ABOUT US
WHO WE ARE
Elevate Creative is the creative arm of Elevate—we are a best-in-class sports and entertainment firm that partners with the world’s most recognizable teams, brands, and properties. Together, we forge unforgettable moments of connection, uniting storytelling and emotive design to create dynamic experiences and spaces that amplify brands and drive revenue.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Rooted in core truths and lived experience, boundless creativity creates transformative experiences for fans, translates a brand to three dimensions, and brings a space to life. While most people look at something head-on, we tilt our heads to change perspective. We love building brands, experiences, stories, relationships, and moments that demand to be re-lived. At Elevate, creativity never stops.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We are looking for a Story Director to uncover the core truths that drive emotional connection and design impact. This role contributes throughout our design process —conducting interviews, analogous research, facilitating workshops, and researching client organizations to uncover key insights and story strategy. You’ll be expected to synthesize these diverse inputs into clear patterns and opportunity areas, framing challenges from a user-centered perspective. Through co-creation sessions with stakeholders and rapid prototyping of narrative ideas, you’ll validate story directions early and often. You’ll also explore story frameworks through visual and experiential lenses, using metaphors, analogies, and multi-sensory cues to imagine how ideas can come to life. These findings shape the foundational narrative that guides downstream design—from concept development to final execution.
In this role, you’ll develop research insights and story presentations that are equal parts strategic blueprint and creative inspiration. These tools help align stakeholders around a clear, compelling vision, ensuring our designs not only look great, but also reflect the values, culture, and future aspirations of our clients.
The ideal candidate brings a strategic, research-oriented mindset and an intuitive sense for what makes a brand or space resonate emotionally. You’ve likely worked in fields like experience design, branding, content strategy, journalism, or even film—anywhere that values storytelling and deep user insight. Familiarity with the sports industry and the business of sports is a strong plus, as is the ability to present with boardroom polish in front of executive stakeholders.
You’ll work across a variety of projects—stadiums, experience centers, and branded environments—where narrative is essential to creating immersive, high-impact spaces. Expect to travel at the onset of projects, conduct independent and analogous research, and collaborate closely with our strategy, design, and production teams throughout the engagement.
ABOUT YOU
EXPERIENCE
- 8+ years of professional experience in storytelling, brand strategy, design research, or related fields such as journalism, immersive experience design, or content strategy.
- Portfolio or samples showcasing impactful vision decks, narrative frameworks, user personas, and insight synthesis that guided creative or experiential outcomes.
- Demonstrated experience leading research engagements, conducting stakeholder interviews, facilitating workshops, and synthesizing findings into compelling narratives.
- Track record of presenting story frameworks and narrative strategies directly to clients—particularly executive-level stakeholders—with clarity, confidence, and polish.
- Experience working in multi-disciplinary creative teams and contributing to the development of experiential environments, branded spaces, or cultural activations.
- Evidence of translating research into strategic insight and story arcs that inspire creative work and drive alignment across client and internal teams.
SKILLS
- Narrative Development – Expert at crafting strategic story frameworks that drive design direction, inspire teams, and align stakeholders.
- Human-Centered Research – Skilled in qualitative methods including interviews, field research, and analogous exploration to uncover deep insights.
- Synthesis & Insight Generation – Adept at transforming complex data into clear themes, opportunity areas, and emotionally resonant storylines.
- Facilitation & Alignment – Confident designing and leading workshops that surface diverse perspectives and build consensus across teams.
- Communication & Presentation – Exceptional verbal and written communicator with the polish to present to executive stakeholders and the fluency to collaborate with creative teams.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration – Comfortable working across disciplines (strategy, design, architecture, production) to integrate storytelling throughout the experience.
- Strategic & Systems Thinking – Capable of connecting narrative to brand strategy, audience needs, and business outcomes.
- Emotional & Cultural Intelligence – Sensitive to tone, language, and context—able to tailor stories for different audiences, values, and cultural settings.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Design, scope, and conduct research engagements that inform strategic storytelling and design direction.
- Facilitate synthesis sessions with internal teams and stakeholders to generate clear, actionable insights and opportunities.
- Creatively articulate the insights and stories behind our design concepts—through documents, presentations, and immersive storytelling tools.
- Build alignment across stakeholder groups with varying perspectives, decision-making styles, and information needs.
- Translate research findings into design opportunities and narrative direction that inspire downstream design and creative work.
- Participate in all phases of design consultancy, from early research and visioning to strategy, concept development, and prototyping.
- Act as a bridge between insight and execution, helping design teams embed storytelling into environments, experiences, and brand moments.
- Travel to project sites for stakeholder interviews, immersion research, and client collaboration at project kickoff and milestone moments.
NICE-TO-HAVE SKILLS
- Industry Insight: Familiarity with the sports and entertainment industry, including fan engagement, sponsorship, and team culture.
- Emerging Media: Experience with immersive formats (XR, AR/VR, spatial audio) and how they shape modern storytelling.
- Behavioral Insight: Exposure to behavioral science or psychology principles that deepen audience understanding.
- Visual Storytelling Tools: Proficiency in tools like Figma, Miro, Keynote, or Adobe Creative Suite to visually express story ideas.
- Trend Awareness: Ability to track and interpret cultural and design trends to inform timely, relevant narratives.
- Public Speaking or Writing: Experience presenting at conferences, writing thought leadership, or contributing to published work.
- Fluency in creative management and collaboration tools (e.g., Asana, Notion, Slack, Figma, Miro).
- Familiarity with design systems thinking across multi-channel ecosystems.
WORKPLACE
- Location: Nashville, TN (Hybrid). Take a peek of our studio here.
- Travel: Ability to travel as needed (~20–30%)
- We offer an unlimited PTO policy, because we believe rest and personal time fuel creativity and performance. We trust our team to balance time away with delivering exceptional work.
This position is open to all qualified candidates. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability in connection with the application process, you may contact us at
[email protected].
We are proud to be an equal opportunity/veterans/disabled/ LGBT employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All employment is decided based on qualifications, merit, and business need, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
