Director of Graphics and Design

The Seattle Times, a family-owned, Pulitzer Prize-winning news organization, is looking for an experienced Director of Graphics and Design to join our team. The Director of Graphics and Design is a key visuals leader in the newsroom whose role is equal parts creative evangelist, assignment coordinator and project manager. The director is responsible for advocating for a creative visual report; upholding standards of accuracy, ethics and inclusivity; and realizing the mission of The Seattle Times. 

The director will support the assistant managing editor and will make the most of The Seattle Times’ graphics and data journalism on all print and digital platforms, guide the exploration and building of new forms of presentation, and help to oversee print design and production. This leader will oversee graphic artists, designers and newsroom apps developers, ensuring that all presentation options are considered from story inception. 

In this role, the director will facilitate brainstorming sessions with reporters, editors and artists, and work closely with video and photo editors. This is a hands-on role in which the director will contribute to creating enterprise and breaking news graphics, digital story presentations, and provide ideas, expertise and guidance around which graphics should be developed and what form they should take.  

Responsibilities: 

• Represent design principles and the interests of graphics and newsroom apps developers in strategic and policy discussions in the newsroom. 
• Execute The Seattle Times’ cross-platform visual strategy, ensuring that the company has a powerful, coherent visual presence with the goal of attracting readers, converting them into print and digital subscribers and monetizing our visual journalism. This strategy should take full advantage of photos, video, graphics, illustrations and databases on all our digital platforms and in print, recognizing that many readers prefer to consume information visually instead of through text. 
• Directly supervise a team of graphic artists, newsroom apps developers and designers. Set clear priorities and goals for team members, coach them to achieve those goals and provide regular and frequent feedback on successes and failures, including annual performance reviews. 
• Manage the graphics and news apps budgets to ensure maximum returns on the dollars spent. 
• Develop, retain, and recruit staff with the right skills to achieve the newsroom’s multiplatform journalism goals, placing special emphasis on increasing diversity – including ethnic, gender and age – when hiring new staff members. 
• Identify strategic opportunities to develop and build new products and reusable templates and styles to enhance subscriber experiences. 
• Collaborate with Product, IT, Marketing and Advertising to define and design new features, standards and functions for digital products. 
• Lead brainstorming sessions with visual teams, reporters, editors and other news staff to define innovative approaches to news presentation and shape concepts into visual story forms. 
• Create charts, maps, diagrams, interactive graphics or visual projects for same-day turnaround, as well as projects that may take longer. 
• Work quickly and efficiently under tight deadlines, making sound decisions around story angles and technical approaches. 
• Employ an inclusive mindset. Embrace the value of representation and avoid visual stereotyping. 
• Tell stories with humanity: Use good, empathetic reporting techniques to gain a better understanding of your story and the people in it. 

Qualifications: 

We are committed to diversity and creating an inclusive newsroom and encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply. If your profile doesn’t match this job description exactly, you may still be a candidate for this position. Please let us know how your skills and experience relate to the role and its objectives in your cover letter.

• 3-5 years of experience as a designer, art director or other creative role. 
• Demonstrated ability to lead and inspire others. 
• Strong project management skills. 
• Management experience or a track record of progressively responsible leadership roles. 
• Experience advancing equity and inclusion in news coverage. 
• Proficient in design principles and programs, including Illustrator and Photoshop. 
• Experience with front-end development and data analysis. 
• Strong prioritization, organization and communication skills. 
• Proven ability to coach and mentor. 
• Collaborate across teams to produce impactful journalism. 
• Exhibit a deep interest in current affairs and local news events. 

Compensation: The full salary range for this position is $99,100 to $140,000. We typically pay between $99,100 and $126,400, depending on experience and qualifications.

Benefits:

• Medical, dental insurance and long-term disability insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Optional life and AD&D insurance and long-term care insurance
• 401(k) plan with employer match
• 10 days of annual vacation accrual, increasing with tenure up to 20 days
• 10 days of annual sick accrual; unused sick pay accrues to an extended illness bank
• 9 paid holidays
• Subsidized transit cards
• Complimentary Seattle Times subscription
• Wellness program
• Parental leave options