Description

JOB TITLE: Senior Graphic Designer

REPORTING TO: Senior Manager, Graphic Services

LOCATION: Chicago

Lactalis Heritage Dairy is currently seeking candidates to join our team in Chicago!

Lactalis Group, the world leader in dairy, is a family-owned business with more than 85,000 pragmatic and ambitious professionals worldwide, committed to providing healthy and delicious dairy products that bring people together every day. At Lactalis, our core values of AMBITION, ENGAGEMENT, and SIMPLICITY are at the heart of everything we do.

If you’re looking for a unique experience with a company that offers strong brands, professional expertise, and a dynamic work environment that champions entrepreneurial spirit, hands-on responsibility, and real opportunity for career development, we want to hear from you!

Lactalis Heritage Dairy: inviting you to share with us your STORY, your PASSION, and your EXPERTISE.

From your PASSION to ours

A Senior Graphic Designer is responsible for overseeing the creative process behind visual elements. To work with a team of graphic designers, develop branding strategies, create marketing materials, and present information in a strategic way. The Senior Graphic Designer must be able to effectively communicate their ideas internally to cross functional channels, as well as to external partners. This role requires strong leadership skills as well as excellent communication abilities. A deep understanding of design principles is required to make informed decisions about how best to present information. The ideal candidate is a conceptual thinker, highly detailed and excited to bring engaging and impactful visuals to the customer through carefully considered 2D and 3D packaging. This role will work in partnership with graphic designers to concept and develop packaging as well as print, and digital layouts for all Lactalis brands including, Kraft Natural Cheese, Cracker Barrel, Breakstone’s, and Knudsen. This role supports innovation, renovation, and future expansion efforts with forward thinking, and technical insight. This position must ensure a consistent visual approach across all brands to promote product launches within the market.

From your EXPERTISE to ours

Key responsibilities for this position include:

• Create original designs that are both on-brand and visually appealing.
• Provide a strong skill set in both conceptual and mechanical output for both print, digital, and packaging layouts through the following areas of workflow: Research, Creative Development, Concept & Layout, Execution, Output/Delivery
• Act as a lead interface with internal functions such as: Marketing, E-Commerce, PMO, QA, Sales, and Packaging Development
• Lead design and influence future-forward innovations & renovations across all Lactalis brands. Expand design consistencies from packaging to other Marketing segments.
• Be a key contributor to Lactalis external packaging & print vendor relationships. This position requires strong knowledge in various packaging print techniques such as: dry-off set, IML, IDF, flexographic, lithographic, rotogravure, pressure sensitive, corrugation, etc.).
• Work alongside our pre-press team to ensure 3D renders are accurate, and reflect of both packaging form, and product appearance.
• Assist with training and mentoring junior level designers and interns.
• Stay up to date on current design trends and best practices and share this knowledge with team members.
• Travel and / or extended or off work hours may be required.
• This description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions, it does not proscribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned.
• To fulfill these responsibilities, tools such as a computer, phone or, and / or allowance(s) may be provided.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these Essential Duties and Responsibilities.

Requirements

From your STORY to ours

Qualified applicants will contribute the following:

Education

• Bachelor of Arts degree in graphic design, (Bachelor of Fine Arts degree a plus)

Experience

• 5 years’ experience required (consumer packaged goods / food & beverage industry preferred)
• Strong portfolio pieces that convey designers’ individual abilities. Portfolio pieces must showcase packaging design, print design, and digital (web/ecommerce/social media) design.
• Proven track record of successful brand/identity management.

Specialized Knowledge

• Outstanding written and verbal communication and abilities to manage multiple projects
• Attention to detail, highly organized and excellent follow through
• Experienced strategic thinker to make recommendations to peers and upper management oriented
• Experience working with Adobe Workfront Project Management systems to push creative projects through the pipeline / or like platforms.
• Candidate must have advanced technical skills and knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite; Bridge, Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, InDesign, and Acrobat Pro.
• Solid understanding/knowledge in the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Power point).
• Strong knowledge of 3D form design (3D modeling software not required, but rendering skills are a plus).

Skills / Abilities

• Effective influencer to upper management and peers, solution focused
• Proven ability to concept, design, and execute complex packaging initiatives independently (ranging from modifications of existing packaging layouts to generating new layouts from scratch).
• Highly organized with experience managing multiple projects and priorities while managing workflow in a deadline driven and service-focused environment.
• Able to multi-task and adapt to changing circumstances in a busy environment while maintaining a creative approach to solving design challenges.
• Strong interpersonal skills including ability to maintain strong professional relationships with a diverse range of groups, and associates in different locations.
• Excellent problem-solving skills.

Lactalis Heritage Dairy is an equal employment opportunity employer. We will not discriminate against applicants with regard to any legally-recognized basis including, but not limited to: veteran status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, and physical or mental disabilities.