Lead Graphic Designer

Union County•Monroe, NC

9d•Onsite

About The Position

The Graphic Designer, under limited supervision, is responsible for developing, refining and proliferating the County’s brand through creative graphic design elements throughout numerous platforms. This role is the expert on the Union County brand and responsible for developing marketing and communications materials that are within brand guidelines, as well as working with Public Communications team members and vendors to develop materials as needed. The Graphic Designer works closely with the Communications Director and the entire Public Communications team to ensure branding consistency among all departments, facilities, platforms, and communications materials. The Graphic Designer plays a key role in developing creative solutions and content for internal and external projects and initiatives. Must demonstrate initiative, good judgment, attention to detail, creativity, ability to work collaboratively, and the ability to express thoughts clearly and simply. Employee must also exercise considerable tact and courtesy in frequent contact with senior leadership, elected officials, staff, vendors, and the general public.

Requirements

A bachelor's degree in marketing, advertising, graphic design, visual communication, or a related field and (3) three years of experience in graphic design or professional photography/videography.
Proficiency in core design software such as Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), specialized photography workflow software (Adobe Lightroom or equivalent), hybrid creative platforms (Canva, Adobe Express), and deep formatting/template building proficiency within Microsoft Office 365 (Word, PowerPoint) is essential.
A strong understanding of typography, color theory, layout design, and visual aesthetics is crucial.
Strong understanding of marketing principles, brand strategy, consumer behavior, and market research is essential.
Excellent communication, analytical, and strategic thinking skills are important for developing and implementing effective brand strategies.
Strong technical understanding of digital accessibility principles, including document structuring, logical reading order, alt-text generation, color contrast ratios, and PDF tag remediation required to achieve full WCAG 2.1 and ADA Section 508 compliance.
Work schedules can be irregular and frequently interrupted.
Schedules often must be rearranged so that the employee can meet deadlines.
Must be able to work on the development and management of multiple concurrent projects.

Nice To Haves

A bachelor's degree in marketing, advertising, graphic design, visual communication, or a related field and (5) five years of experience in graphic design or professional photography/videography.
Advanced expertise in creating born-accessible templates and remediating complex digital layouts (including interactive PDFs, multi-page reports, and digital forms) to meet strict federal and state accessibility mandates, with preferred experience working within public sector agencies, government entities, or similarly regulated environments where compliance is legally required.
Advanced proficiency in professional photo post-production, including expert-level color correction, skin-tone matching, image restoration, and advanced compositing utilizing Adobe Lightroom, Camera Raw, and Photoshop.
Demonstrated experience leveraging generative AI and AI-assisted design tools (such as Adobe Firefly, Photoshop Generative Fill, and integrated platform automation) to streamline workflows, expand visual assets, and accelerate conceptual brainstorming while maintaining strict adherence to brand guidelines, copyright compliance, and ethical asset standards.
Proficiency in design software such as Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) is essential.
A strong understanding of typography, color theory, layout design, and visual aesthetics is crucial.

Responsibilities

Creates and develops all marketing and communications materials for various platforms including website(s), social media, signage, vehicle wraps, etc. in collaboration with other members of Public Communications and external vendors as needed.
Contributes to the marketing/communication strategies created by Public Communications team members to develop creative and unique materials to reach employees, residents, businesses, community partners, and visitors.
Continues to refine and expand brand guidelines as the Union County brand matures.
Communicates ideas effectively and information visually.
Develops a variety of informational materials, presentations, newsletters, brochures, graphics, video motion graphics, and other materials as needed.
Develops, tests, and maintains a standardized library of "born accessible" organizational templates within Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, ensuring enterprise-wide compliance with digital accessibility standards from the initial point of creation.
Establishes and governs the county's collaborative design spaces (including Canva and Adobe Express), building locked-down, user-friendly brand kits and templates that empower non-designer staff to create compliant, on-brand department assets.
Ensures all distributed digital documents, public-facing PDFs, newsletters, and web graphics are systematically structured, tagged, and remediated to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and ADA Section 508 compliance standards.
Communicates with external vendors, such as printers, photographers, videographers, freelancers, and creative firms as needed.
Updates the digital asset manager continually with stock imagery and branding assets; executes precision photo editing, retouching, and color-grading on all internally produced photography to ensure a consistent visual narrative.
Collaborates with Public Communications colleagues and county stakeholders to disseminate official county information through various channels/platforms.
Maintains a safe and positive work environment in compliance with all county policies and standards.
Participates in special projects, as needed.
Performs other duties as assigned.