Associate Director, Creative & Design

Job Summary

Reporting to the Director of Communications and Marketing and partnering with a full-service marketing and communications team, the Associate Director will lead art direction and design projects that effectively communicate the organization’s brand, offerings, impact stories, and broader innovation initiatives across a variety of platforms.

The Associate Director will apply a well-developed design vision, contemporary expertise in visual branding across platforms and use cases, and high-quality design skills to support organizational goals. This role leads the creation of accessible, inclusive, and welcoming design collateral for informational and marketing needs across multiple programs and tailored to diverse stakeholders, including prospective students, student and alumni members, faculty, staff, and the broader innovation community.

In addition to supporting the organization’s brand, this position serves as an advisor to student and alumni teams on visual brand identity development and pitch deck design.

The organization fosters an innovation ecosystem that inspires, connects, and advances entrepreneurial leaders and innovators through multiple programs supporting student-led ventures, alumni-led ventures, and startups across a range of industries. The organization is committed to equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging and seeks candidates who share those values.

Job-Specific Responsibilities

Creative Strategy and Direction

• Oversee creative strategy and art direction to support marketing and communications needs across digital, print, and environmental platforms.
• Integrate AI into workflows to streamline design and marketing processes and outputs.
• Create compelling creative concepts, visual communications, promotional launches, and campaigns for social media, digital and physical signage, websites, email campaigns, and print collateral.
• Assist with budgeting for merchandise, printing, and event production.
• Oversee the creative direction of physical signage and other space improvements in collaboration with leadership and key stakeholders.
• Serve as the lead advocate and steward of the organization’s brand identity across platforms.
• Develop and maintain up-to-date brand guidelines and brief colleagues and external vendors on proper usage and alignment.

Design Execution and Collaboration

• Lead projects to conceptualize, design, and oversee production of digital and print assets used to promote the organization, including digital ads, social media assets, website assets, email newsletter templates, data visualization, brochures, digital and printed event promotions, branded presentation decks, merchandise, and other marketing materials.
• Lead comprehensive visual brand development for major innovation-focused initiatives and events, overseeing motion graphics, event visuals, marketing materials, and cross-platform production.
• Oversee integrated marketing campaigns, including reviewing and advising on social media, video production, and email marketing assets.
• Oversee merchandise design strategy, including apparel, totes, lanyards, business cards, gift boxes, and other branded materials.
• Identify opportunities for website enhancements and assist with website content edits.
• Create templates, original graphics, treated photos, and other creative visuals for social media in partnership with communications staff.
• Storyboard and create innovative, brand-appropriate motion graphics and video content for various uses.
• Edit photos for digital and print collateral.

Relationship, Staff, and Stakeholder Management

• Advise student and alumni founders on visual brand identity development and pitch deck design.
• Manage relationships with external vendors, including printers, photographers, videographers, and event production staff.
• Hire, manage, and mentor design interns.
• Build trust and collaboration by being present on-site and engaging directly with colleagues and various constituents.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of experience in graphic arts, digital content production, or publications.
• Demonstrated leadership in design and project management.
• Expert proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud, including Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere, and InDesign, as well as Figma and other digital design tools.

Additional Qualifications and Skills

The ideal candidate will be:

• Dedicated to the principles of accessible design and committed to innovative, inclusive design work across all platforms.
• Knowledgeable in AI tools that streamline processes and enable teams to create and share templated output.
• Comfortable adhering to visual identity systems and serving as a brand advocate.
• Familiar with Canva and other tools used to create and share templates and designs across teams.
• Deadline-driven with proven project management skills.
• Organized and proactive, with excellent attention to detail and the ability to work quickly and creatively.
• Creative, collaborative, and self-motivated.
• Experienced in animation (a plus).
• Experienced in video editing and creating short-form video content (a plus).
• Experienced in event photography and portraiture (a plus).