Creative Director

Newsweek is seeking a Creative Director to join our US Bureau. The Creative Director is a senior leadership role responsible for unifying and elevating the brand’s visual identity across all external touchpoints. This strategic visionary will implement the defined brand platform while bringing innovation and creativity to its execution – ensuring consistency, impact, and market differentiation.  This role will ensure the cohesive design system that spans typography, photography, video, layout, tone, and naming, is successfully implemented and applied across digital, print, events, social, and communications. A key focus will be overseeing our magazine cover design strategy, ensuring it aligns with broader brand narratives and audience engagement goals. 

This role demands a rare blend of creative brilliance and operational rigor – someone who can bridge art direction with business objectives to amplify brand equity and hold internal teams accountable to high standards of execution.  

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Manage the creative implementation of our brand platform, ensuring consistent execution across all channels and products, including identity updates, internal/external communications, and stakeholder alignment. 
• Implement and govern the cohesive design system across digital, print, and experiential touchpoints that align with business goals and consumer insights. 
• Liase with multidisciplinary teams (product, multimedia, editorial etc...) to produce high-impact visuals.
• Develop a creative review process and build foundational governance practices that are effective and efficient.
• Enforce visual guidelines (typography, color palettes, imagery) to ensure cohesion. 
• Ensure consistent brand messaging and creative execution across all touchpoints. 
• Oversee magazine cover design, from concept to execution, ensuring alignment with issue themes and audience appeal. 
• Benchmark against competitors (e.g., Vogue, Time) to identify disruptive design opportunities. 
• Refine Newsweek’s positioning, architecture, and narrative to differentiate it in the market. 
• Lead competitive analysis, market research, and trend forecasting to identify growth opportunities. 
• Direct external agencies/freelancers for specialized projects (e.g., cover art, illustration commissions). 
• Collaborate with editorial and sales teams to translate content into compelling visual stories. 
• Establish KPIs and metrics to measure brand health and campaign effectiveness. 
• Oversee end-to-end brand campaigns across owned, earned, and paid channels (digital, social, traditional). 
• Ensure consistent creative execution across all touchpoints. 
• Drive internal and external partnerships and collaborations to amplify brand awareness and loyalty. 
• Align cross-functional teams (product, sales, editorial) to integrate brand strategy into business operations.
• Leverage data analytics to refine strategies and maximize ROI. 
• Stay ahead of industry trends, emerging technologies, and consumer behavior shifts

QUALIFICATIONS:

• 10+ years in creative direction, design, or branding. 
• Proven track record of developing category-defining brand strategies and scaling brands. 
• Expertise in consumer insights, market research, and data-driven decision-making. 
• Strong leadership skills with experience managing large, multidisciplinary teams. 
• Exceptional communication and presentation abilities for executive and client-facing interactions. 
• A background in agency, media, corporate, or high-growth environments is preferred. 
• Portfolio demonstrating high-impact magazine covers and/or multi-platform brand campaigns and demonstrates design systems thinking. 
• Expertise in visual storytelling, typography, and layout psychology (e.g., eye-tracking principles). 
• Proven ability to balance artistic vision with business KPIs (conversion rates, brand recall). 
• Comfortable in fast-moving environments and able to manage multiple projects simultaneously.  
• Excellent collaborator, communicator, and creative problem solver.

Salary range: $170,000 - $190,000 commensurate with experience