Creative Director

Posted Sep 3

Summary

As Creative Director, you are looking to join a team that is passionate about the power of brand, design and technology to change the world. This role will be responsible for collaborating on meaningful, idea-led work for a global movement and setting the creative vision for our programs. You will play a vital role in high visibility global projects critical to the future of Wikimedia.

You’ll be working with the Director of Brand to further develop the movement’s visual identity, voice and tone. You’ll lead creative work on everything from social graphics to larger scale action-oriented products and campaigns. Each with the goal of expressing the essence of Wikipedia/Wikimedia in everything we do, with a vision that speaks to people who need free knowledge around the world.

The brand team works virtually with staff and vendors located around the world, and is one part of a larger interdisciplinary department of strategists, writers, designers, and media experts.

Responsibilities:

  • Lead internal team of creative professionals, to innovate on and smartly evolve the Wikimedia visual brand, and to lead performance and professional development of creative staff members 
  • Build and direct network of creative professionals who want to help us in our global efforts
  • Quickly, professionally, and patiently art direct and guide other members of the team motivating and coaching where needed- taking lead on projects with initial sketches, concepting, and creative strategy development 
  • Help grow the Brand Studio as a resource to the organization and our larger movement of volunteers, defining team directions, budgets, and new teammates needed
  • Lead team in the visual and creative development of a wide range of projects – including web/email/social/print/fundraising graphics, one-off partnerships/campaigns, merchandise, print materials, illustration, photography, and photo research ensuring that the visual and brand story are aligned.
  • Partner with Communications department colleagues including External Communications to set creative direction for campaigns and marketing projects
  • Collaborate with organizational staff and volunteers to build a culture of design and creative work in our movement, including robust measurement/refinement of creative work in objective-defined testing.

Skills and Experience:

  • 2+ years experience as a strategic leader of people
  • 4+ years evidence-based creative work

Qualities that are important to us:

  • Resilience—we work on new and interesting problems in public and collaborative ways
  • Being open, curious, and inquiring in our work
  • Internal motivation and high standards
  • Working together for outcomes, and being willing to change course
  • Sharing a culture of constructive criticism and respect
  • Natural inclination for team collaboration and for helping colleagues succeed

Additionally, we’d love it if you have:

  • Portfolio required
  • Experience in Africa, India, Latin America, East Asia, or the Middle East
  • Willingness and ability to travel, and flexibility to work across time zones to ensure success of globally distributed staff

About the Wikimedia Foundation

The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia free knowledge projects. Our vision is a world in which every single human can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. We believe that everyone has the potential to contribute something to our shared knowledge, and that everyone should be able to access that knowledge freely. We host Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects, build software experiences for reading, contributing, and sharing Wikimedia content, support the volunteer communities and partners who make Wikimedia possible, and advocate for policies that enable Wikimedia and free knowledge to thrive. 

The Wikimedia Foundation is a charitable, not-for-profit organization that relies on donations. We receive donations from millions of individuals around the world, with an average donation of about $15. We also receive donations through institutional grants and gifts. The Wikimedia Foundation is a United States 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with offices in San Francisco, California, USA.

As an equal opportunity employer, the Wikimedia Foundation values having a diverse workforce and continuously strives to maintain an inclusive and equitable workplace. We encourage people with a diverse range of backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate against any person based upon their race, traits historically associated with race, religion, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy or related medical conditions, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristics.

The Wikimedia Foundation is a remote-first organization with staff members including contractors based in more than 50 countries. Salaries at the Wikimedia Foundation are set in a way that is competitive, equitable, and consistent with our values and culture. The anticipated annual pay range of this position for applicants based within the United States is US$124,446  to US$188,722 with multiple individualized factors, including cost of living in the location, being the determinants of the offered pay. For applicants located outside of the US, the pay range will be adjusted to the country of hire. We neither ask for nor take into consideration the salary history of applicants. The compensation for a successful applicant will be based on their skills, experience and location. 

All applicants can reach out to their recruiter to understand more about the specific pay range for their location during the interview process.

If you are a qualified applicant requiring assistance or an accommodation to complete any step of the application process due to a disability, you may contact us at recruiting@wikimedia.org or +1 (415) 839-6885.