Creative Lead, Marketing & Communications

Location: Midtown Manhattan (Hybrid – 3 days/week in office)
Salary: $120,000 - $130,000 per year + discretionary annual bonus
Reports To: Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Supervises: Editorial Manager

Citymeals on Wheels provides a continuous lifeline of meals and connection to older New Yorkers in need. Since our founding, we have delivered more than 72 million meals. As we enter our 45th year, we are committed to ending elder hunger in New York City by 2040.

As we celebrate 45 years of providing meals and connection to New York City’s older adults in need, Citymeals on Wheels (Citymeals) is deepening its investment in storytelling, brand strategy, and community engagement to strengthen our position as a leading organization serving New York City’s most vulnerable population: older adults. The Creative Lead is a key role within the Citymeals Marketing and Communications team, responsible for shaping and elevating the Citymeals brand's visual identity across all channels and audiences.

This new role requires a highly creative, strategic, and systems-oriented leader who can translate ideas into compelling, high-performing creative assets across digital, print, social, and video. The Creative Lead will play a critical role in strengthening Citymeals’ presence in a highly competitive landscape through emotionally resonant, New York City-centered storytelling that connects authentically with all audiences.

Reporting to the Vice President of Marketing & Communications, this individual will lead the creative execution of organizational brand and marketing campaigns, oversee creative/editorial staff and agency partnerships, and ensure that all visual assets reflect the Citymeals brand and mission. This role will also be pivotal in implementing a brand refresh in the new calendar year.

This is a full-time position with a hybrid schedule, requiring a minimum of three in-person days per week at our Midtown Manhattan office.

General responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

• Lead the evolution and execution of a unified, premium Citymeals visual identity across all marketing and communications materials
• Develop and maintain brand guidelines to ensure all creative work reflects Citymeals’ mission, values, and commitment to older adults
• Serve as the internal creative lead and primary point of contact for external creative and media agency partners
• Provide strategic creative direction and actionable feedback to ensure agency deliverables align with Citymeals’ brand standards and organizational goals
• Lead creative development for brand awareness, events, and fundraising campaigns
• Oversee the creation of high-impact, multi-channel marketing assets, including social media campaigns, video storytelling, out-of-home (OOH) advertising, digital advertising, print collateral, and event branding materials
• Ensure creative assets are optimized for platform performance, audience engagement, and brand consistency
• Design scalable “grassroots” templates and tools that support individual and corporate volunteer outreach and recruitment efforts

• Partner with internal teams to identify and elevate authentic stories that highlight the lives of the older adults Citymeals serves, the community partners we work with, and the need for continued support
• Translate organizational priorities and campaign goals into compelling visual narratives and creative concepts
• Oversee photography, video, and creative production efforts to ensure high-quality execution across campaigns
• Ensure all creative work demonstrates diversity and reflects the lived experiences of New York City’s older adult community
• Bring a strong understanding of New York…