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Overview

The Office of University Communications and Marketing (UCM) has overall responsibility for marketing and brand management, media relations and content producing various print and web publications and communications for the university. The office optimizes the coordination of strategies and programs for these areas. The Marketing and Branding group reports up to the VP of Communications and Marketing and produces a wide range of print and digital marketing – from event invitations to integrated marketing campaigns – across all schools and university-wide campaigns. The group comprises Marketing Strategy, Creative Services, and Digital Services and oversees the university’s marketing strategy, brand messaging, visual identity, and directs marketing and lead-generation campaigns to support awareness, enrollment, and fundraising efforts.

What You'll Do

The Creative Director develops creative strategic solutions that align with the university’s marketing and communications’ goals and objectives — promoting the Tufts brand across a variety of creative media, both print and digital. Serving as both a manager and doer, manages a team of four through a high volume of creative projects with shifting priorities while simultaneously maintaining own portfolio of creative projects. Effectively communicates, presents and pitches creative concepts to a variety of stakeholders. Works in close partnership with the Chief Marketing Officer on brand standards and identity.

Essential Functions

Creative Direction:

• Collaborates with the creative team, marketing strategists and business partners to translate marketing and communications objectives into creative strategies.
• Provides creative direction of print, digital and broadcast advertising and promotional efforts and provides art direction and oversight for internal and external creative resources.
• Provides constructive and thoughtful feedback during the creative design and development stages.
• Presents creative with enthusiasm to business partners – articulates rationale, builds consensus, and manages challenges.
• Seeks inspiration beyond higher education with a vision for industry innovation and shares knowledge with colleagues regarding emerging trends in design, multimedia, and branding. Keeps up to date on current professional activities (software and technology training, graphic design seminars, etc.)
• Establishes and enforces brand and identity standards.
• Fosters key partnerships within UCM and university-wide business planning partners to maintain a high level of understanding of audience and business priorities.
• Collaborates closely with the marketing project managers on creative resource availability, timelines, and prioritization using shared systems for tracking and project coordination.

Team Leadership:

• Cultivates a high performing creative team in alignment with design best practices and procedures, quality standards, marketing strategy and creative brief requirements.
• Prioritizes customer satisfaction, by aligning design solutions to customer needs and goals.
• Upholds Tufts' core values of diversity, inclusion, equity and justice.
• Hires, mentors, and develops staff, focusing on continuous learning, addressing skills gaps, and retaining and elevating talent; source and manage freelancers.
• Serves in an advisory role to creative partner agencies and vendors to ensure that all creative deliverables are on brand and of high quality.
• Sets annual performance goals for direct reports, provides consistent feedback and conducts performance reviews.
• Fosters a culture of curiosity, problem-solving and innovation.
• Ensures department procedures are followed.

Individual Creative Portfolio:

• Maintains a portfolio of high priority creative projects.

What We're Looking For

Basic Requirements:

• Knowledge and skills as typically acquired through completion or Bachelor’s degree or equivalent  
• Minimum of 10 years of creative experience
• Minimum of 5 years in team leadership/management
• Superior written and oral communications skills  
• Software expertise in design and creative applications – Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop), Sketch, Figma; and in PowerPoint, Word, Excel, project management tools; animation, motion graphics, illustration, Drupal content management systems and HTML expertise a plus.
• Agency or In-house experience preferred.
• Demonstrated experience leading strategic and creative outcomes within complex organizations, institutions and/or brands.
• Candidates will be required to submit a portfolio that includes print and digital work.

ADDITONAL QUALITIES

• Strong influencing and interpersonal skills
• Excellent judgment and discernment
•  Flexible, adaptable, resourceful, and sense of humor
• Passion for marketing communications
• Team player
• Ability to work comfortably in a fast-paced environment, effectively prioritizing and managing multiple projects at once, while setting and meeting deadlines. Flexibility and creativity under pressure a must

Pay Range

Minimum $103,950.00, Midpoint $129,950.00, Maximum $156,000.00
 

Salary is based on related experience, expertise, and internal equity; generally, new hires can expect pay between the minimum and midpoint of the range.