Creative Director (Volunteer)

Creative Director — Multiple Creative Teams (Volunteer)

PromiseBrands | Brand Creative Direction, Design, Fashion & Creative Experiences

Organization: Mentor A Promise (MAP)

Division: PromiseBrands

Location: Remote with NYC-based collaboration as needed

Type: Volunteer Creative Leadership Role

Commitment: Approximately 5–10 hours per week

Minimum Commitment: 6-month commitment required

About Mentor A Promise

Mentor A Promise (MAP) is a New York City–based nonprofit supporting children and youth ages 5–18 experiencing housing instability through mentorship, literacy, education, social-emotional learning, creative expression, storytelling, and community-centered opportunity.

As MAP’s creative work continues to expand, we are building specialized creative teams with dedicated leadership so that each discipline has the direction, expertise, and space necessary to produce exceptional work.

The Opportunity

Mentor A Promise is seeking multiple Creative Directors—not one Creative Director responsible for every creative discipline.

We believe strong creative work requires leaders who understand the craft they are directing.

Each Creative Director will be assigned to a specific creative team or discipline and will provide focused creative leadership for that area.

Depending on current organizational needs, opportunities may include Creative Director roles for teams focused on:

• Brand & Visual Identity
• Graphic & Communication Design
• Fashion & Textile Design
• Product & Merchandise Design
• Campaigns & Brand Experiences
• Special Creative Initiatives

MAP also maintains specialized creative-production teams within PromiseStudios, including illustration, photography, animation, motion graphics, film, and video. Those disciplines maintain their own leadership structure and are not managed by PromiseBrands Creative Directors.

Role Overview

Each Creative Director will serve as the creative leader for their assigned team.

Rather than attempting to oversee every aspect of MAP’s creative ecosystem, the Creative Director will bring depth of expertise to a particular discipline—setting its creative direction, developing concepts, mentoring team members, reviewing work, establishing standards, and helping move projects from idea through execution.

We are looking for leaders who can:

Set the vision. Build the team. Develop the talent. Elevate the work.

Key Responsibilities

Lead Your Creative Discipline

• Establish the creative direction and standards for your assigned team.
• Translate organizational and project objectives into compelling creative concepts.
• Develop creative briefs, concepts, references, mood boards, and direction as appropriate.
• Guide projects from concept through final execution.
• Maintain high standards for originality, craftsmanship, consistency, and quality.
• Bring subject-matter expertise and current creative practices to your discipline.

Build & Develop Your Team

• Help recruit talented volunteers within your creative discipline.
• Participate in identifying and evaluating prospective creative team members.
• Onboard and integrate new creatives into the team.
• Understand individual team members’ strengths, interests, and development goals.
• Delegate projects thoughtfully and establish clear expectations.
• Mentor emerging creatives and help them strengthen their portfolios and professional capabilities.
• Build a team culture grounded in creativity, respect, collaboration, reliability, and shared purpose.

Creative Review & Quality

• Lead regular creative reviews.
• Provide clear, thoughtful, and actionable feedback.
• Challenge teams to explore stronger ideas rather than automatically accepting the first solution.
• Ensure projects meet established creative and brand standards.
• Balance creative experimentation with organizational objectives, timelines, and practical constraints.

Collaboration Across MAP

Creative Directors will collaborate with one another rather than operating as isolated teams.

For multidisciplinary projects, directors may work together to create a unified creative concept while maintaining ownership of their respective disciplines.

Creative Directors may also collaborate with:

• PromiseStudios for illustration, photography, animation, motion graphics, film, video, and creative production
• PromiseVoice for communications, editorial direction, and messaging
• PromisePages for publishing and literary initiatives
• PromisePublic for public-facing campaigns and engagement
• PromisePrograms when projects involve children, families, or programming
• Other MAP divisions based on project needs

Collaboration should create alignment without blurring ownership.

Clear Creative Ownership

MAP is intentionally developing a creative leadership model where specialized teams have specialized leaders.

A Fashion Creative Director should not be expected to direct animation.

A Product Creative Director should not automatically oversee photography.

A Brand Creative Director should not be responsible for filmmaking.

And a Creative Director should not need to be an expert in every creative discipline.

Instead, we want to build a community of Creative Directors, each bringing meaningful expertise to their own team while collaborating toward a shared organizational vision.

Ideal Candidate

Strong candidates may bring professional or substantial portfolio experience in the specific creative discipline they seek to lead.

Depending on the team, relevant backgrounds may include:

• Creative direction
• Art direction
• Brand design
• Graphic design
• Fashion design
• Textile design
• Product design
• Merchandise design
• Advertising
• Campaign development
• Experiential design
• Creative strategy

Strong candidates will demonstrate:

• A compelling portfolio relevant to their discipline
• Strong creative and conceptual judgment
• Ability to establish and communicate creative direction
• Experience leading, mentoring, or collaborating with creative professionals
• Ability to provide constructive feedback without diminishing creative ownership
• Strong communication and presentation skills
• Reliability and project-management ability
• Curiosity and willingness to experiment
• Collaborative leadership without unnecessary creative ego
• Commitment to MAP’s mission and values

What Success Looks Like

Success means each creative team develops:

• Clear leadership and creative direction
• A distinctive area of expertise
• Strong standards for quality and execution
• Engaged and developing creative talent
• Effective project workflows
• Greater creative experimentation
• Stronger collaboration with other disciplines
• A growing portfolio of meaningful work

Over time, MAP should not depend on one person to be creative director of everything.

Instead, we want to build an interconnected creative leadership community where exceptional people lead exceptional teams—and those teams come together to create work greater than any one discipline could produce alone.

Commitment

• Approximately 5–10 hours per week
• Minimum 6-month commitment required
• Remote with NYC-based collaboration as needed
• Regular team leadership and creative reviews
• Consistent communication and project follow-through

What You’ll Gain

• Leadership of a dedicated creative team aligned with your expertise
• Opportunity to recruit, mentor, and develop creative talent
• Ability to shape the creative direction of your discipline within MAP
• Portfolio-building opportunities through mission-driven projects
• Cross-disciplinary collaboration with other Creative Directors and creative professionals
• Professional references and letters of recommendation
• Opportunity to help build a sophisticated creative organization from the ground up

How to Apply

Interested candidates should apply directly through Idealist and submit:

• Resume or CV
• Portfolio or creative work samples
• Brief statement of interest

Applicants should clearly identify the creative team or discipline they are interested in leading and describe their relevant creative and leadership experience.

We are not searching for one person who can do everything.

We are building a team of Creative Directors—leaders who know their craft, develop their people, elevate the work, and collaborate to build something extraordinary.

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Mentor A Promise. At this time, volunteer opportunities are limited to individuals based in the United States due to legal, safeguarding, data-privacy, compliance, and programmatic requirements. We appreciate your interest in our mission and your understanding of these requirements.