Associate Creative Director

The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That means independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It’s why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It’s why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination. And it’s why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for. 

The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. In service of that mission, we have a journalism operation that includes thousands of people reporting on the ground from most countries around the world, producing journalism with the independence, accuracy, depth and authority for which The Times is famous.

Marketing plays a key part in extending this journalistic legacy into the future. Our job is to answer the question, “Why is quality journalism worth paying for?” We create award-winning marketing that builds our brand and deepens affinity for our journalistic offering. Above all, we strive to be timely, straightforward and relevant — illustrating in new and creative ways how The New York Times can enrich the lives of our readers.

We are seeking an Associate Creative Director, Earned Activations (Contract) to lead the creative vision for our specific “earned” marketing initiatives. This is a critical leadership role for a creative strategist who can move beyond traditional advertising to produce culturally resonant work that drives organic press and social conversation.

Reporting to the Creative Director, Design, with a dotted line to the Executive Director, Brand Marketing, you will serve as a creative partner to our marketing, editorial, comms, commerce, photo, external agency partners, Games and The Athletic creative teams. You will be responsible for dreaming up and executing ideas that turn the value of our world-class journalism and lifestyle products into shareable experiences. You will focus exclusively on creating a cohesive but distinct earned lens for our core products: News, The Athletic, Games, and Cooking.

We will look to you to bring unexpected, deeply resonant thinking to how we market our journalism, championing creative ideas that can break through the noise of the modern media landscape.

This is a temporary hybrid role based in our New York City headquarters, reporting to the the Creative Director, Design. You can typically expect to come into the office 3 days per week.

Responsibilities:

• Concept and lead the development of brand-building activations, partnerships, and communications content designed specifically to generate earned media and social sharing.

• Direct the day-to-day work of a Senior Designer, Earned providing clear conceptual vision to guide projects from strategy to launch. You will oversee the translation of earned media concepts into high-quality design solutions, ensuring that every deliverable—from seeding kits to social assets—upholds The New York Times's rigorous brand standards.

• Translate marketing strategies into clear, provocative creative directives that excite internal teams and external partners.

• Develop creative ideas tailored to the unique audiences of our core products, ensuring a cohesive visual and conceptual narrative for News, The Athletic, Games, and Cooking.

• Create work that natively integrates celebrities, influencers, and culturally noteworthy subscribers to amplify our mission in ways that feel authentic and newsworthy.

• Guide the creation of "social-first" activations designed to thrive on digital platforms and spark community engagement without relying solely on paid media or editorially motivated social media handles.

• In partnership with the Director, Creative Strategy and Earned Production and Director, Brand Earned Activations, guide external agency relationships to ensure top-notch quality and brand/product standards are enforced.

• Work closely with the Executive Director of Brand Activations and Talent to ensure earned ideas align with broader business goals.

• Act as an ambassador for earned thinking across the organization, engaging the right stakeholders in productive conversations to build alignment.

• Execute high-concept ideas, balancing quality with the demands of the news cycle.

• Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.

Basic Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience in creative leadership, with a heavy focus on earned media, PR-led activations, or non-traditional advertising.

• A portfolio that demonstrates “work the world talked about”—campaigns that broke through via PR, social trends, or cultural moments.

• Deep understanding of how to leverage Social, Celebrity, and Influencer ecosystems to drive brand discovery.

• Experience translating marketing strategies, product roadmaps, and the news cycle into clear creative directives.

• Service diverse categories across the NYT portfolio, from the rigor of News to the fandom of The Athletic and the community-driven spaces of Games and Cooking.

• Cultivate trusted relationships across the organization and navigate complex stakeholder dynamics.

• Operational agility to navigate the time sensitive requirements of earned media while maintaining high standards of craft.

#LI-Hybrid

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Additional Compensation and Benefits

For roles in the U.S., dependent on your role, you may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock. Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s), a company-matching 401(k) plan, employee stock purchase plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs.

For roles outside of the U.S., information on benefits will be provided during the interview process.

The hourly rate of base pay for this role is:$85—$97 USD

Candidate Use of GenAI Tools:

We’re excited to learn more about you and your experience. To keep our hiring process as fair and authentic as possible, we ask that you submit your own work and not use GenAI tools to generate substantive content during the application and interview process.

If you’re an engineering candidate, we’ll let you know what specific GenAI tools you are permitted to use for your technical assessment.

The New York Times Company is committed to being the world’s best source of independent, reliable and quality journalism. To do so, we embrace a diverse workforce that has a broad range of backgrounds and experiences across our ranks, at all levels of the organization. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s Know Your Rights Poster is available here. 

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