Vanity Fair is a cultural filter, sparking the global conversation about the people and ideas that matter most. Muscular long-form journalism, stunning photography, insightful essays, and superb design make each issue of Vanity Fair a must-read. Every month, the magazine commissions the best writers and photographers to explain the pressing issues of the day and take the pulse of the culture. Vanity Fair consistently delivers crucial reporting on business and finance, domestic politics and world affairs, even as it covers the very best in arts and entertainment.

Job Description

Location:

New York, NY

The Senior Visuals Director is a key partner to the Editor in Chief and Senior Design Director in establishing, evolving, and executing the visual strategy for the brand across platforms. They serve as a leader, mentor, and manager for the visuals team, guiding them to deliver innovative and excellent work across platforms (social, video, digital, print, experiential, etc.) that meets brand integrity and production quality standards, while remaining on schedule and on budget. This role is based in NYC.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with senior editorial leaders in order to understand visual/photo needs and orchestrate projects accordingly.

• Lead the visuals team to contribute cross-platform ideas that uphold and advance the visual identity of the brand.

• Oversee all research and image selection across platforms.

• Manage the visuals team across all aspects of cross-platform photo shoot production, assigning projects and ensuring the creative concept is upheld from brief to final delivery, including:

  • Curating photographer lists and creating visual mood boards

  • Commissioning teams and liaising with agents, photographers, studios, stylists, hair/makeup, catering, and other vendors throughout the project

  • Creating and maintaining timelines, schedules, budgets, shot-lists, call-sheets, and other production documents

  • Coordinating the post-production process for lo-res and hi-res photo selection and final delivery

  • Ensuring execution and delivery of a full range of digital assets, including social, video, bts, and other necessary formats to convey visuals as effectively online as in print

• Directly produce more complex and/or significant shoots, as needed

• Partner closely with colleagues in CNE to ensure joint photo/video production needs are met and that clear work processes are in place for teams across divisions.

• Regularly review portfolios and proactively build relationships with agencies and photographers to discover and cultivate new talent.

• Track and maintain the photo budget across platforms, setting and assigning individual project budgets to team members, ensuring efficient use of all budget resources, and communicating/escalating effectively to Operations and Finance partners.

• Manage the visuals team to ensure contracts, photo fees, and usage rights are in place for all images (produced and researched), in partnership with CN legal and business affairs teams.

• Manage the visuals team to ensure all invoices are tracked and processed in a timely manner and that jobs are wrapped accurately and efficiently.

• Develop, implement, and maintain clear processes and communication channels for the team, helping people do their jobs more easily and ensuring work is happening in sync.

• Delegate and manage all work across the team - provide clear direction, constructive feedback, and serve as a resource for team members to help resolve challenges and improve outputs.

• Nurture talent and foster a transparent, respectful, inclusive, and collaborative team environment.

• Lead all HR/People processes for the visuals team such as performance management, compensation reviews, recruitment, etc.

Requirements:

• 12+ years work experience in the visual production industry with an enviable book of contacts for agencies, photographers, stylists, studios, etc.

• Excellent editorial judgment with demonstrated experience managing teams to develop visual stories across platforms, using detailed understanding of platform requirements.

• A highly motivated self-starter with proven ability to manage multiple people, projects, priorities, and deadlines in a fast-paced, matrixed environment.

• A meticulous eye for detail and impeccable organizational skills.

• Excellent communication, collaboration, and leadership skills with the ability to navigate multiple stakeholders’ inputs, opinions, and decision-making styles.

• A work-style that balances entrepreneurial spirit with operational rigor.

• Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with discretion, diplomacy, and tact.

• Significant experience in and passion for portraiture, fashion photography, and photojournalism.

The expected base salary range for this position is from $137,000 - $177,000. Salary offers are based on a wide range of factors including but not limited to relevant skills, training, experience, and education.

What happens next?

If you are interested in this opportunity, please apply below, and we will review your application as soon as possible. You can update your resume or upload a cover letter at any time by accessing your candidate profile.

Condé Nast is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, familial status and other legally protected characteristics.