Position: Creative Director

Location: Los Angeles, hybrid work, frequent travel

Employment Type: Salaried, exempt

Education/Experience Preferences: Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent professional experience preferred in fields such as advertising, design, or marketing

Compensation Range: Based on experience

Reports To: CEO

Manages: Social Media Coordinator, creative and marketing contractors

Supported By: Press team, development team

Start Date: ASAP

We Are DigDeep

The DigDeep Right to Water Project is the only WaSH (water, sanitation and hygiene) organization serving the 2.2 million Americans who still don’t have a tap or a toilet at home. 

DigDeep believes access to clean water is a human right. We run several nationally recognized programs that empower communities to build their own water and sanitation systems. We won the 2018 US Water Prize for our Navajo Water Project, which has brought clean, running water to hundreds of Native families across New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. DigDeep launched the Appalachia Water Project in July of 2020, which will bring clean, running water into the homes of Appalachia families across southwestern West Virginia and northeastern Kentucky. The project has already set up planning to work with PSD to install plumbing in approximately 150 homes in one section of McDowell County.

DigDeep is deeply committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. We believe social change happens when people with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and identities come together with a common purpose. DigDeep is built on the principles of equity, transparency, and the power of human experience. Your work will improve the daily lives of real people – people you’re likely to meet. Every American should have the clean, running water they need to thrive. Join us, and we’ll close the US water gap in our lifetimes.

The Opportunity

DigDeep is seeking an experienced and results-driven Creative Director to join our collaborative, dynamic team. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), this newly created position has the unique opportunity to shape DigDeep’s voice and visual identity as we enter a new phase of growth. The Creative Director will lead the development of all DigDeep’s creative content, including brand, marketing, web/digital, social, email, press, partnerships, and collaborations. By building beautiful, engaging, consistent content across all of our channels, the Creative Director plays a key role in ensuring that DigDeep is viewed as a trusted source of information by our partner communities, collaborators, donors, and the public.

The Creative Director will work closely with DigDeep’s senior leadership team as the expert partner on a variety of strategic communications initiatives, helping move the organization toward achieving its ambitious goals across all four pillars of our Impact Model.

Key Responsibilities

This is what you’ll do once you join the team:

• Develop and implement a brand strategy for DigDeep; roll-out new ideas for the organization’s branding, promotional campaigns, and fundraising/marketing communications; maintain a campaign calendar.
• Direct brainstorming meetings and creative sessions; apply an equity lens to all branding and communications decisions. 
• Shape brand standards and create procedures to ensure all communications products across the organization are consistent and brand appropriate.
• Develop exceptional and well-crafted content (written, digital, video) that drives specific actions from defined audiences.
• Manage the development and production of all DigDeep’s print and electronic collateral including email, web, social, annual reports, print materials, merchandise, etc. 
• Coordinate the development and maintenance of DigDeep’s social media and web properties, ensuring new content is posted regularly.
• Evaluate trends and stay up-to-date with the latest marketing techniques.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of our strategies, campaigns, and tools—improving and replacing them as necessary.
• Identify, hire, and manage creative talent, including (but not limited to) graphic designers, web designers, videographers, illustrators, and copywriters. 
• Supervise staff and contractors’ workflow, assign project workload, and monitor deadlines and budgets.

As the organization continues to evolve, duties or tasks may change without impacting the overall Job Description. 

Competencies

• Strategic Thinking: You’re a creative visionary. You understand the organization’s public image and like developing ways to strengthen it and set it apart. You’re constantly thinking about a long-term brand strategy for DigDeep based on industry insights and the organization’s current and potential capabilities. You love to analyze trends and stay on top of the work of other great organizations and companies.
• Managing Change: You see the potential that beautiful, engaging content has to influence the future direction of the business. You’re ready to chart a new course for the brand through creative campaigns, partnerships, and public outreach. As DigDeep’s brand identity evolves, you establish processes to manage its consistent implementation across the organization, helping your colleagues develop a clear understanding of the organization’s look and feel.
• Excellent Communicator: Your work inspires people and sparks action. You have the ability to plan and execute beautiful, engaging campaigns that utilize language, graphics, and media to have the maximum impact on an intended audience. You’re an excellent written, verbal, and visual communicator.
• Building Collaborative Relationships: You enjoy building relationships, and enjoy developing, maintaining, and strengthening creative partnerships with people both inside and outside the organization. You take time to get to know your colleagues, contractors, donors, and beneficiaries, and you love to build rapport and establish trust.
• Foster Teamwork: You recognize and encourage collaboration, and provide opportunities for your colleagues to learn and grow as a team. You welcome broad, meaningful participation and honest feedback.
• Values Aligned: You're driven by a desire to make our country (and our world) a better place to live. You consistently apply an equity lens to all professional practices. You follow through on commitments and live into our values of equality, transparency, and the power of experience.

Skills and Qualifications

We want to hear from you if you have:

• Minimum 7 years of experience in advertising, communications, marketing or a related field, required
• Minimum 3 years of management experience, required
• Bachelor's degree in art, marketing, communications, design, public relations, journalism, or a related field, preferred
• Deep experience in digital creative, particularly with (but not limited to) web, social, and emerging technologies
• A solid understanding of design, copy, and web practices, brand development, and multichannel marketing models
• Highly developed written, verbal, and visual skills, with the ability to synthesize information and compose clear and effective proposals and plans
• Experience representing historically marginalized people with sensitivity and care
• Ability to juggle multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment with strong organizational, project management, and leadership skills
• Comfort working in a hybrid environment with a team across multiple time zones
• Proficiency in MS Office, GSuite, Adobe Creative Suite
• Experience supporting the development of diverse, inclusive, and equitable work environments, including an openness to learning

Compensation and Benefits

At DigDeep, we believe that great work requires a great job. We pride ourselves on creating industry-leading employment opportunities for our team across the United States. We’re a supportive environment that values creativity, diversity and quick-thinking. Here’s how we’ll support you in your work:

• Competitive salary
• Generous vacation and sick leave
• 23 weeks paid parental leave
• Annual professional development stipend
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance, all 100% employer paid 
• One Medical membership 
• Life insurance
• Computer, monthly cell phone allowance
• Domestic and international travel 
• 401k with employer match

Interested?

To apply, please visit https://www.digdeep.org/jobs/ submit a thoughtful cover letter and resume. References should be available upon request. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Please note that DigDeep cannot provide immigration sponsorship for this position. No office visits or calls, please.

DigDeep is deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We believe social change happens when people with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and identities come together with a common purpose. 

DigDeep is built on the principles of equity, transparency and the power of human experience. Your work will improve the daily lives of real people. We believe everybody should have the clean, running water they need to thrive. Join us, and we’ll close the water gap in our lifetimes.