What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Creative Director for Design Services position at Adelphi University and Careers?
Job Department/School University Communications & Marketing
FT/PT/Temp Full time
Location Garden City, N.Y.
University Communications & Marketing
Adelphi University is seeking an energetic and seasoned Senior Creative Director to strategically lead and execute our brand identity. This is a high-impact role for a visionary leader with higher education experience who is ready to drive Adelphi's creative future, building a nationally recognized visual identity that is as dynamic and forward-thinking as our mission.
If you thrive on leading creative change, have a comprehensive portfolio spanning branding, redesigns, creative marketing campaigns, video and multimedia direction, and end-to-end digital and print design and production, we want you to lead our team.
What You’ll Do:
Drive the Vision: Proactively lead and evolve Adelphi University's visual brand, ensuring all creative execution—from a new admissions publication to a major marketing campaign—aligns with strategic institutional goals for recruitment, retention, and engagement. You will be responsible for:
- Leading the research, conceptualization and creative design of all visual assets and marketing materials including but not limited to publications, advertising, video, photography, web/digital and facility interiors and signage ensuring that they are held to the highest visual and brand standards.
- Monitoring and assessing emerging design trends and adopting as appropriate.
Providing leadership and inspiring internal and external creative team members. to deliver inspired, creative, brand-aligned visual communication.
- Serving as the primary designer for all confidential and sensitive communications, ensuring confidentiality and discretion.
Lead Creative Execution: Serve as the chief creative strategist, providing visual direction and strategic oversight across all platforms: digital, print, and multimedia. This includes high-level conceptualization and execution of all branded assets. As such, you will:
- Work collaboratively with content team, design team, web team and facilities to develop creative communication solutions, leading visual direction and related decisions.
Work with colleagues and outside vendors to ensure that projects stay on schedule, on budget, adhere to brand standards, are consistent across channels and meet University and client priorities.
Work with the UComm production staff and print vendors to ensure production of quality materials in the most timely and cost-efficient manner.
Mentor and Inspire: Lead, motivate and mentor an internal design and content team, as well as manage a network of external creative partners (photographers, videographers, and vendors) to develop their individual design skills, decision making strategies and art direction skills to deliver inspired, brand-aligned visual communications with exceptional creative standards.
Champion Brand Integrity: Lead the ongoing management of a comprehensive brand center and visual guidelines, ensuring consistency and adherence to our visual brand standards, including:
- Ensuring that all projects developed by UComm, the web team and facilities meet the visual brand standards established by the University, and providing ongoing guidance to internal and external University partners on brand standards.
Proactively leading the development, implementation and ongoing management of a comprehensive brand center and visual guidelines to assist the University community to integrate the Adelphi visual brand into their materials.
Overseeing the University visual assets (photo, video, graphics) library, ensuring that the collection is up to date, relevant and meets brand standards.
Requirements (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities)
Creative & Technical Expertise:
- Exceptional design and creative execution skills with experience interpreting and executing brand standards.
- Command of modern creative technology stacks and workflows, with deep expertise in the Adobe Creative Cloud ecosystem and emerging AI-driven tools.
- Experience producing videos and multimedia projects from concept to completion.
- Working knowledge of web design and digital platforms including WordPress and social media.
Leadership & Team Management:
- Strong management and mentorship skills, with the ability to lead and motivate creative teams. Experience in leading creative teams at a high level.
- Strong communication and presentation skills.
- Ability to be a self-starter and work independently while also having a collaborative mindset.
Strategic & Analytical Skills:
- Ability to problem solve and think strategically.
- Understanding of marketing and advertising principles.
Strategic Operations:
- Exceptional project management skills with a demonstrated ability to prioritize a high volume of concurrent projects with institutional urgency and sensitivity.
- Familiarity working in a complex, fast-paced, high volume/stress, dynamic environment.
- Ability to work nights and weekends, when necessary.
Physical Requirements:
- Ability to work on campus/in-person 3 days a week.
Educational/Experience Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in a related field is required.
- Advanced degree in a related field is preferred.
- Minimum of eight years related experience is required.
- Experience in leading creative teams and high-level projects.
Positions Supervised:
- Full-time, part-time and freelance designers, multimedia artists, illustrators, photographers and videographers (currently in-house team comprises two graphic designers and one videographer).
- Oversight of vendors/vendor relationships, including printers, fabricators and production houses.
Salary Information:
In compliance with New York’s Pay Transparency Act, the annual base salary range for this position is $100,000 - $127,000. Adelphi University considers factors such as departmental budgets, scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, as well as market and organizational considerations when extending an offer. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting. An annual base salary higher than the range may be warranted in circumstances where a candidate has demonstrable equivalent prior higher education experience at another University.
Adelphi University provides a comprehensive benefit package for faculty and staff employees. For a list of benefits provided to employees, please click here.
About Adelphi:
Adelphi University, New York, is a highly awarded, nationally ranked, powerfully connected doctoral research university dedicated to transforming students’ lives through small classes with world-class faculty, hands-on learning and innovative ways to support academic and career success. Adelphi offers exceptional liberal arts and sciences programs and professional training, with particular strength in our Core Four—Arts and Humanities, STEM and Social Sciences, the Business and Education Professions, and Health and Wellness. Recognized as a Best College by U.S. News & World Report, Adelphi is Long Island’s oldest private coeducational university, serving more than 7,250 students at its beautiful main campus in Garden City, at learning hubs in Manhattan, the Hudson Valley and Suffolk County, and online. The University offers students 79 undergraduate programs, more than 84 master’s degree and doctoral programs, and 63 certificate programs in the liberal arts, the sciences and professional training. With powerful partnerships throughout the New York area, more than 119,000 graduates across the country, a growing enrollment of students from 43 states and 72 countries, and rising rankings from top publications and organizations, Adelphi is a dynamic community that plays a leadership role on Long Island and in the region.
Salary : $100,000 - $127,000