Head of Design & Editorial

Minneapolis Institute of Art; Minneapolis (MN); On-site; USD 120,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

37.5-hour work week

11 paid holidays

Job summary

The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) seeks a Head of Design & Editorial to shape Mia’s visual identity across exhibitions, print, digital, motion, signage, and merchandise. You will lead a team of designers and editors, set editorial standards, and partner with Curatorial, Marketing, Website, and Learning teams to deliver cohesive campaigns.

You will champion inclusive design, oversee budgets, and mentor staff while advancing Mia’s visitor-focused brand experience in a dynamic museum

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive experience in creative direction, brand strategy, and graphic design.
• 3-5+ years of direct supervisory experience leading creative teams (designers, editors, production specialists).
• Experience in arts, cultural, museum, or nonprofit environments preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead the expression and evolution of Mia’s visual identity across physical and digital touchpoints.
• Lead editorial standards for exhibition labels, gallery interpretation, publications, and content production.
• Partner cross-functionally with Curatorial, Marketing, Website & Digital Experience, and Learning teams to ensure brand consistency.
• Provide high-level creative and art direction for high-stakes projects.
• Embed inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) into creative assets and strategies.
• Oversee workflows, production schedules, and team capacity with the Audience Project Management team.
• Develop and manage annual departmental operating budgets and project-related budgets.
• Manage external partners, agencies, and freelance talent.

Skills

Creative direction

Brand strategy

Graphic design

Editorial services

Team leadership

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Adobe Creative Cloud

Figma

Asana

Google Workspace

Microsoft 365

InDesign

Job description

The Job

The Head of Design & Editorial is a director-level creative leader responsible for shaping Mia’s visual identity, across all touchpoints. Leading a team of graphic designers and editors, this role champions design and editorial excellence across physical exhibitions, print collateral, digital experiences, motion graphics, signage, wayfinding, owned brand merchandise, and marketing campaigns.

Full-time, exempt, 37.5 hours weekly

Salary: $120,000 - $125,000 annually

Onsite, no remote work available

Sitting within the Audience & Engagement division (alongside Marketing & Communications and Education & Programming), you will serve as Mia’s senior leader for design and editorial services—building a collaborative, solutions-oriented culture that elevates the visitor experience and drives audience engagement.

In this role, you will…

Creative Strategy & Brand Stewardship

• Visual Identity & Stewardship: Lead the expression and evolution of Mia’s visual identity, design systems, and creative standards across physical and digital touchpoints, in alignment with Mia’s brand strategy.
• Editorial Services and Interpretation : Lead editorial standards and practices for exhibition labels, gallery interpretation, publications, and other institutional content, including developmental editing, copyediting, proofreading, style standards, and editorial production.
• Interdepartmental Partnership: Partner cross-functionally with teams like Curatorial, Marketing & Communications, Website & Digital Experience, and Learning & Programming to ensure brand consistency and deliver cohesive campaign identities.
• Creative & Art Direction: Provide high-level creative and art direction, directly supporting key, high-stakes, or complex projects when needed.
• Inclusive Design & IDEA Lens: Embed inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) into all creative assets and content strategies, ensuring brand expressions reflect diverse perspectives and meet universal accessibility standards.

Operations, Project Execution & Budgeting

• Workflow & Resource Planning: Partner closely with Audience Project Management to evaluate incoming creative requests, prioritize workflows, establish production schedules, and manage team capacity.
• Budget Management: Develop and oversee annual departmental operating budgets and project-specific creative budgets, maximizing resources effectively.
• Vendor & Agency Relations: Manage external creative partners, agency vendors, and freelance talent—negotiating scopes of work, timelines, and deliverables.

Team Leadership & Talent Mentorship

• People Leadership: Recruit, mentor, and empower a team of designers and editors.
• Creative Culture: Foster a continuous-learning environment that encourages creative experimentation and professional growth.
• Performance Management: Set clear goals, conduct regular 1-on-1s, and conduct performance reviews that elevate team capabilities and engagement.

Departmental & Institutional Support

• Perform other duties as assigned by the Chief Audience & Engagement Officer.

To be successful in this role, you have…

• A proven track record of developing, launching, or evolving comprehensive brand systems and omnichannel content strategies.
• Extensive experience directing both digital (web, social, interactive, motion) and print/environmental collateral (signage, exhibitions, publications).
• Strong working knowledge of modern creative suites and collaboration tools (Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma, Asana or similar enterprise PM software, Google Workspace/Microsoft 365).
• Advanced Executive Functioning & Workflow Switching: Exceptional task-prioritization, working memory, and time management skills; proven ability to seamlessly switch focus across dozens of concurrent print, digital, and environmental projects without loss of strategic momentum or attention to detail.
• Executive People Leadership & Team Regulation: High emotional intelligence and social executive function to coach diverse creative teams through high-pressure deadlines, mediate cross-departmental friction, and adjust team workloads.
• Strategic Systems Thinking & Agility: Superior cognitive flexibility to solve complex design challenges, navigate ambiguity, and translate broad institutional goals into actionable creative systems under tight deadlines.
• High-Stakes Decision Making: Strong analytical capacity to evaluate competing departmental demands, allocate limited resources efficiently, and make decisive creative and operational choices.

Requirements

• 10+ years of progressive experience in creative direction, brand strategy, and graphic design.
• 3-5+ years of direct supervisory experience leading creative teams (designers, editors, production specialists).

Preferred

• Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Fine Arts, Visual Communications, or equivalent practical leadership experience.
• Experience in an arts, cultural, museum, or non-profit environment.
• Deep understanding of human-centered design, universal design principles, and accessible media guidelines.

Mia Culture

The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an audience-centered, equitable and inclusive workplace where everyone is welcome. Mia is Mission Driven, Generous, Agile, Emotionally Aware, and Positive, and endeavors to create a workplace culture where staff are responsible to one another, to our visitors, and to themselves to do the best work possible.

Mia Benefits And Perks

Health and Wellness: Mia offers comprehensive health benefits, including medical, dental, paid life insurance, short-term and long-term disability, and vision coverage. We have a wellness and employee assistance program to support your overall wellbeing.

Financial Security: We provide financial peace of mind with a variety of options, including a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for health expenses and a Dependent Care Account (DCA) for dependent care expenses. Our 403(b) Retirement + Savings Plan includes a percentage of salary contribution from Mia after two years of employment (and minimum hours and age eligibility requirements are met).

Additional Perks: In addition to paid vacation, personal, sick days, enjoy a balanced work-life with a 37.5-hour work week and 11 paid holidays.

Join Mia and enjoy a workplace that values your health, financial security, and personal development, all while contributing to a vibrant cultural institution.

Posting Deadline

No set expiration date. Job postings typically stay posted until candidates are selected for phone interviews.

AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION / EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.