Change Consulting is seeking a committed and experienced creative director and visual design leader to drive our visual design work and help build our visual design and web development service offerings, team, and portfolio. We are looking for a results-oriented and entrepreneurial team member with integrity and tenacity; a positive, can-do attitude; and a deep and demonstrated commitment to racial and social justice for Black communities and communities of color. As the leader of our visual design work, the Creative Director will provide cutting-edge expertise and leadership to the agency and to our clients to help them succeed in their policy, advocacy/organizing- and culture-change related goals. 

As with the work of the entire agency, this work will be rooted in our values: belief in the power of changemakers, the courageous and creative people who believe a better world is possible; cherished, long-term partnerships with our clients and communities; racial justice, and centering all our work on the liberation of Black people and people of color; love, and bringing our whole hearts to everything we do; focus on high impact and low ego and drama; holding ourselves and our clients in the light of possibility; and believing in a world where more connection and joy is possible. 

This position requires a strategist who understands how visual design can help push the movement for racial justice and Black liberation forward and how to develop visual strategies and assets that help our clients compete in a busy media and digital landscape. The ideal candidate knows how to achieve authentic representation and inclusivity in graphic design and will push the agency and clients alike to create designs that reflect the communities whose stories they tell and their vision for the future. The Creative Director will have strong project management and leadership skills and is able to shape Change Consulting’s creative department as it grows. 

The Creative Director will contribute to the work of the digital and content teams, helping build on Change Consulting’s reputation as industry leaders in strategic communications for racial and social justice nonprofits and foundations. As the department grows, the Creative Director will be responsible for project managing design projects as well as executing strategies and designing content. They will also work closely and thoughtfully with the Change Consulting team across function areas to ensure that our collective strategies and tactics work together to advance our clients’ communications goals. 

The right candidate will have an entrepreneurial spirit, working closely with the CEO to build a team and department from the ground up, including new business cultivation, staffing plans, hiring, budget development, and forecasting. They will have extensive experience working at an agency or other similarly paced work environment and have a strong affinity for client services.

 

ABOUT THE POSITION

Management and Thought Leadership:

  • Demonstrate a commitment to racial justice, and an understanding of the systemic issues impacting Black communities and communities of color, as well as the ability to communicate, strategize, and design from this lens 
  • Demonstrate a deep understanding of the full range of services Change Consulting offers and how visual design can contribute to achieving our clients’ goals 
  • Contribute thoughtful, innovative, and actionable strategies to multi-channel communications roadmaps, messaging, branding, and other strategy assets and plans, providing thoughtful counsel to clients and strategic support to team members
  • Support CEO in designing and growing the creative department, including service lines, and staffing 
  • Once the department is established, thoughtfully manage Change Consulting Design team members and external design and development partners, facilitating consistent and excellent service delivery
  • Demonstrate industry, client, and issue area knowledge and understanding in racial justice, gender justice, economic justice, youth and criminal justice reform, electoral power-building, civic engagement, and more in order to present breakthrough ideas to inform compelling visual design and strategy
  • Develop at least one blog post a year to share learnings and best practices around visual design strategy and development through Change Consulting Channels
  • Design and facilitate workshops on visual design for the racial and social justice movements for clients
  • Help make meaning of our work, recognizing opportunities to turn visual design projects into learnings for the Change Consulting Team, the sector, and current and potential clients
  • Serve as a culture ambassador, aligned with Change Consulting’s brand framework (values, personality, brand promise), internally and externally

 

Lead/Manage Client Accounts

  • Provide day-to-day management support for assigned clients, including communications, managing meetings, providing/approving agendas, developing and updating work plans, and capturing and sharing report backs/notes
  • Demonstrate empathy and intuition to present and recommend the right strategies at the right time for each client and project 
  • Represent Change Consulting as the primary client and external liaison for visual-design focused clients and projects; build and maintain strong relationships; share learnings and approach internally and externally
  • Effectively manage and develop the Change Consulting Team and external collaborators and consultants supporting the creative department, such as designers, website, video, and development vendors
  • Contribute to digital and content strategy development and planning with clients, working within the limits of clients’ authentic visual identity, branding, voice, and goals 
  • Develop and deliver visual design deliverables and projects, including logos, branding and brand guidelines, social media visuals, print and digital publications, event collateral, landing pages and websites, and more 
  • Own visual design development for assigned clients, producing client-ready content, and leading comprehensive planning processes and feedback systems that build buy-in and trust with clients
  • Translate feedback into thoughtful, comprehensive, and responsible edits to designs and strategies 
  • Efficiently manage projects internally using tools including Asana, time tracking via  Harvest, and communicating via Slack, as well as internal tools such as a project management dashboard 
  • Design, plan, and lead visual design and branding strategy development and planning with clients, working within the limits of clients’ authentic voice and goals 

 

Organizational Strategy and Development

  • Grow the creative department in terms of services offered, expertise, and number of clients/projects
  • Proactively identify the tools, processes, and capabilities needed for a full service design firm, building and documenting best practices 
  • Support in setting and achieving revenue goals; revenue and hours forecasting; and managing budgets and teams to deliver for and delight clients on time and within the agreed upon scope of work
  • Lead the visual design team in developing, capturing, and codifying best practices and processes for how work gets done by maintaining the visual design team manual
  • Support in securing new business along with CEO including:
    • Setting revenue goals for the creative department
    • Identifying new business prospects
    • Holding new business intake calls, reporting back to the administrative team recommendations on moving forward
    • Contributing to proposals or major components of proposals

 

Overall Knowledge and Expertise:

  • Strong commitment to racial justice and social justice
  • Excellent writing, sharp critical thinking skills, expertise in public-facing communications
  • Exceptional interpersonal skills, demonstrated ability to act with empathy and have hard conversations with honesty, support, and grace 
  • Expertise in developing compelling visual designs for maximum impact, using the Adobe Suite, Canva, WordPress, Squarespace, and more 
  • Experience leading client-facing teams and/or working extensively and directly with high-profile changemakers and public leaders
  • Ability to manage and move projects, as well as manage relationships across organizations and teams
  • Ability to stay plugged into what’s happening in racial and social justice, mass media, and popular culture 
  • Frequent use and general knowledge of industry practices, techniques, and standards
  • Demonstrate sound judgment and present best ideas to clients
  • Acting as a model of good citizenship 
  • Fun to work with, and doesn’t take themselves too seriously

 

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

  • Salary range is $105,000-$114,000
  • Benefits include health, dental, 401k, vacation and sick time, quarterly office-wide restorative breaks, monthly work from home stipends, quarterly mental health stipends, and annual learning stipends
  • This position should be based in the San Francisco Bay Area; Los Angeles; Sacramento; or Atlanta, Georgia
  • Candidates who are Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer, trans, non-binary, disabled, parents, are/have been system-impacted, are immigrants, and anyone who has experienced systemic oppression and/or gender-based violence are encouraged to apply

 

TO APPLY

  • Send resume, cover letter, and three references to hello@change-llc.com with the subject line: Creative Director position