Visuals Director

The Banner is seeking a Visuals Director to lead our newsrooms visual storytelling across photography illustration design multimedia and digital presentation across the state.

Reporting to the Banner Manager Editor this person will manage a team of visual journalists and creative contributors including staff photographers designers illustrators and freelance talent. The Visuals Director will work closely with editors reporters audience product digital and social teams to ensure that our journalism is visually compelling accurate accessible ethical and optimized across platforms.

The ideal candidate is an experienced creative leader with strong newsroom judgment a sharp eye for visual narrative and a deep understanding of how visuals can strengthen journalism. They should be equally comfortable managing daily photo and design workflows art directing ambitious enterprise projects mentoring creative staff and helping define visual standards for a growing digital newsroom.

What Youll Do

• Lead the day-to-day visual journalism workflow for The Banners newsroom including photography illustration design multimedia and freelance visual work.
• Manage coach and support staff photographers designers illustrators and other visual contributors.
• Oversee assignment and edit visual work for daily news breaking news enterprise stories investigations features service journalism special projects and audience-facing platforms.
• Art direct ambitious editorial projects including photo essays visual explainers illustrations comics special packages and multimedia storytelling.
• Collaborate with editors and reporters early in the story-planning process to identify the strongest visual approach for each piece of journalism.
• Develop creative briefs visual storyboards shot lists mood boards and project plans for major visual work.
• Oversee the commission and direct freelance photographers illustrators designers and other creative contributors.
• Partner with audience social digital and product teams to optimize visuals for article pages homepage newsletters social platforms mobile experiences and emerging formats.
• Help set document and maintain editorial visual standards across The Banners journalism.
• Ensure all visual work meets high standards for accuracy fairness representation captioning crediting accessibility and journalistic ethics.
• Manage visual resources including freelance budgets assignment planning deadlines workflow systems tools and production priorities.
• Stay current with visual journalism trends digital storytelling formats design tools audience habits and platform best practices.
• Foster a collaborative inclusive and creative team culture rooted in trust experimentation accountability and constructive feedback.

What Youll Bring:

• At least 7 years of experience in visual journalism photography photo editing design illustration direction art direction multimedia storytelling or a closely related field.
• Experience managing people freelancers projects creative workflows or cross-functional editorial work.
• A strong portfolio that demonstrates excellent visual judgment storytelling range creative direction and digital presentation.
• Experience working in or closely with a newsroom editorial organization documentary environment or public-interest storytelling organization.
• An outstanding eye for visual narrative and a demonstrated ability to use photography illustration design and other visual formats to make journalism more compelling and understandable.
• Strong understanding of journalistic ethics visual accuracy consent context representation and responsible image use.
• Experience creating or directing visual storyboards creative briefs project plans or visual concepts.
• Familiarity with visual and design tools such as Adobe Creative Suite Photoshop Lightroom Illustrator Figma Sketch or similar platforms.
• Comfort working across digital platforms including websites mobile experiences newsletters social media and multimedia story formats.
• Strong communication collaboration and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to give and receive thoughtful constructive creative feedback.
• Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to balance daily deadlines and long-term priorities.
• Curiosity sound editorial judgment attention to detail and a commitment to continuous learning.
• Willingness to work some evenings weekends holidays or irregular hours as news requires.
• A commitment to The Banners mission and to upholding the highest standards of independent journalism.

Preferred Experience

• Experience leading visual coverage in a local regional or metro newsroom.
• Experience managing photographers designers illustrators photo editors or visual journalists.
• Experience directing enterprise investigative or special-project visual journalism.
• Familiarity with Baltimore Maryland and the regions communities history culture and civic life.
• Experience developing visual standards brand guidance or digital storytelling systems.
• Experience with accessibility best practices including alt text mobile readability inclusive design and visual clarity.
• Experience using audience insights or analytics to inform digital presentation while maintaining editorial standards.

What Success Looks Like

The Visuals Director will help The Banner produce visual journalism that is distinctive ethical audience-centered and deeply connected to the communities we serve. Success in this role means:

• Visual planning is integrated earlier and more consistently into newsroom workflows.
• Staff and freelancers have clear direction strong feedback and opportunities to grow.
• Major stories and projects have compelling thoughtful and well-executed visual approaches.
• The Banners visual work reflects Baltimore and Maryland communities with accuracy dignity nuance and care.
• Visual standards are clear consistent and aligned with The Banners editorial values.
• Our journalism is stronger more engaging and more accessible because of excellent visual storytelling.

Salary Range: $115000 - $135000 Individual pay may vary from the target range and is determined by several factors including experience internal pay equity and other relevant business considerations. We periodically review all teammates pay to ensure a great compensation package that is fair and equal across the board.

Work Environment

This is a hybrid role based in Baltimore Maryland. The role requires regular collaboration with newsroom colleagues and may include field assignments community events breaking news coverage and occasional evening weekend or holiday work as news dictates.

Our amazing benefits include:

• Flexible Paid Time Off
• Retirement savings - 401K plan offered through Human Interest with a company match
• Student Loan Debt Repayment Assistance for qualified employees
• Full health benefits - medical dental vision prescription FSA/HSA. and coverage for family/dependents
• Sick Leave eligible for rollover
• Commuter Benefits
• 11 Paid National Holidays
• Employee Assistance Program
• Generous Parental Leave
• Company paid access to a wellness platform to support mental financial and physical wellbeing

Our Core Values:

• Do whats right.Honesty morality respect and the mission guide our actions and decisions. By doing the right thing we inspire others to believe.
• Work together.We collaborate to create something special. Together we challenge assumptions trust each other take risks and foster transparent and direct communication.
• Listen to be heard.Our stories are trustworthy. They are inspired by and created for our readers. Their story is our story. Communities are at the center of our journalism and everything we do.
• Deliver impactful results.Acting as one accountable team and driven by an entrepreneurial spirit we deliver bold and innovative results. We act fast execute and learn. We celebrate great outcomes.
• Be inclusive.We celebrate the uniqueness of each individual and act by curating a culture that leverages diverse perspectives as the key to fulfilling our mission. VIFLJ is for all of us.

The Venetoulis Institute embraces diversity and inclusion and we are wholeheartedly committed to being proactive in inspiring a culture of inclusion across our organization. We are dedicated to establishing an organization that reflects the fundamental respect for different ways of working and living and we assure every employee the opportunity to reach their full potential.

We are dedicated to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. If you require accommodation due to a disability to participate in the application process please contact to request accommodation. Reasonable accommodations may include but are not limited to adjustments in the application process modifications or assistance regarding job interviews and accommodations to enable access to our appreciate the value that individuals with disabilities bring to our workforce and encourage applicants with disabilities to disclose their needs for accommodation to facilitate a smooth and inclusive recruitment experience.