Photography Director, The Cut

Vox Media; New York (NY); On-site; USD 175,000 - 195,000; Full time

Job summary

The Cut is seeking a Photo Director to set and lead our visual strategy across digital, social, video, and print. The ideal candidate will have at least ten years of experience in visual production and a deep understanding of photography, art direction, and visual storytelling, along with an enviable book of contacts across agencies, photographers, and creatives.

This role requires strong editorial judgment, exceptional leadership skills, and the ability to manage many projects and deadlines at

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in visual production, photo editing, or a related field.
• Strong editorial judgment and leadership to guide a photo team.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and Photoshop.
• Ability to travel for assignments and shoots.
• Excellent collaboration across editorial, sales, partnerships, web, social and video.

Responsibilities

• Set the visual strategy for The Cut across print, digital, social, and video.
• Provide clear visual direction and feedback to the photo team.
• Lead photo shoot production from commissioning to budgeting and on-time delivery.
• Track and maintain the overall photo budget and project budgets.
• Manage workflow, assignments, and maintain visual quality.
• Develop and maintain relationships with editors and photo agencies.
• Pitch ideas for new photographers, essays, and photo-driven stories.
• Ensure contracts, fees, and usage rights meet standards and legality.

Skills

Visual strategy

Photo direction

Photo shoot production

Budget management

Workflow management

Photo research

Image selection

CMS publishing

Vendor liaison

Talent development

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Photoshop

Job description

New York Magazine and The Cut are part of Vox Media, the leading modern media company. We guide our audience from discovery to obsession. We inspire essential conversations about what’s now, what’s next, and what’s possible.

As a community of journalists and storytellers, business professionals, creators and technologists, we believe it is a moral and business imperative to amplify voices: to cultivate diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout our organization and media. This applies to our candidates, our teams, our storytelling, our creative work, and our platforms, products, and partnerships.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

The Cut is looking for a Photo Director to set and lead our visual strategy across digital, social, video, and print. The ideal candidate will have at least ten years of experience in visual production and a deep understanding of photography, art direction, and visual storytelling, along with an enviable book of contacts across agencies, photographers, and creatives. This role requires strong editorial judgment, exceptional leadership skills, and the ability to manage many projects and deadlines at once in a fast-paced environment. You will report to Lindsay Peoples, Editor-in-Chief of The Cut and work closely with her to uphold and advance the visual identity of The Cut, while partnering with editorial teams to turn ideas into compelling visual narratives. You will also lead and mentor the photo team, guiding them to deliver strong results while nurturing their craft and creative sensibilities.

We're looking for someone who obsessively follows culture (from politics to fashion to celebrity) and knows what makes a Cut story. You should have impeccable visual taste, big ideas on how to expand the visual language of The Cut, and a passion for storytelling.

WHO YOU ARE

Responsibilities & Qualifications

• Set the visual strategy for The Cut across print, digital, social, and video
• Provide clear visual direction, constructive feedback, and support to the photo team
• Spearhead all aspects of photo shoot production, from commissioning teams and liaising with vendors to ensuring each shoot is successful and on budget
• Track and maintain the overall photo budget, setting and assigning individual project budgets to team members and communicating clearly with editorial leadership and finance partners on all active projects
• Manage workflow, including assigning work, overseeing workloads, and maintaining visual quality
• Manage photo research, image selection, credits, and CMS upload and publication
• Conduct deep visual research and curate lists of photographers accompanied by visual boards
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with the editors across The Cut to understand their visual needs and orchestrate projects accordingly
• Regularly pitch ideas for new photographers, essays, and photo-driven stories
• Develop and maintain relationships with photo agencies, independent photographers, stylists, and studios
• Ensure contracts, photo fees, and usage rights are in place for all images, whether produced or researched, and that all photography meet ethical standards and adheres to copyright law
• Collaborate with sales, partnerships, editorial, web, social, and video teams to ensure the highest level of visual execution across all platforms
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in visual production, photo editing, or a related field
• Strong people manager with a track record of inspiring and developing talent
• Excellent editorial judgment, with demonstrated experience managing teams to develop visual stories across platforms and a detailed understanding of each platform's requirements
• Proficiency in photo editing software such as Adobe Creative Suite and Photoshop
• Ability to travel on occasion for assignments and shoots
• Enjoy a collaborative and fast-paced work environment

PAY TRANSPARENCY

The salary range listed below represents the minimum and maximum base pay for this position at the time of this posting. Final salary offered to the candidate selected for the position will be based on factors including but not limited to the candidate's skills and experience.

Pay Range

$175,000 - $195,000 USD

OUR DEI COMMITMENT

Vox Media is committed to building an inclusive environment where everyone can show up as their authentic selves and create their best work. We recognize that great stories, platforms, products and services come from people with all manner of backgrounds and experiences. We recognize that our commitments require ongoing work and sustained attention, as well as adaptation to new insights and best practices.

Vox Media is an Equal Opportunity Employer and qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, disability, national origin, protected veteran status, age, or any other status protected by applicable national, federal, state, or local law. Vox Media will also consider all qualified applicants with criminal histories in accordance with applicable Fair Chance laws. We are also committed to providing reasonable accommodations as part of the application process to candidates with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation as part of the application process, please contact our recruiting team ([e-mail]).

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Vox Media Group’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.