Head of Creative Services

The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature. Founded by philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton, Crystal Bridges is a public non-profit charitable organization.  Job Description: Position Title: Head of Creative Services FLSA Classification: Exempt Department: Brand, Marketing & Communications Reports to: Chief Marketing & Communications Officer Date Reviewed: 6/16/2026 About Crystal Bridges & The Momentary: Crystal Bridges is a museum of American art located in Bentonville, Arkansas. We explore the unfolding story of America by actively collecting, exhibiting, interpreting, and preserving outstanding works that illuminate the American heritage and artistic possibilities. Founded by Alice Walton in 2005, the museum opened in 2011 and is a public, non-profit charitable organization with free admission. The Momentary is a contemporary art space that opened to the public on February 22, 2020, in downtown Bentonville, Arkansas. The Momentary is a venue for the music, art, and food of our time, and a catalyst for creativity and economic vitality. An extension to Crystal Bridges, the Momentary is a ‘living room’ where community gathers to be inspired, connected, and joyful. You belong here: make the most of this moment. Position Summary: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary are seeking a highly strategic and operationally sophisticated Head of Marketing Creative Services to lead the vision, performance, and evolution of the organizations’ creative function. This role is responsible for defining how creative work is conceived, produced, and delivered—ensuring that marketing campaigns are not only visually compelling and on brand, but also strategically aligned, operationally efficient, and scalable across a complex, multi-channel environment. As a senior leader within Marketing & Communications, you will oversee creative strategy, production, and operations while building the systems, team structure, and partnerships required to support ambitious institutional goals. This role serves as a critical partner to the Chief Marketing & Communications Officer and cross-functional leadership in elevating brand expression, driving attendance and engagement, and strengthening organizational effectiveness. This role is foundational to strengthening how the organization communicates, engages audiences, and operates at scale. By leading both the creative output and the system behind it, the Director, Head of Marketing Creative Services ensures that marketing is not only effective—but built to support long-term growth and institutional ambition. Principal Responsibilities: Creative Vision & Brand Leadership - Define and elevate the creative vision for Crystal Bridges and the Momentary across all marketing and communications efforts - Ensure brand clarity and distinction between institutions while maintaining a cohesive portfolio strategy - Lead development of integrated campaign platforms, narratives, and creative direction for exhibitions, programs, and institutional initiatives - Establish and uphold creative standards that reflect excellence, accessibility, and innovation - Serve as a senior advisor on brand expression, storytelling, and audience engagement Creative Operations & Organizational Design - Own the design and continuous improvement of creative workflows, systems, and production models - Evaluate current team structure, capabilities, and processes; implement changes to improve efficiency, clarity, and output quality - Management, art direction and development of the design team - Establish intake, prioritization, and resource allocation frameworks aligned to institutional priorities - Define and enforce service levels, production timelines, and approval processes across the organization - Drive adoption of tools, standards, and governance that enable scalable, repeatable creative execution Integrated Campaign Execution - Oversee the end-to-end development and delivery of multi-channel marketing campaigns across: - Digital and social platforms - Email and web - Print and environmental design - Video, motion, and immersive content - Ensure campaigns are delivered on time, on brand, and to a high standard of craft and effectiveness - Partner with project management, strategy, and external program teams to prioritize and execute high-impact work - Maintain strong quality control across all deliverables Cross-Functional Leadership & Partnership - Collaborate closely with Curatorial & Exhibition, Hospitality, Web, Programming, Operations, Development, Guest Experience, Retail and other leaders to align creative output with institutional goals - Lead campaign planning and integration across departments, ensuring strategic alignment and clarity - Establish frameworks for partnerships, including content collaboration, rights management, and campaign coordination - Serve as a key connector across functions, enabling smoother workflows and stronger outcomes Performance, Measurement & Continuous Improvement - Define success metrics for creative performance, linking creative output to marketing and organizational outcomes - Oversee campaign reporting and post-mortem processes to capture learnings and drive ongoing improvement - Monitor operational performance (timelines, throughput, quality) and implement improvements as needed - Build a culture of accountability, clarity, and continuous optimization within the creative function Team Leadership & Talent Strategy - Oversee, lead, mentor, and develop internal creative team members, fostering a high-performing and collaborative culture - Define hiring needs and organizational design for creative services in partnership with leadership - Build and manage a curated network of external creative partners, agencies, and freelancers - Oversee resource planning, ensuring the right balance of internal and external talent to meet demand - Set expectations for performance, collaboration, and creative excellence Qualifications and Skills: - 10+ years of experience in creative services, marketing, brand leadership, or related fields - Proven experience leading creative strategy and execution across integrated, multi-channel campaigns - Demonstrated success building and managing creative operations, workflows, and production systems - Strong leadership experience, including team development and cross-functional influence - Experience managing agencies, vendors, and external creative partners - Ability to operate at both strategic and executional levels in a fast-moving environment - Experience in arts and culture, hospitality, or mission-driven organizations - Background in creative direction, brand strategy, or design leadership - Familiarity with accessibility standards (ADA, Section 508) - Experience scaling creative teams or functions within a growing organization - Knowledge of project management and digital asset management tools (e.g., Asana, DAM systems) How Success Is Defined - Creative work consistently elevates brand perception and audience engagement - Campaigns deliver measurable impact on attendance, membership, and institutional goals - Creative operations are efficient, transparent, and scalable - Teams operate with clarity, alignment, and reduced friction - Systems, playbooks, and standards are in place and consistently applied - The organization sees sustained improvement in both creative quality and speed Physical Demands and Work Environment: The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. - Physical Demands: In the work environments described below, position requires utilizing a computer and telephone for prolonged periods of time, interpersonal and written conversation with others, transporting (up to 10 lbs.). - Work Environment: Work will be performed in an office environment and in institution spaces. The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate. Reasonable accommodations will be reviewed and evaluated should exhibitions exceed noise levels. Some overnight travel may be necessary. All offers of employment are contingent on your successful completion (where permitted by state law) of a confidentiality agreement and background check. In addition, you will need to provide proper identification verifying your eligibility to work in the United States. Crystal Bridges is an equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining a workplace that is free of discrimination and harassment of any kind. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate.