Associate Director of Creative Projects

Liberty University•Lynchburg, VA

6d•Onsite

About The Position

Reporting to the Senior Associate Director of Creative, the Associate Director of Creative Development serves as the primary project manager for Student Life’s creative and communication projects. This position will work collaboratively with other key creative positions within the Student Life Creative Team to create unified content campaigns, oversee digital processes, and serve as key informational liaison with the partner teams of Student Life. The position collaborates with Student Life: Operations and other areas of Student Life for project “hand off” to ensure logical elements of project delivery occur in a timely manner. This position also provides support and oversight to ensure quality control and accuracy for a variety of digital, print-based, and social media creative projects, executed by a team of creative student workers. The ideal candidate has a strong background in project management and process development, has a strong eye for detail, and has a strong ability to synthesize information into effective strategic plans.

Requirements

Completed bachelor’s degree in business, project management, strategic communications, or a related field.
2+ years of professional project management experience, including utilization of a project management software
1-2 years of working knowledge of creative operations and execution
Experience with student development or student affairs
Able to understand, speak, and write English in order to convey messages and correspond in an articulate and professional manner.
Demonstrates strong organization, project management, and managerial skills.
Possesses excellent computer skills, necessary for Microsoft Office Suite and Adobe Creative Suite.
Task oriented and dedicated, meets deadlines while going the extra mile and producing quality work products.
Anticipates needs and takes steps to meet those needs before they crop up, taking a proactive and intentional approach to their duties.
Sincere and affable, is able to build relational rapport quickly, establishing productive relationships across a variety of departments and contexts.
Develops priorities for their team, and provides tangible steps and tasks to enable their team to achieve these priorities.
Trains, develops, and stewards the personnel resources of their team to improve the team’s overall skillsets and contributions.
Intentional to show care for others, exhibiting intentionality, conscientiousness, and emotional intelligence in interpersonal interactions.
Detail-oriented, catching and fixing small errors and details in both visual and written communications and content.
Manages their own schedule, project timelines, as well as the schedules of their team with punctuality and proactivity.
Frequently required to travel to local and campus locations.
Frequently required to sit for extended periods to perform deskwork or type on a keyboard.
Regularly required to hear and speak in order to effectively communicate and review Creative Team media content.
Occasionally required to stand, walk, and climb stairs to move about the building.
Handle materials, reach overhead, kneel or stoop in order to conduct business.
Regularly lift 20 or fewer pounds.
Use of one’s personal vehicle (or LU vehicles) may be required for travel in the performance of the essential functions of this position.
Proof of a valid Virginia driver’s license, an acceptable DMV record, and liability insurance is required.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in business, project management, strategic communications or relevant field of study.
Masters degree in progress.
4+ years of professional project management experience, including utilization of a project management software (i.e. Smartsheet or similar platform).
2+ Years of experience with technical or creative copywriting
Experience in managing creative processes and employees

Responsibilities

Oversee all project tracking, reporting, and documentation
Proactively assess departmental process effectiveness, developing solutions to improve creative team productivity, production quality, and accuracy.
Research and implement industry best practices regarding project management
Formulate project plans to ensure the objectives, budget, and timelines are met.
Review workloads and timesheets, reallocating resources as needed to ensure project timeliness and efficiency.
Provide updates to the Executive Director and Senior Associate Director regarding project timelines, problems, and solutions.
Serve as key liaison with partner teams for all external creative requests
Coordinate with the partner teams within Student Life to obtain project requests, assess upcoming project needs, and ensure accuracy for ongoing projects
Collaborate with partner teams to ensure documentation regarding the projects needs, direction, etc. are ingested by Creative for production.
Submit and proof external project requests and approvals through LU’s Marketing Department, as needed
Oversee quality control for all outward-facing communication, focusing on textual and informational accuracy across print pieces, web (Wordpress) edits, email copy, and other digital and print communication channels as needed.
Serve as lead copy editor as needed, to facilitate informational accuracy for the partner teams of student life
Oversee a team of creative student workers (Creative Assistants), as they execute a variety of graphic design, social media, video, and photo projects
Coordinate scheduling, off-time, timecards, and other administrative tasks as needed for the Creative Assistants.
Coordinate with the Assistant Directors of Social Media, Digital Media, and Graphic Design to assign projects to students, oversee all on ongoing projects from an efficiency standpoint, and facilitate timely and accurate asset delivery.
Hold periodic meetings with Creative Assistants to ensure project steps are clear, needed information is conveyed, and clarity is achieved.
Work effectively as a team member, embracing and fostering LU's mission.
Other Duties as Assigned