Senior Art Director

GENERAL SUMMARY:


A Senior Art Director is responsible for directing and active participation in concept, creation and execution of online and offline marketing creative for marketing campaigns or individual projects. A Senior Art Director determines the look and feel of specific marketing campaigns or projects. Responsible for the overall design of mid-sized and large projects. A Senior Art Director determines the look and feel marketing campaigns, working with the Design Director.





ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:


1. Design (55%)







Work with business owner(s), marketing clients Design Director, and Creative Director to conceptualize designs that will advance the company's merchandising, business, marketing, or branding objectives.


Has a deep and thorough understanding of those objectives.


Set design direction for a project or set of projects.


Work closely with Design Director, Creative Director, copywriter and business and marketing owners to establish how Design will achieve project or company goals.


2. Management/Leadership (30%)







Guide and teach team; may manage 1-3 Associates.


Provide daily art direction and guidance to members of the design team.


Lead formal and informal critiques, give effective feedback.


Write performance reviews for direct reports.


Communicate best practices, goals, and feedback to develop each team member.


3. Production (10%)







Produce specifications for HTML and consultations with producers, HTML and email teams to implement designs.


Provide production support as needed. Attend press checks.


4. Other and QA (5%)







Assist marketing and executive team members with presentation preparation and general support.


Develop, research and frequently leading best practices for overall team efficiency.


A Senior Art Director is often looking for improvement in overall processes, and is able to consistently drive implementation of changes and solutions.


Highly aware of competitor best practices and able to leverage these ideas as needed









REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:


1) Competencies: Skills, knowledge, & abilities


Functional Competencies:


An expert command of typography, color, composition, hierarchy, and an understanding of how these elements work together for a design solution. Ability to think conceptually and globally about projects and campaigns as a whole. Able to develop and evolve design systems. Though somewhat subjective, a Senior Art Director's design work is of a consistently high quality, with little if any direction from manager needed. Able to give effective feedback to drive successful designs and design systems. Create or direct design templates to meet project goals. Has a full understanding of online templates and offline design systems and help team use them effectively as well as actively seeks to improve them. Help to establish overall work processes and standards for the design team.


Is prolific and can create multiple solutions to marketing creative problems that consistently meet business and communication objectives outlined in a creative brief. Create and oversee accurate, clear specifications for HTML. Evaluate the quality of team's specifications and give feedback. Work quickly and efficiently without sacrificing a consistently high level of attention to detail for self and team. Evaluate the quality of team's work and give feedback. Promote best practices for communication with HTML team. If needed, can spec projects quickly and accurately.


Interpersonal Competencies:


Excellent project management skills. Able to work on and/or oversee multiple projects and reprioritize as needed. Able to set accurate project schedules, timelines and LOE's. Help team manage their time. Able to identify inconsistencies and opportunities for improvement from a project and team perspective. Anticipate potential project problems and dependencies based on experience, and can quickly and effectively implement solutions.


Leadership Competencies:


Able to manage a small team and provide daily feedback and guidance. Delegate effectively. Able to successfully persuade/influence team members, sell ideas effectively, and get results. Thorough and successful follow through is critical. Willing and able to act as an advocate for the design team with business owners. Build effective relationships with business owners. Take significant responsibility for projects' successes. Expert understanding of company goals, sales goals; work actively to align team to support those goals. Foster positive relationships with home office counterparts, understand strategic importance of BV-Brisbane relationship.


2) Experience:


At least 8 years of professional design experience


Including at least 3 years of professional web and/or print marketing design experience.


Has diverse design experience and talents: web design, print and/or packaging, identity design, for a variety of clients/companies.


At least 2 years of management experience.


Retail/e-commerce background is preferred.





3) Preferred educational level:


A college degree in Graphic Design, Interaction/ Digital Design, or other Communications Design-related field preferred.





4) Physical Requirements:


Able to travel to home office in Bentonville, AK, Kansas City, MO, or Dallas, TX, for marketing meetings 1-4 times per year.