Graphic Designer, Office of Communications

Suffolk University is a private, urban university located in the heart of downtown Boston. Our college green is the Boston Common and we are steps from dozens of historic sites including the Old State House, Faneuil Hall, City Hall and the Massachusetts State House. We have no real boundaries to our campus—Boston and Suffolk blend together.

Suffolk has been committed to creating an exceptional learning experience since 1906. Our vision is to be recognized as a dynamic institution that fosters engaged learning, rigorous scholarship, innovative thinking, and community collaboration across disciplines. We will ensure that Suffolk graduates are versatile and prepared for modern society and the new world market. We will provide rich curricula, experiential learning opportunities and professional mentoring through increased collaboration with alumni and community partners. We will recruit, mentor, and support a diverse faculty of teacher-scholars who are passionately committed to preparing our students to be leaders in the global community. We will inspire investment in a Suffolk community that is built on ethical, forward-thinking leadership, teamwork, and cooperation.

We compete for the best talent. We are an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse community. We are actively seeking applicants from groups that might be under-represented because of race/color, gender, religion, real or perceived disability, national origin or LGBTQ status. As part of our commitment we encourage you to complete the demographic portion of the application in addition to submitting your cover letter and resume/CV as it will assist us in targeting our recruitment efforts.

Please note that Suffolk University conducts background checks as a condition of employment.

We are also committed to the well-being of our employees. Our terrific benefits package for benefits-eligible positions include, but are not limited to:

• Generous paid time-off programs and commitment to work-life balance
• Tuition free course benefits in the College of Arts and Sciences and in the Sawyer Business School for employees with additional tuition benefits for spouses, domestic partners, and children
• Top-notch well-being care available through Harvard Pilgrim Medical/Delta Dental and a Flexible Spending Account
• Pre-tax commuter benefit
• Employee Assistance Program that provides employees and their family members with initial assessment, referrals and short-term counseling for personal and work challenges
• Discounted home and auto insurance

Description

Suffolk University is excited to announce a career opportunity as a Graphic Designer in the Division of Communications!

Suffolk’s Division of Communications, including its Offices of Marketing & Communications and Public Affairs, consists of storytellers, professional strategists, writers, designers, and multimedia producers offering a depth of expertise in a variety of media. We tell the story of the University across a range of audiences and media producing everything from news and feature pieces, to long and short-form videos, collateral and advertising, and web and social media content.

Summary of Position:
The Graphic Designer will play a critical role in helping to drive Suffolk University’s institutional brand forward through the development of an innovative and targeted design. Under the guidance of the Art Director, this position will be responsible for creating compelling designs across the marketing spectrum, from digital, to print collateral, and other advertising and communications platforms.

The qualified candidate will be a creative, detail-oriented designer who will work closely with a cross-functional team to develop strategically inspired and creatively-led ideas. This role will conceptualize, execute and design creative digital and print projects that drive and support the brand vision and deliver against strategic institutional goals.

Primary/Principal Responsibilities:
% of Time Responsibility
70% • Conceptualize, design, and execute high quality work appropriate to the content and intended audience, and exists within the framework of the institution's overall visual identity
• Design visuals for marketing campaigns from concept to execution that deliver on strategy and meet project objectives
• Design cohesive creative assets for web properties, landing pages, emails, e-newsletters, social media, digital advertising and print materials
20% • Work with vendors to coordinate estimates, distribute files, review proofs and oversee the final quality control of projects
• Work collaboratively with a team of project managers, designers, copywriters, photographers, and developers to ensure institutional branding and strategic objectives are achieved
10% • Have and maintain a solid working knowledge of the digital space and all creative mediums and seek to continually learn new programs and technologies that can enhance or improve the creative work

Requirements/Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s degree in Design, Visual Arts or relevant field preferred
• 3+ years experience designing for a variety of mediums, preferably in an agency or in-house environment
• Advanced knowledge of Adobe Creative Cloud (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator) and other visual design tools
• Familiarity designing/executing design within an online environment (HTML, CSS, and UX best practices)
• Experience working with responsive design, with an emphasis on a mobile-first approach
• Familiarity with digital asset management systems, and online collaboration and project management software
• Experience preparing files and working with offset and digital print vendors
• Excellent oral, written, and visual communication skills
• Highly organized, flexible, and able to manage multiple projects under tight deadlines while maintaining a high level of quality and accuracy
• A strong portfolio demonstrating an elevated sense of layout, form, color, typography, and digital design skills

Suffolk University does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, religious creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age, genetic information, or status as a veteran in admission to, access to, treatment in, or employment in its programs, activities, or employment. Suffolk University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer. The University is dedicated to the goal of building a diverse and inclusive faculty and staff that reflect the broad range of human experience who contribute to the robust exchange of ideas on campus, and who are committed to teaching and working in a diverse environment. We strongly encourage applications from groups historically marginalized or underrepresented because of race/color, gender, religious creed, disability, national origin, veteran status or LGBTQ status. Suffolk University is especially interested in candidates who, through their training, service and experience, will contribute to the diversity and excellence of the University community.