Senior Art Director, licensed apparel

Description of the offer

This position manages the production artist team and oversees all art development + execution from end to end for all licensed product collections, including factory communication.

POSITION OVERVIEW:

Gameday Couture is a well-established manufacturer of officially licensed college and professional sports apparel for women. With a strong presence in the market with over 400 college and pro licenses, and as a proud Mark Cuban Company, we take pride in delivering products that resonate with our audience and uphold the integrity of the licensed brands we work with.

We are seeking a highly motivated, skilled, and most importantly, hands on Senior Art Director to join our team and lead the GRAPHIC ART production workflow for our licensed apparel collections as well as efficiently manage the workflow calendar for our creative/graphics department. As the Senior Art Director, with your expert knowledge of graphic design principles, you will lead and execute our creative initiatives while driving expert-level efficiency in Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and leveraging scripts, automations, and Ai technology to enhance our graphics production.

The successful candidate for this role must be adept at working in a fast-paced environment, especially as we are entering an exciting new phase of growth. The Senior Art Director should thrive under pressure, be comfortable with rapid changes and tight deadlines, and possess the ability to adapt swiftly to emerging opportunities and challenges. As we are experiencing a surge in business and venturing into new horizons, the Senior Art Director will play a pivotal role in driving the creative/graphics team to deliver high-quality results at an accelerated pace. The ideal candidate will exhibit a strong sense of urgency, resourcefulness, and resilience, ensuring that the creative process remains efficient and effective even during periods of rapid expansion. This individual should possess a passion for embracing innovation, staying ahead of industry trends, and inspiring the team to achieve excellence while preserving the creative standards that define our brand. Working collaboratively with cross-functional teams, the Senior Art Director will lead with enthusiasm and a growth-oriented mindset, energizing the team to seize the opportunities that arise during this thrilling phase of the company’s growth trajectory.

***An interest in and/or knowledge of team sports, particularly NCAA, NFL, and MLS, is required.

****Clear track record of hands on management – non negotiable

****Knowledge of the female consumer – non negotiable

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Fast-Paced Leadership: Thrive in a fast-paced, startup-like environment, leading both internal and external graphic artists with agility, adaptability, and a focus on high-volume output.
• Artwork Design Expertise: Exhibit an expert-level proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop, guiding the team in creating outstanding apparel graphic artwork designs that align with our vision and resonate with sports fans.
• Scripting and Automation: Utilize your experience with scripts, automations, and explore/adopt the latest Ai technology to streamline and optimize graphics production processes, enhancing productivity and quality.
• End-to-End Collection Management: Oversee the entire creative process for all graphics on our licensed products, from concept development to final product release, ensuring efficient execution and adherence to strict deadlines.
• Hands-On Execution: Lead by example and actively participate in the creative process and execution of graphics, contributing your skills to the development of artwork designs and product concepts.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate cross-functionally with various teams, including marketing, product development, and licensing, to understand project requirements, establish timelines, and deliver exceptional results by ensuring there is a strong, aligned, 360 design approach.
• Team Empowerment: The team is small but mighty. We are looking for the Senior Art Director to foster a collaborative and innovative work environment, empowering the creative/graphics team to achieve their full potential while maintaining high-quality standards.
• Talent Sourcing: Actively source and acquire top creative talent to join our fast-paced startup-like environment, building a diverse and skilled team capable of delivering outstanding officially licensed apparel.
• Organization & Process Cleanup: With growth, things can get messy, we need the Senior Art Director to take charge and produce, maintain and update creative files, specifications, documentation, presentations, etc. to ensure files and SOP’s stay up to date and easy to find.
• Drive a close cooperation with designers from other product area (Footwear & Accessories) to ensure strong, aligned, 360 design concepts
• Audience-Centric Approach: Drive the team to produce artwork designs that deeply connect with our target audience and the diverse fan culture associated with each sports team.
• Licensing Compliance: Collaborate closely with the licensing division to ensure all designs meet brand guidelines and licensing requirements for licensed apparel.
• Factory Communication: Efficiently communicate with manufacturing partners to ensure proper embellishment of garments, maintaining high quality standards, expert-level efficiency and meeting market demands. Ensure communications stay on track to confirm all deadlines are met.
• Workflow Improvements: Develop and optimize workflows and processes to improve efficiency, productivity, and collaboration within the creative team.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree in design, fine arts, or a related field. Equivalent work experience will also be considered.
• Proven experience (5 years) in a leadership role within a creative/graphics design department for an apparel or licensed product company, with a strong focus on licensed artwork, project management, and team management.
• Proven Experience/Leadership: Demonstrated success in leading and managing a creative team in a fast-paced and high-growth environment, driving excellence and efficiency.
• Hands-On Approach: A willingness to be hands-on in the creative process and execution, providing guidance and working collaboratively with the team to achieve outstanding results.
• Adobe Creative Suite Expertise: Expert-level proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop, with the ability to showcase mastery in producing top-quality artwork designs.
• Scripting and Automation Experience: Experience in leveraging scripts, automations, and Ai technology to optimize graphics production and streamline workflows.
• Apparel Industry Knowledge: In-depth understanding of the apparel manufacturing processes, execution of production art for apparel, trends relevant to Pro and College League apparel, with either a significant knowledge of sports team logos (specifically NCAA, NFL, MLS) or specific knowledge/experience directly with the sports licensing industry.
• Time/Project Management: Exceptional organizational skills to effectively manage multiple projects and people, meet strict deadlines, and handle competing priorities in a high-volume environment.

***Passion for Sports: A genuine passion for NCAA, NFL, and MLS sports, and a dedication to producing apparel that captures the spirit of these teams.

GC + SOHO BRANDS LLC

COMPANY OVERVIEW:

Gameday Couture + Social House (GC + SOHO Brands, LLC) are two brands under one House playing a game-changing role in the online women’s apparel shopping and social experience.

GAMEDAY COUTURE – THE BRAND

Gameday Couture is an independent brand steeped in the independent traditions of sports and its fans. We make premium, officially licensed apparel that defies seasons and represent some of the most iconic sports powerhouses. Proudly one of the first Female-owned and Female-Led companies to produce thoughtfully designed and ethically sourced female-focused fan apparel. Our highly curated collections celebrate and exemplify the culture, style, and authenticity of every campus, sport, or team we represent. Premium fabrics, expert styling, and thoughtful design. Gameday Couture – Modern Sports Fashion.

SHOP THE SOHO – THE BRAND:

WELCOME TO SHOP THE SOHO – The Social House of modern curated fashion from premium, independent brands.

Style strategy is the cornerstone of a curated closet. But we believe a curated style should be inspiring, not overwhelming. We design for authenticity and for style that’s effortless with collections that help people make more reflected decisions with confidence. We are committed to offering thoughtful choices, thoughtful design, responsible sourcing, and fostering the connection of both our online and offline communities. It’s our never ending pursuit to provide access to a community driven, social marketplace of curated style that reflects your personal experiences, your passions, your taste, and personality.

OUR HISTORY:

Gameday Couture was established in 2010, as a manufacturer of officially licensed women’s college apparel. In 2014 the brand had the privilege of striking a deal with Billionaire Mark Cuban on ABC’s Shark Tank. Today, the brand continues to create fashion-forward women’s licensed and private label apparel, holds over 400 NCAA, MLS, & NFL pro league licenses and is distributed through both B2B and D2C channels in over 2500 stores nationwide.

Remote Position Info:

With employees across the country, we operate generally under CST time zones for regular business communication hours. We are a highly collaborative team environment in particular as we are experiencing significant growth at this time. Daily/Standard use of communication and organization tools such as Slack + GSuite or Google Calendars are required by all team members.

How to apply?