Description
Organization Description
Tides envisions a world of shared prosperity and social change founded on four pillars: equality & human rights, healthy individuals & communities, a sustainable environment, and quality education for all. Tides accelerates the pace of social change by working at the nexus of funders, changemakers, and policy, with extensive impact solutions including philanthropic giving and grant making, impact investing, fiscal sponsorship for social ventures, collaborative workspaces, and policy initiatives. Our extensive tools and know-how give our partners the freedom to hit the ground running and drive change faster than they can on their own. For more information, please visit www.tides.org.
Position Summary
The Senior Manager, Creative is responsible for leading the creative direction, execution and evolution of the Tides brand. This role collaborates with management and internal teams to amplify Tides’ brand and advance its vision, mission and approach across key stakeholder audiences. The Senior Manager works to broaden awareness of Tides programs and priorities and deepen audience engagement across all communication channels. This important role provides holistic brand strategy thinking by infusing brand presence in all partner touchpoints through visuals, tone, voice and experience. The Senior Manager, Creative, functions as the visual brand gatekeeper, brand ambassador and evangelist within Tides by ensuring alignment and integration of branding across Tides’ entities and materials.
The ideal candidate for this San Francisco-based position will uplift and embody Tides core values – Respect, Accountability, Creativity, Equity and Empowerment – in all areas of work and engagement with team members and partners.
Essential Functions
CREATIVE BRAND MANAGEMENT AND CONSISTENCY
- Develop visual brand strategy and ensure the integrity of the brand while encouraging creative exploration
- Own brand stewardship, ensuring all touchpoints are consistent and guidelines are adhered to across all departments. Ensure active design and management of assets, collateral and website.
- Ensure brand guidelines are maintained and updated in support of Tides’ creative vision
- Build and manage brand assets including the curation of image library, ensuring usage permissions are in place
- Work with cross functional teams and internal teams to connect the brand to the larger Tides presence and experience
- Develop creative systems, style guides and processes necessary to execute Tides brand strategy and deliver consistent brand experience.
- Lead, coach, and grow the creative team; manage contract designers, collaborate with copywriters, video production, and other creative contributors to deliver creative assets for all marketing and brand activities
- Conducts brand training for new hires, MarComm subcontractors and partner firms to create knowledgeable and enthusiastic brand ambassadors
CHANNEL MANAGEMENT
- Lead all facets of brand channels including Tides website, digital/social media and content, collateral, video/photo, and media relations support
- Serve as primary webmaster by updating and maintaining the Tides website using WordPress content management system and providing website analytics including SEO
- Lead website improvements and redesign efforts, informed by site visitors, partner/user feedback and research
- Act as principal liaison for web design and development vendors including working with digital agencies to maintain social presence; collaborates with internal teams to support integrated, data-driven digital comms strategy and plans including working with digital agency to track and report on social media analytics
- Manage and collaborate with stakeholders on the composition of Tides e-newsletters
- Actively manage the design and production of collateral materials across communications including papers, presentations, brochures, annual reports, posters, graphics, event collateral, internal and external communications templates, case studies and client pitches
- Coordinate printing and distribution of Tides collateral and identity materials-stationery systems and swag
- Produce and art direct video storytelling efforts for compelling and relevant content; assist in the identification of clients to feature in photo and video shoots
- Support media and public relations efforts including events and other outreach
- Protect all visual assets of the Tides’ brand from third party intrusion/attack including monitoring and raising awareness of risk and vulnerabilities and suggesting corrections
OTHER DUTIES
- Foster collaboration with internal teams on creative services offered by MarComms and create opportunities to maximize branding and creative opportunities
- Identify and manage contractors to provide design, photography, video production, and other services as necessary
- Institute processes and tools including evaluating and securing creative software
- Assist in developing and managing budget for design and production serves
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Demonstrated leadership as a creative brand strategist including leading design, execution and evolution of an organization’s brand
- Demonstrated skills working across teams to elevate the organization's brand and presence
- Ability to work well with all constituent groups and managing expectations of internal and external stakeholders including staff, C-Suite, Board members, donors, and program participants
- Motivated self-starter, process-oriented with a high attention to detail; highly collaborative style
- Comfortable managing and prioritizing a variety of key initiatives concurrently. Able to work independently, enjoy creating and implementing new initiatives in a highly collaborative environment
- Excellent writing, editing, and verbal communication skills
- Engages in direct and truthful manner; ability to present accurate and appropriate information. Holds information confidential with excellent judgement
- Maintains high-level and consistent work ethic in working relationships and all work-related duties
- Translates complex operating model and ways of working into visually appealing, relevant and easy to understand solutions
Education and Experience
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent background in graphic design, fine art and /or communications or related field
- 10+ years of experience in graphic design, marketing and communications or related field
- Extensive experience managing and growing brand strategy and or creative teams
- Experience developing brands, designing and leading design for website, collateral and information design
- Highly developed and refined typographic techniques
- Experience art directing photo and video shoots
- Experience leveraging Adobe Creative Suite, WordPress, Hubspot, Marketo and/or other similar creative tools
- Salesforce, CRM or other similar software
- Mastery level skills with MS Office
Application Instructions:
Please submit a resume and a thoughtful cover letter online. Your cover letter should express your interest in working for Tides and your qualifications for the role. You may also share your detailed LinkedIn profile with us. Tides is an Equal Opportunity employer. We value diversity and inclusion and we look forward to reviewing applications from all who are qualified to apply.
Equal Employment Opportunity:
Tides is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage applications from women, people of color, and bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. Applicants shall not be discriminated against because of race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, marital status, or medical condition including acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related conditions. Also pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we encourage and will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Applicants with Disabilities:
Reasonable accommodation will be made so that qualified disabled applicants may participate in the application process. Please advise in writing of special needs at the time of application.