What are the responsibilities and job description for the Creative Designer position at Sporting Kansas City?
Job Description Summary
The Designer for Sporting Kansas City is a key contributor to the Creative & Brand Team, responsible for developing and executing innovative design concepts that advance the club’s identity and storytelling. This role supports all business units of the organization by creating high-quality visual assets across digital, social, in-stadium, print, retail, and partnership channels.
The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced sports and entertainment environment, has a strong eye for detail, and understands how to design with both brand consistency and audience engagement in mind. This role is instrumental in pushing Sporting Kansas City’s brand forward, building relevance in Kansas City and beyond, and bringing new and loyal fans along every touchpoint.
The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced sports and entertainment environment, has a strong eye for detail, and understands how to design with both brand consistency and audience engagement in mind. This role is instrumental in pushing Sporting Kansas City’s brand forward, building relevance in Kansas City and beyond, and bringing new and loyal fans along every touchpoint.
Job Description
Essential Functions
- Concept, design, and execute creative assets across a variety of platforms including digital, social, print, OOH, broadcast, in-stadium, retail, and presentations.
- Translate marketing and creative briefs into compelling, on-brand visual solutions.
- Ensure all creative work consistently aligns with Sporting Kansas City’s brand guidelines, creative system, and tone of voice
- Collaborate across Marketing, Social, Video, Communications, Partnerships, and Operations to deliver campaigns and initiatives that drive results.
- Act as a brand ambassador, upholding the Sporting Kansas City identity and ensuring all external-facing creative reflects the standards of the organization.
- Support the Corporate Partnerships Team with partner integration assets that balance sponsor objectives with Sporting Kansas City’s brand integrity.
- Design assets for all business arms including Sporting Kansas City, Sporting KC II, The Victory Project, Argyle Events, and stadium programming.
- Work efficiently within Adobe Workfront to manage projects, track deadlines, and incorporate stakeholder feedback.
- Provide and receive constructive feedback to iterate on work, elevate creative quality, and foster collaboration within the team.
- Stay current on design trends, sports industry best practices, and emerging digital platforms to keep Sporting Kansas City’s creative output modern and impactful.
Gameday & Event Responsibilities
- Concept and design graphics for gameday communications across social, digital, broadcast, in-stadium boards, and fan engagement platforms.
- Support the club’s gameday social strategy by delivering timely, eye-catching content for owned channels.
- Ensure brand consistency across all gameday activations, promotions, and special events.
- Collaborate with Marketing and Operations to communicate with external vendors for signage, promotions, or special activations.
- Assist in digital content packaging and publishing before, during, and after games to maximize engagement and storytelling impact.
- Occasional away gameday travel or remote gameday work will be required.
Personal Attributes
- Strong organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills.
- Creative problem-solver with a passion for storytelling through design.
- Strong attention to detail with the ability to work under tight deadlines.
- Thrives in a collaborative team environment while also capable of independent execution.
- Adaptable to shifting priorities and able to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
- Self-motivated, proactive, and eager to push Sporting Kansas City’s brand identity forward.
Skills & Experience
- Bachelor’s or associate degree in graphic design, Art Direction, Visual Communication, or a related field preferred.
- 2 years of professional design experience, ideally in sports, entertainment, or a fast-paced creative environment.
- Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign), with working knowledge of After Effects and motion graphics preferred.
- Experience designing for both digital and print applications, with a strong portfolio demonstrating brand identity and campaign execution.
- Familiarity with project management tools such as Adobe Workfront or similar.
- Understanding of social-first creative best practices and how to design for maximum engagement across platforms.
- Photography, illustration, or motion graphics experience is a plus.
- Spanish fluency is a plus but not required.
Physical Abilities
- Required to sit, stand, and walk.
- Use hands to operate tools, equipment, or controls.
- Ability to talk, hear, and see clearly.
- Ability to occasionally lift up to 25 pounds.
- Must be able to work non-traditional hours including evenings, weekends, holidays, and all Sporting Kansas City home games.
- Some travel required for away games
Sporting Kansas City is an Equal Opportunity employer committed to diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, gender identity or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.
