Senior Director of Creative Production (Volunteer)

Mentor A Promise is a New York City–based nonprofit serving children and youth (ages 5–18) experiencing housing instability, grounded in the belief that every child is a Promise—full of potential, dignity, and possibility. We deliver consistent, high-quality programming across mentorship, literacy, social-emotional learning, and creative expression in shelters, schools, and community spaces, creating structured environments where students can grow, be seen, and build lasting skills. Through signature experiences like The Imagination Studio, The Kitchen Table, The Sound Lab, and The Story Space, we nurture academic development, emotional well-being, and creative voice, all within a trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and accessibility-centered framework. Our work prioritizes dignity-protective storytelling, consent-driven engagement, and deep community partnership, ensuring that how we serve is as intentional as whom we serve. We are not only addressing immediate needs - we are building pathways to confidence, belonging, and long-term opportunity, so every child has the support and foundation to carry their promise forward.

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Senior Director of Creative Production (Volunteer)

PromiseStudios | Creative Production

Organization Mentor A Promise (MAP)

Division PromiseStudios

Department Creative Production

Location Remote with NYC-based collaboration as needed

Commitment Approximately 5–10 hours per week

Type Volunteer Senior Leadership Role

Minimum Commitment 6-month Commitment Required

Reports To Chief Creative Officer

About Mentor A Promise

Mentor A Promise (MAP) is a New York City–based nonprofit organization supporting children and youth ages 5–18 experiencing housing instability through mentorship, literacy, social-emotional learning, educational enrichment, workforce development, creative opportunity, advocacy, housing innovation, and community-centered support.

Creativity has the power to educate, inspire, and build belonging. Through illustration, animation, photography, and visual storytelling, MAP creates experiences that celebrate children's imagination, amplify community voices, and communicate our mission with authenticity and purpose.

About PromiseStudios

PromiseStudios is Mentor A Promise's film, animation, photography, multimedia, and creative production division.

The division brings together artists, filmmakers, photographers, illustrators, animators, designers, producers, and visual storytellers to create mission-driven work that supports education, publishing, fundraising, communications, advocacy, digital media, and organizational storytelling.

PromiseStudios creates meaningful visual experiences while maintaining high standards of creativity, accessibility, ethical storytelling, and production excellence.

About The Creative Production Department

The Creative Production Department transforms ideas into compelling visual experiences across Mentor A Promise.

Working collaboratively across the organization, the department develops creative assets for children's books, educational resources, documentaries, social media, websites, campaigns, exhibitions, publications, events, and digital storytelling.

The department includes four primary creative disciplines

• Illustration
• Animation
• Photography
• Motion Graphics
  
  

Role Overview

The Senior Director of Creative Production serves as the senior leader responsible for the strategy, operations, quality, and growth of MAP's Creative Production Department.

This role provides leadership across illustration, animation, photography, and motion graphics while overseeing creative planning, production systems, team development, resource coordination, and cross-divisional execution.

Working closely with the Chief Creative Officer, department directors, team leads, producers, and organizational leaders, the Senior Director ensures creative projects are delivered with artistic excellence, operational discipline, accessibility, and alignment with MAP's mission and visual identity.

The ideal candidate is an experienced multidisciplinary creative leader who can balance artistic vision with production management, team leadership, and organizational strategy.

Key Responsibilities

Creative Strategy & Direction

• Develop and lead the department's long-term creative production strategy
• Establish artistic, production, and quality standards across all creative disciplines
• Translate organizational priorities into clear creative plans
• Guide the visual direction of major projects and campaigns
• Ensure creative work reflects MAP's mission, values, and brand identity
• Promote innovation while maintaining consistency and accessibility
  
  

Department Leadership

• Provide senior leadership across illustration, animation, photography, and motion graphics
• Supervise and support department directors, managers, and team leads
• Establish clear roles, priorities, workflows, and accountability
• Foster collaboration and knowledge sharing across creative teams
• Support recruitment, onboarding, mentorship, and professional development
• Build a healthy, inclusive, and high-performing creative culture
  
  

Production Operations

• Oversee production schedules, pipelines, resources, and project priorities
• Coordinate creative projects from concept through final delivery
• Monitor deadlines, dependencies, workloads, and production risks
• Develop scalable systems that improve efficiency and consistency
• Ensure teams have the materials, information, and support needed to deliver strong work
• Strengthen project documentation, asset management, and approval processes
  
  

Creative Quality & Review

• Establish creative review and quality-assurance processes
• Provide feedback on concepts, drafts, edits, and final deliverables
• Ensure work meets visual, technical, accessibility, and safeguarding standards
• Maintain consistency across campaigns, publications, media, and educational content
• Address quality concerns before final release
• Encourage thoughtful experimentation and continuous improvement
  
  

Cross-Divisional Collaboration

• Partner with PromiseVoice on communications and storytelling initiatives
• Collaborate with PromiseBrands on marketing, identity, merchandise, and campaign assets
• Support PromiseLearning through educational illustrations, animation, and visual resources
• Work with PromisePages on literary and children's storytelling projects
• Collaborate with film and documentary teams within PromiseStudios
• Align creative production with organizational priorities and deadlines
  
  

Strategic Growth & Innovation

• Identify opportunities to expand MAP's creative capabilities
• Explore emerging technologies, tools, and production methods
• Develop recommendations for new creative services and initiatives
• Support long-term workforce and leadership planning for the department
• Strengthen partnerships with artists, studios, schools, and creative organizations
• Help position PromiseStudios as a respected mission-driven creative division
  
  

Senior Leadership Responsibilities

The Senior Director provides leadership and oversight for

Illustration

Responsible for

• Children's book illustration
• Editorial illustration
• Character design
• Concept art
• Visual development
  
  

Animation

Responsible for

• 2D animation
• Stop-motion animation
• Educational animation
• Character animation
• Animated storytelling
  
  

Photography

Responsible for

• Documentary photography
• Event photography
• Portrait photography
• Program documentation
• Ethical visual storytelling
  
  

Motion Graphics

Responsible for

• Motion design
• Animated graphics
• Visual effects
• Campaign assets
• Digital content animation
  
  

Creative Production Operations

Responsible for

• Production workflows
• Creative scheduling
• Resource planning
• Quality assurance
• Asset management
• Cross-functional delivery
  
  

Potential Reporting Structure

Director of Illustration

Director of Animation

Director of Photography

Director of Motion Graphics

Creative Production Manager

Illustration Team Lead

Animation Team Lead

Photography Team Lead

Motion Graphics Team Lead

Creative Producers

Production Coordinators

Preferred Qualifications

• Significant experience in creative production, art direction, animation, illustration, photography, motion graphics, multimedia, or related fields
• Experience leading multidisciplinary creative teams
• Strong understanding of creative workflows, production planning, and quality assurance
• Ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines, and stakeholders
• Excellent leadership, communication, and feedback skills
• Strong portfolio demonstrating visual and creative excellence
• Experience in nonprofit, education, publishing, entertainment, media, or mission-driven creative work is preferred
• Commitment to accessible, ethical, inclusive, and dignity-centered storytelling
  
  

Why This Role Matters

Visual storytelling shapes how people understand our mission.

Every illustration can inspire imagination.

Every photograph can preserve a meaningful moment.

Every animation can bring learning to life.

Every motion graphic can make an important idea easier to understand.

The Senior Director of Creative Production ensures that these disciplines work together with clarity, quality, and purpose—helping Mentor A Promise educate, engage, and inspire communities while honoring the dignity and creativity of the children and families we serve.

Success Measures

• Quality and consistency of creative work across all teams
• Timely delivery of major creative projects
• Strength of production workflows and departmental coordination
• Growth and development of creative leaders and contributors
• Effective collaboration across MAP divisions
• Alignment with brand, accessibility, safeguarding, and storytelling standards
• Expansion of MAP's creative capacity and organizational impact
  
  

Leadership Participation

The Senior Director of Creative Production is expected to

• Attend one weekly Senior Leadership Meeting
• Conduct regular check-ins with direct reports
• Lead department planning and production review meetings
• Participate in PromiseStudios strategy and organizational planning
• Support cross-divisional collaboration and major organizational initiatives
• Provide timely updates on project progress, risks, delays, and resource needs
  
  

Volunteer Expectations

• Approximately 5–10 hours per week
• Minimum 6-month commitment required
• Maintain timely and professional communication
• Collaborate through MAP systems and communication platforms
• Support MAP's safeguarding standards, mission, and organizational values
• Foster a culture of creativity, collaboration, accessibility, inclusion, accountability, and continuous learning
  
  

What You'll Gain

• Senior leadership experience building a multidisciplinary creative department
• Opportunity to shape the visual and creative direction of a growing nonprofit organization
• Collaboration with artists, filmmakers, educators, writers, marketers, and executive leaders
• Experience strengthening creative production systems and team structures
• Professional references and letters of recommendation
• Meaningful impact using creativity to support children and families experiencing housing instability
  
  

How to Apply

Interested candidates should apply directly through Idealist and include their resume, cover letter, and portfolio or relevant work samples.

Please highlight experience involving creative production, art direction, illustration, animation, photography, motion graphics, multimedia production, team leadership, or related disciplines.

Help build and lead a creative production department that inspires imagination, elevates meaningful stories, and brings Mentor A Promise's mission to life.

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with our organization. At this time, volunteer opportunities are limited to individuals based in the United States due to legal, safeguarding, data-privacy, and programmatic requirements. We appreciate your interest in our mission and your understanding of these constraints.