Vice President, Creative Services

Job Description

Vice President, Creative Services

Team: Creative Services

Status: Regular/Full-time/Exempt

The Vice President, Creative Services, will provide the creative leadership and direction necessary to deliver compelling, effective, multiplatform campaigns that attract and engage diverse audiences for PBS General Audience programming. The VP will also lead the Creative Services team in developing and implementing a flexible visual vocabulary that reinforces the values of the PBS brand while adapting to the varied requirements of digital platforms.

As a member of the Digital & Marketing Senior Leadership Team, the VP will collaborate with other senior leaders to develop cohesive short- and long-range strategic plans, policies, and products for the corporate area.

Reporting to Ira Rubenstein, Chief Digital Officer & Chief Marketing Officer, this role will oversee a team of ~15 full time employees plus contractors and will be based at PBS Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

Key responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:
• Provide strategic leadership and oversight of creative teams that devise, produce, and deliver promotional materials; collaborate with internal and external producers to set creative roadmaps that ensure alignment between all departmental activities and overarching organizational and corporate area strategies and objectives.

• Leverage research, analytics and stakeholder input to inform creative and strategic planning processes.

• Set financial and operational objectives and expectations for internal teams and external agencies responsible for delivering creative services; be accountable for departmental budget, ensuring that financial decisions are fiscally prudent and sound.

• Represent the Creative Services function and develop effective relationships with senior leadership (CEO, COO and other leaders), Digital & Marketing Senior Leadership Team peers, as well as leadership across other program teams (e.g., Masterpiece, PBS Newshour, Frontline, etc.).

• Provide thought-leadership on cross-functional initiatives that reinforce PBS' value and relevance in the media marketplace among general audiences, donors, and other major constituents.

• Lead corporate and system-wide branding efforts, developing and maintaining effective multiplatform brand packaging for all PBS brands; oversee team responsible for developing guidelines and tools that facilitate appropriate usage of the PBS brand.

• Manage and motivate internal and external team members, providing direction, training, and support. Actively identify and encourage opportunities for team member growth within the Creative Services function.

• Working collaboratively, establish and drive new and innovative ways to support PBS marketing and branding initiatives, ensuring that results translate over all media (e.g. TV, interactive digital ads, social media outlets, print, etc.).

• Oversee team efforts to support creative needs beyond General Audience programming (e.g., PBS Foundation, Communications, Events, etc.).

• Continually share best practices and institutional knowledge to develop and implement effective processes that facilitate collaboration between all stakeholders.

Candidate Profile:

The ideal candidate will be passionate about creating brands, generating ideas and stories, innovative design and will have a fascination with how to apply that passion to marketing campaigns and brand experiences.

PBS seeks a truly exceptional, people-first leader who thrives on inspiring and collaborating with others. The VP will be a highly effective communicator who can build credibility and partner with a diverse group of internal and external stakeholders, working productively across matrixed internal teams and platforms as well as with external partners. This leader will also be intellectually curious and have a true passion for and commitment to the PBS mission.

The successful candidate will have demonstrated the ability to build and retain a team, set goals, delegate responsibilities, hold teams accountable for outcomes, and provide thoughtful, learning-oriented feedback. They will possess a strong track record of successfully managing and motivating high-performing professional staff and inspiring teams to produce engaging and impactful creative.

The ideal candidate will have experience leading creative teams within content-driven, entertainment brands, significant studio and/or network experience in creative services and bring deep expertise across all digital platforms. This will be coupled with an ability to support and drive audience engagement across the rapidly evolving digital landscape. They will have a diverse set of experiences with breadth across offline and online/digital – ideally with an emphasis on leading digital creative and campaigns.

This leader will have a demonstrated ability to lead national, multiplatform creative executions at scale. They should possess deep experience working with creative agencies – and prior experience in an agency is a plus. Given this role leads a Creative Services team, it will be critical for this individual to have excellent customer service skills.

In terms of the performance and personal competencies required for the position, we would highlight the following:

Strategic Thinking
• Creates strategic plans and translates into realistic goals that are achievable and successful

• Problem solver who effectively leads through ambiguity and complexity

• Data-oriented leader who seeks and leverages analytics to support decisions, align others with strategy and create actionable insights

• Balances the need for change with an understanding of how much change the organization is capable of handling

Innovative Mindset
• Creative, out-of-the-box thinker who is not afraid to push the envelope to try new things

• Takes a creative approach to developing new ideas that will stretch the organization and push the boundaries within the industry

• Challenges the status quo, but is also able to learn from the past

• Entrepreneur who welcomes the challenges and opportunities of working in a dynamic industry

Executing for Results
• Results-oriented self-starter with a dedicated work ethic and collaborative style

• Manages and prioritizes projects and requests against available resources

• Commits the organization to improved performance; tenacious and accountable in driving results

Leading Teams
• Creates high-performance teams and culture to achieve breakthrough results

• Attracts, develops and retains high potential talent

• Develops and leverages cross-functional relationships to deliver business results in
matrix environment

• Encourages others to share the spotlight; visibly celebrates the success of the team

Relationships and Influence
• Collaborator who works comfortably in highly diverse, cross departmental teams and interact effectively with member station representatives

• Naturally connects and builds strong relationships with others, demonstrating strong emotional intelligence and an ability to communicate clearly and persuasively

• Successfully gains commitment and consensus for and executing projects within PBS

• Inspires trust and followership in others through compelling influence, passion and gravitas

PBS is an Equal Opportunity Employer in accordance with the EEOC and the Commonwealth of Virginia

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-rv11qm-3-131-110-169-42 in your application.