Director - Design Operations
- Employer
- Northeastern University
- Location
- Massachusetts, United States
- Salary
- Salary Not specified
- Date posted
- Oct 12, 2022
View more
- Position Type
- Administrative, Business & Administrative Affairs, Public Relations & Marketing (Campus)
- Employment Level
- Executive
- Employment Type
- Full Time
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Director - Design Operations
About the Opportunity
The Northeastern University Marketing department is looking for a Design Operations Director to join our growing team. In this role, you will be responsible for managing the design resources and creative workflow across the marketing portfolio. Reporting to the Vice President for Marketing, you will work closely with colleagues to translate objectives, priorities, and creative direction to effective design resourcing and execution plans. You will manage the logistics and serve as liaison between stakeholders and the design team to allow the designers to find the flow and focus to create highly effective work.
This position is a fit for someone from a marketing background with intimate experience working through the full creative lifecycle - either in a peripheral or hands-on design capacity. A keen eye for design is a must, with the ability to be the first line of creative review. Prior roles may include marketing director, project manager, creative services manager, and/or design director, among others.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Oversee internal and external design resources to ensure timely creative excellence; connecting all groups and making sure inter-dependencies are understood and planned for effectively
- Collaborate with portfolio leads on requirements gathering, scheduling, resource allocation, and coordination of teams and approval processes
- Communicate creative objectives and direction, relay feedback and serve as the initial point of review for all design work
- Represent design team to internal partners, and provide input that will help shape planning and strategy
- Ensure creative quality and design content inclusivity and brand accuracy
- Source, evaluate, and onboard external design resources - from individual freelancers to agency partners
- Manage the workflows and logistics for internal and external creative resources - priorities mapping, resource planning, timeline development and management, and trafficking of all design work
- Identify team needs with regard to process, tools, documentation, asset management, etc.
- Maintain the brand center creative assets (brand.northeastern.edu) and identify additive resources to best support the broader university community
- Provide department leadership with visibility and updates of current projects, resource utilization, and team performance
Qualifications
- 7+ years experience working in a creative marketing environment - creative agency experience preferred
- Understanding of brand and design principles; working with or managing brand design systems a plus
- Deep experience working with creative/design teams, expertise in creative development processes and understanding of how that fits into the bigger picture
- Experience managing a broad portfolio of projects and a healthy pool of internal and external resources
- Ability to understand complex programs, scope and prioritize projects, define schedules
- Proactive and an expert in prioritizing competing demands in a fast-paced environment, you are both able and willing to flex from strategic to tactical work every day
- Capable of producing work independently or through others, with experience researching, identifying, and engaging third-party vendors and freelancers.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Diplomatic (yet tenacious) problem solver
- A self-starter and thoughtful leader
- Strong interpersonal and relationship building skills
- Thrives in a dynamic environment
- An unwavering spirit of optimism, collegiality, curiosity and humility
- Experience in higher education is not needed, nor is it desired
Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities
1) Portfolio Management (40%)
- Manage the workflows and logistics for internal and external creative resources - priorities mapping, resource planning, timeline development and management, and trafficking of all design work
- Collaborate with portfolio leads on requirements gathering, scheduling, resource allocation, and coordination of teams and approval processes
- Provide department leadership with visibility and updates of current projects, resource utilization, and team performance
2) Resource Management (20%)
- Oversee internal and external design resources to ensure timely creative excellence; connecting all groups and making sure inter-dependencies are understood and planned for effectively
- Represent design team to internal partners, and provide input that will help shape planning and strategy
- Source, evaluate, and onboard external design resources - from individual freelancers to agency partners
- Identify team needs with regard to process, tools, documentation, asset management, etc.
3) Product Management (40%)
- Communicate creative objectives and direction, relay feedback and serve as the initial point of review for all design work
- Ensure creative quality and design content inclusivity and brand accuracy
- Create and manage design roadmap
- Maintain the brand center creative assets (brand.northeastern.edu) and identify additive resources to best support the broader university community
Position Type
Marketing and Communications
Additional Information
Northeastern University is an equal opportunity employer, seeking to recruit and support a broadly diverse community of faculty and staff. Northeastern values and celebrates diversity in all its forms and strives to foster an inclusive culture built on respect that affirms inter-group relations and builds cohesion.
All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
To learn more about Northeastern University's commitment and support of diversity and inclusion, please see www.northeastern.edu/diversity.
To apply, visit https://northeastern.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/careers/job/Boston-MA-Main-Campus/Dir---Design-Operations_R108872 jeid-9dab2d2d1df1b94db54095fe8d94e8e2
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