Responsibilities

• Serve as the single managing director with final authority over creative direction, visual standards, and design quality across all assigned Government publications and dissemination channels.
• Lead, mentor, and manage a multidisciplinary creative team including commercial artists, graphic designers, web designers, photo editors, videographers, and other creative staff.
• Establish, communicate, and enforce branding guidelines, visual style standards, and design best practices consistent with commercial publishing industry standards.
• Review and approve all visual content prior to publication to ensure quality, brand alignment, and adherence to Government editorial objectives.
• Collaborate closely with the Editor in Chief, program managers, and Government clients to ensure visual content supports and enhances overall strategic communication goals.
• Develop and manage creative production schedules and workflows, ensuring on-time delivery of visual assets across multiple simultaneous publications and platforms.
• Oversee the full creative production lifecycle from concept development and design through layout, review, revision, and final delivery.
• Drive creative innovation by researching and introducing emerging design trends, tools, and technologies that enhance content quality and audience engagement.
• Ensure all visual content complies with applicable copyright, intellectual property, classification, and operational security requirements.
• Provide creative direction for multimedia content including motion graphics, video production, infographics, and interactive digital media.

Requirements

• Minimum ten (10) years of experience directly managing commercial artists, graphic designers, web designers, photo editors, and other creative staff for professional publications (e.g., newspapers, magazines, online publications) within senior management-established guidelines.
• Demonstrated ability to develop, implement, and enforce comprehensive brand identity systems and visual style guides across multiple publications and platforms.
• Proven track record of delivering commercially competitive, visually sophisticated content under tight deadlines in a high-volume production environment.
• Expert proficiency in industry-standard design and production software, including Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, After Effects) or equivalent tools.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated ability to present and defend creative concepts to senior leadership and Government clients.
• TS/SCI Clearance

Preferred

• At least three years of experience working with foreign-language versions and translations to and from English-language publications.
• Bachelor's degree or higher in Graphic Design, Visual Communications, Fine Arts, or a related field; advanced degree or equivalent professional portfolio preferred.
• Experience providing creative direction in support of U.S. Government, military, or national security communications programs.
• Familiarity with USSOCOM, combatant command structures, or Information Operations / Psychological Operations (PSYOP) communication frameworks.