Design Lead Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

Stand Together is a philanthropic community that helps America’s boldest changemakers tackle the root causes of our country’s biggest problems, from education to the economy, broken communities, and toxic division, among dozens of other pressing issues. We provide our partners with access to resources including funding, thought leadership, a network of peers, and a playbook for applying proven principles to transform lives and society.

We’re looking for a highly skilled, detail-oriented Associate Design Director to elevate the quality, consistency, and impact of our creative work across the Stand Together brand and its network of partners.

This role is ideal for a design leader who combines exceptional visual craft with a passion for mentoring others. You will play a critical role in shaping and refining creative work-bringing a sharp design eye, strong executional ability, and the ability to guide teams towards best-in-class outcomes.

Working closely with the Creative Director, you will focus on raising the bar of design across all touchpoints, ensuring that every piece of work is strategically sound, visually compelling, and executed at the highest level. This role offers a unique opportunity to make a culturally significant impact while strengthening the capabilities of our creative team.What You Will Do

• Serve as the design lead across projects, partnering with the Creative Director to ensure work is visually exceptional, strategically aligned, and cohesive across channels.
• Act as the primary design authority, providing a critical, detail-oriented eye to refine and elevate creative work at every stage.
• Guide and mentor designers (junior through senior), offering hands-on feedback, direction, and coaching to strengthen craft, execution, and conceptual thinking.
• Spend dedicated time in the work, reviewing layouts, typography, systems, and visual storytelling to ensure the highest level of polish and consistency.
• Establish and uphold design standards, systems, and best practices across brand, campaigns, and partnerships.
• Collaborate closely with art directors, copywriters, strategists, and producers to bring integrated ideas to life across digital, social, video, print, and experiential.
• Translate strategic concepts into compelling visual systems and executions that resonate culturally and emotionally.
• Lead design critiques, foster a culture of constructive feedback, and create an environment where designers can grow and do their best work.
• Ensure design work scales effectively across platforms while maintaining integrity and quality.
• Support the Creative Director by owning the day-to-day design quality, enabling more focus on higher-level strategy and vision.

What You Will Bring

• 7+ years of experience in design, with a strong track record in brand, campaign, and multi-channel execution (agency or in-house).
• A portfolio that demonstrates exceptional design craft across digital, social, print, video, and brand systems.
• Experience managing, leading, mentoring, and developing designers, with a passion for elevating team performance.
• A refined design sensibility with a “laser eye” for detail, typography, layout, and visual systems.
• Strong understanding of how design supports storytelling, strategy, and audience engagement.
• Experience working within complex, multi-stakeholder environments while maintaining high creative standards.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions clearly and persuasively.
• A highly collaborative mindset with a commitment to continuous improvement—for both the work and the team.
• Enthusiasm to contribute to Stand Together's vision and principled approach to solving problems, and a commitment to stewarding our culture, which champions values including transformation and innovation, entrepreneurialism, humility, and respect.

Standout Candidates Will Bring

• Experience building and scaling brand systems across multiple channels and partners.
• Experience mentoring and leveling up design teams in fast-paced environments.
• Background in culturally driven or behavior change campaigns.
• Ability to balance hands-on design involvement with leadership responsibilities.

What We Offer

• Competitive benefits: Enjoy a 6% 401(k) match with immediate vesting, flexible time off, comprehensive health and dental plans, plus wellness and mental health support through Peloton and Talkspace.
• A meaningful career: Join a passionate community of over 1,300 employees dedicated to improving lives and driving innovative solutions to complex social challenges.
• Commitment to growth: Thrive in a non-hierarchical environment that empowers employees to discover, develop and apply their unique talents.
• Competitive compensation: Our approach rewards the value you create through competitive salaries and bonus opportunities, allowing you to share in the success you help drive.

Our Values:

125000 - 160000 USD a year

For this role, the anticipated base salary range is $125,000–$160,000 per year. This role may also be eligible for additional bonus compensation designed to align total compensation with an employee’s overall contribution.

Our Principles-Based Management™ (PBM) compensation philosophy is grounded in an individualized approach that rewards the long-term value each person creates for the organization. Compensation decisions are informed by a variety of factors, including relevant experience, capabilities, demonstrated skills, role responsibilities, and expected contribution. Consistent with this approach, base salary may vary within or outside of the anticipated range based on these considerations.