Creative Director

We are seeking an experienced, innovative, visionary professional to lead the creative strategy and manage visual production for a new project with multiple collaborators, inputs, and objectives. Working with nonprofit partners, design firms, urban planners, creative professionals, and others, this project will showcase ideas that inspire the next twenty years of advocacy and action on New York City’s streets. Ultimately, we are asking: if we had a blank slate, how would we design our streets to support people in living their best lives? The output will be visually striking, beautiful and inspiring.

The Creative Director will work with leadership and our policy and advocacy teams to create a strategic plan for translating our policy objectives into inspiring visual and experiential installations. This person will then lead the development, project management and execution of the creative materials for our launch event, helping to communicate groundbreaking ideas in stunning ways. The Creative Director will be responsible for contracting with outside firms/creative professionals and managing their output to ensure it is in line with our strategic vision. This role is responsible for shaping how our work shows up – visually, emotionally, and experientially – for our intended audience. This is an on-site, hands-on, full time, temporary position for an approximately 18 month project beginning in September 2026 and wrapping up for our planned launch events scheduled to happen around March 2028.

Key Responsibilities include:

Strategy:

• Develop a deep understanding of the visual and advocacy goals for this project
• Create a strategic plan to translate these objectives into inspiring visual and experiential installations
• Appreciate each partner organization’s body of work, audiences, and ability to push for change with their supporters and within the political landscape
• Research and present the best ways to inspire people through various types of visual mediums

Management:

• Working with Open Plans staff and with outside nonprofit and other partners, oversee and manage all aspects of creative production, including potentially maps, animations, videos, photography, VR and more
• Source art partners (e.g. artists, design firms) to hire for creation of visual outputs
• Coordinate with art partners for the creation of the visual products and help us communicate our visual goals, timeline, budget
• Attend weekly production meetings and present on the status of visual outputs
• Consistently meet with teams and outside contractors to give clear, direct feedback to ensure high quality products that are delivered on time and in budget
• Anticipate any potential roadblocks and communicate with Open Plans staff to troubleshoot, strategize and develop creative work-arounds that maintain the aesthetic value of the work

Launch Event:

• Present layout for launch event, with specific placement for each output to garner the most impactful response from our audience
• Work with our graphic designer to incorporate the visual portion of our launch event into the report and program for our events
• Coordinating with our Communications team to communicate the event to the public and press
• Give feedback and recommendations for any other launch or roadshow creative elements
• Lead the day-of visual elements of launch event

The ideal candidate has/is:

• Ability to understand policy and advocacy goals and manage creative professionals to translate those ideas into visual output
• Demonstrated experience managing, developing and executing creative visual experiences / exhibitions for similar types of events or partners
• Connected to creatives who can be contracted to help produce content
• Thrives when creating visually striking, inspiring exhibits that move people to action
• Exceptional communication skills - whether that’s giving feedback to creators, working with internal and external teams, or being able to visually communicate ideas
• Ability to keep projects on track, in budget, and on time
• Proactive, self-motivated and organized; able to work both independently and in collaboration with others
• Exceptional listening skills and high emotional intelligence
• Excels in a fast-paced work environment and can jump in to help others to collaboratively get the work done

• Medical, dental, vision coverage
• Optional pre-tax FSA
• 401(k) plan
• 10 paid days off per calendar year
• 11 paid holidays annually
• 5 paid sick/wellness days per calendar year