GRAPHIC DESIGN MANAGER

As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty. 

Cultivate Learning fosters the quality that makes access to learning meaningful.  Backed by the University of Washington, our research-powered innovations and hands-on partnership create a fertile environment for smarter teaching and learning.  We advance opportunity by lowering barriers to entering the profession and guiding educators to success.  And we identify the building blocks of quality along with the path to use them – in Washington State and across the country.  Every child deserves to flourish from a foundation of quality learning.  This core belief drives our work to provide talented learning professionals the support they need to build that foundation.  At Cultivate Learning, we translate insight into learning opportunities.

At Cultivate Learning, we are champions of service and align with partners and initiatives that foster positive outcomes for children, families, and educators.  We commit to equity by working to remove systemic oppression and institutional racism, so each community member can reach their full potential.  We build environments of belonging and diversity where we communicate openly, support each other, and value the contributions of all identities.  We practice innovation and quality by actively seeking creative ideas from multiple perspectives to evolve and inform the resources we develop.

Cultivate Learning has a current opportunity for a Graphic Design Manager. This position is responsible for managing graphic design for Cultivate Learning’s multi-lingual workforce training materials, publicity campaigns, and print and web-based communications. This position will also be responsible for developing and implementing effective layout and graphic design for emerging virtual training environments. They will oversee a team of professional graphic designers and manage systems and processes to support the creative design process; planning (i.e., conceptual brain storming, storyboarding, and prototyping); production (i.e., designing custom graphics, developing brand lines, using feedback and innovative design to enhance the experience of learners and audiences); and systems management (i.e., design processes, asset management, subscriptions, equipment, and software). This position requires strong team-building skills, conceptual creativity, storytelling experience, and technical skills in graphic design, print production, brand development, and data visualization.  This person will be responsible for independently developing and designing varied materials to meet all production needs and applying creative and specialized knowledge to professionally execute the needs of this unit.  The Graphic Design Manager reports to the Creative Director.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Graphic Design Production:

• Develop and produce creative design for Cultivate Learning programs and initiatives.
• Create custom graphics, interactive graphic design, and animation graphics for early learning training modules, online courses, institutes, events, webinars, communications, and other resources created for internal and external audiences.
• Develop engaging sub-brand lines and visual graphics that are appropriate to the audiences they are intended for.
• Evaluate creative work being developed for Cultivate Learning, offering recommendations for improving quality, consistency and usability.
• Package, publish, and print finished design assets and projects for distribution.
• Implement ADA and accessibility standards in published materials.
• Stay current on trends, technologies, and design advances for creating accessible and relevant professional development material for the early care and education workforce.

Supervision:

• Provide ongoing leadership, supervision, and mentoring to up to 5 direct reports who specialize in graphic design, animation, interactive design, illustration, data visualization, and print production.This position will have authority to hire staff, evaluate job performance, and take corrective action if performance is not acceptable.
• Delegate equitable work assignments, monitor work for completion and quality, provide regular feedback, and use strategies to support successful teaming.
• Provide professional development opportunities for team members to stay current on design advances, practices, and other relevant workplace skills.
• Support direct reports in achieving deliverables and meeting timelines and deadlines.
• Ensure design team follows protocols regarding copyrights, media permissions and waivers.
• Ensure design team follows procedures for organizing design assets on shared systems using specific file naming conventions and file formats.
• Ensure branding and related graphics are integrated appropriately in all designed materials.
• Ensure ADA compliance and accessibility standards are followed for all published materials.
• Organize and track staff FTE workloads and allocations across grant deliverables and timelines.
• Ensure design staff follow University of Washington procedures, policies, and processes.
• Implement annual staff performance review process with staff.
• Contract with specialists and third-party vendors for design production and printing.
• Other duties as assigned.

Manage Systems and Processes:

• Make strategic and creative decisions regarding graphic design production processes, workflows, equipment, and systems.
• Manage subscriptions, software, and equipment purchase needs for design team.
• Develop, evaluate, and revise design systems and strategies to meet Center-wide priorities.
• Align creative systems and processes with Cultivate Learning’s values, mission, and initiatives.
• Keep current with legal, technical, state, and federal design standards and requirements.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree in graphic design, visual communication, fine arts, or a similar field, and 5 years of experience working with creative teams or as a freelance artist.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Initiative, imagination, and a solid understanding of design principles for print, presentations, web, and instructional design.
• Demonstrated ability to create design assets and processes that promote equity and inclusion.
• Demonstrated commitment to Cultivate Learning’s core values of equity, inclusion, diversity, service, quality, and innovation.
• Experience directing teams and delegating workloads: listens to team expertise, understands scope of deliverables, and builds consensus through respectful, thoughtful, and value-driven processes.
• Ability to anticipate workflows, develop strategies and timelines, set priorities, handle multiple projects, and exercise good judgment for successful project implementation and completion.
• Experience working directly with content experts on design implementation.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills: able to convey creative ideas clearly in multiple forms of communication, i.e., verbal, written, visual, one-on-one or group.
• Comfort with ambiguity and the ability to pivot in new directions based on the changing needs of the organization, the team, and the communities we work with.
• Demonstrated experience developing graphics, illustrations, and custom visuals using Adobe CS (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects etc.), designing documents in Microsoft Office (PowerPoint and Word), designing in Storyline for online learning, and other similar professional design applications.
• Experience developing and managing brands and stylized icon collections.
• Demonstrated ability to create press ready print files.
• Experience producing graphics for materials in multiple languages.
• Solid understanding of universal design and accessibility best practices.
• Demonstrated ability to turn complex ideas into compelling, accessible visual content.
• Ability to problem solve and suggest creative solutions in line with organizational objectives.
• Must be flexible and able to work some evenings and weekends.

DESIRED:

• MA or MFA in graphic design or visual communications.
• Biliteracy in Spanish or Somali languages.
• Familiarity with Instructional Design principles.
• Familiarity with higher education course development.
• Experience working in State or Federally funded public institutions.
• Familiarity with early learning training systems in Washington State and/or nationally.

Application Process:
The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process.  These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others.  Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.