creative manager Remote
Job description
We're TeeTurtle, a rapidly growing consumer products company that creates nerdy toys, games, apparel, and accessories. We are passionate about creating products that allow our fans to express themselves and share meaningful experiences, and we’re excited to continue expanding our team!
Position Summary
The goal of the Creative Director is to manage our exceptional illustration, product design, and game design teams and work with leaders cross-functionally to help bring the organization’s creative vision to life. Through intense organization, clear communication, and effective benchmarking and tracking, they empower the creative team to drive many incredible projects forward simultaneously. They understand the importance of process discipline and can effectively manage deadlines while leaving space for creativity and innovation. This role reports directly to the company’s CEO, who sets the creative vision for the organization.
Primary Responsibilities
- Creative Team Strategic Leadership and Management [65%]
- Provide strategic leadership, management support, feedback, and mentorship to a team of illustrators, product designers, and game designers to keep stress levels low while maintaining productivity
- Set priorities and arrange weekly schedules in partnership with creative leads and managers across illustration, product design and development, and game design based on individual team members’ strengths to keep the creative teams on target to meet all deadlines while maintaining the highest quality output possible
- Proactively find solutions for issues, bottlenecks, and cross-project resource contention challenges to help run projects smoothly and prevent unnecessary disruptions
- Design and utilize team skill tracking tools to ensure projects are appropriately assigned to the person best suited to complete each project efficiently and accurately
- Oversee tracking and reporting on metrics related to creative output to ensure benchmarks are hit and expectations are met consistently across the creative team
- Arrange regular trainings, feedback sessions, and mentorship relationships in addition to assigning “stretch assignments” when applicable to continue leveling up the skills of the creative team over time
- Suggest and implement process improvements to maximize output and minimize frustration across all creative teams
- Uphold a culture of creative excellence to consistently promote innovation, even during busy times
- Cross-Departmental Collaboration [35%]
- Work with the Sr. Creative Program Manager & Project Managers to oversee progress on cross-departmental projects that support the company’s creative vision and break them out into actionable steps to allow the organization to continue to grow
- Act as the primary point of contact for creative teams and represent those teams in leadership meetings and company-wide updates to ensure the needs of other departments are consistently met and information is effectively shared
- Work with leaders across the organization to align creative strategy with organizational goals as well as the needs of the sales, operations, and marketing teams
- Lead and coordinate product development processes while partnering with supply chain, sales, marketing, and design teams to ensure all new products smoothly flow from concept through production
- Oversee prototyping, proofing, and product quality management processes cross-functionally to ensure products meet all style, brand, technical, legal, packaging, and safety requirements
Core Competencies
- Creative Problem Solving
- Flexibility & Adaptability
- Proactive Thinking
- Project Scheduling & Workload Planning
- Realistic Goal Setting for Others
- Understanding Motivational Needs
- Intense Organizational Skills
- Attention to Detail
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in a creative discipline (preferred)
- 5+ years managing direct reports (required)
- 5+ years of experience as a creative contributor in art, product development, graphic design, or game design (preferred)
- 3+ years of experience as a Creative Director or equivalent (preferred)
- Expertise with Adobe Suite (preferred)
- Expertise with Google Suite, Slack, Asana, and Trello (preferred)
- Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- US Residency Require
Compensation and Benefits
The salary range for this position is $120,000 - $150,000 per year based on location, experience, qualifications, and skills.
We also offer
- Potential to receive an annual performance-based bonus
- Generous PTO policy to provide flexibility, work-life balance, and time to celebrate what is important to you
- 401(k) with a company match
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage options for employee, spouse or domestic partner, and dependent children
- Employee Assistance Program, including three free sessions with a licensed behavioral health provider for all employees enrolled in TeeTurtle's medical plan
- 75% employee discount and free shipping on TeeTurtle.com and UnstableGames.com
- Potential for training and professional development opportunities
- A creative and fast-paced work environment
- A culture of integrity, compassion, curiosity, and calmness
The Hiring Process
We require the submission of the following to consider your application:
- Resume
- In lieu of a cover letter, we ask that all candidates respond in full to a standard set of application questions
After an initial phone screen, if you progress through that initial stage, you can expect the following stages:
- Stage 1: Participate in an interview with a panel via Google Meet/Zoom
- Stage 2: Complete a brief hiring exercise/assignment
- Stage 3: Participate in a final interview with a panel via Google Meet/Zoom
TeeTurtle provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, status as a covered veteran, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. TeeTurtle complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment, including hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training. If we can offer reasonable accommodations to you in the application or interview processes, or if you have feedback on how we could improve the equity or accessibility of our recruitment, you are welcome to contact us at hr @teeturtle.com with the subject line “Accommodation Request - Creative Director”. Please note that we are unable to respond to general status inquiries or other messages that are unrelated to accessing our application or interview process
