership mindset to contribute to a culture of belonging, connection, and distinction.

• Develop actionable solutions for the most challenging emerging issues and opportunities facing our organization.

• Drive creative design that leads to impact & action across NYRR owned platforms, to develop and advance the organization's mission.

• Assist in the planning and execution of NYRR Strategic Planning Process.

• Serve as a thought-leader across the organization for macro, micro, and market insights, synthesizing trends and identifying opportunities and risks that influence our current and future initiatives and strategic positioning.

• Track and communicate progress across your team's work, ensuring the projects are on track, facilitating decision-making, resolving blockers and surfacing creative challenges.

Job Requirements:

Experience:

• 10+ years leading strategic and creative development in an advertising or creative agency, a consumer brand, or at a relevant creative capacity.

• Experience leading teams of individuals, directly and indirectly, at one time, optimally.

• Expert in art direction (campaign, brand ID, OOH signage, print, shoot, production, and digital)

• A passion for New York City, running, sports, community and art is preferred.

• Expressed and demonstrated commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

• Acute understanding of the audience we serve and the cultural platforms on which they operate.

• Ability to work collaboratively with strong interpersonal skills.

• Strong time management with ability to keep multiple projects moving forward simultaneously.

• Entrepreneurial spirit with proactive approach to identifying and acting on ways to improve the work.

• A relationship builder, knowing the importance of collaborating with brand marketing, content production and creative leads, and can work with multiple leadership styles and can be effective in unstructured, ambiguous and fast paced environments

• Strong design experience with the ability to take direction, be a conceptual and strategic thinker, a seeker of the latest trends, and have a finger on the pulse of the design industry.

• Understand business objectives and are able to convert them into elevated creative

• Ability to easily flex and re-prioritize workloads of team members to meet critical deadlines

• A proven track record of mentor, developing, and empowering teams and individuals in a positive and inclusive manner.

Education & Certifications:

• Bachelor's degree or higher or combination of relevant education, experience, and training.

Skills and Attributes:

• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook)

• Experience in Adobe Creative Suite and Canva

• Astute attention to detail and meticulous organizational skills

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Strong operational and facilitation skills, with a proven ability to plan, coordinate and execute projects

• Excellent verbal, written, and visual communication skills, both in individual and group settings

Other Requirements:

• All staff are required to work the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon, RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon, and the TCS NYC Marathon.

Salary: $120-$145K

NYRR requires all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 unless approved for a medical or religious exemption.