Creative Manager

Title: Creative Manager

As Creative Manager, you'll help bring the Visit Santa Barbara brand to life through thoughtful design, creative project management, and visual storytelling. This role serves as both our lead in-house designer and the primary coordinator for larger creative initiatives, partnering with internal departments and external agencies to ensure every project reflects the quality, personality, and beauty of the Santa Barbara South Coast.

From developing presentations and marketing collateral to overseeing advertising campaign creative, managing photography and video assets, and supporting organization-wide initiatives, you'll play a key role in shaping how Visit Santa Barbara is experienced across digital, print, and in-person touchpoints.

Community Engagement: This role is ideal for someone who lives in or has strong ties to the Santa Barbara community. The Creative Manager will build relationships with local businesses, tourism partners, community organizations, local photographers, and videographers, so familiarity with the area and its culture is highly valued.

Work Location: This is a hybrid position based in Santa Barbara, California. You will be required to work in person three days a week to support community events, local productions, and collaborate with the team.

What You'll Do:

• Lead creative projects from concept through completion, developing project timelines, creative briefs, and production schedules while coordinating internal stakeholders and external creative agencies.
• Manage agency relationships, creative deliverables, revisions, and approvals to ensure projects are completed on time, within budget, and aligned with Visit Santa Barbara's strategic objectives.
• Design and produce a wide variety of in-house creative materials, including presentations, reports, brochures, signage, digital advertising, social media graphics, event collateral, and other branded communications.
• Collaborate with the Digital Marketing Manager to implement integrated marketing campaigns across digital, print, email, social media, and other marketing channels.
• Maintain and evolve Visit Santa Barbara's visual identity by developing templates, style guides, and creative systems that ensure consistency across all marketing and organizational communications.
• Review creative produced both internally and externally to ensure quality, brand consistency, accessibility, and production readiness.
• Serve as administrator for Visit Santa Barbara's digital asset management system, maintaining photography, video, and graphic libraries while coordinating asset requests and usage rights.
• Design and build branded email communications while maintaining visual consistency across consumer, partner, and organizational campaigns.
• Develop creative materials supporting board meetings, annual reports, strategic plans, presentations, organizational events, and cross-department initiatives.
• Evaluate emerging creative technologies, workflows, and AI-assisted design tools that improve efficiency while maintaining Visit Santa Barbara's creative standards.

What You'll Need to Succeed:

• Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Marketing, Advertising, Communications, or a related field.
• Three or more years of professional experience in graphic design, creative marketing, or creative project management.
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud, including InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, and Lightroom.
• Strong understanding of typography, layout, branding, color theory, and visual storytelling.
• Experience preparing artwork for both print and digital production.
• Working knowledge of HTML email development and digital marketing best practices.
• Excellent project management, organizational, and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to producing high-quality creative work.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Collaborative mindset with the ability to work effectively across departments, vendors, and agency partners.
• Self-motivated with sound judgment, creativity, and problem-solving abilities.
• Familiarity with social media platforms and digital advertising creative specifications.
• Valid California driver's license, auto insurance, and access to a vehicle for work-related travel.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends, as needed.
• Ability to travel, as needed.

Additional Skills That Make an Impact:

• Experience designing integrated marketing campaigns across multiple channels.
• Strong understanding of typography, layout, branding, color theory, and visual storytelling.
• Experience collaborating with creative agencies, freelancers, and production vendors.
• Experience with digital asset management platforms.
• Experience with website content management systems and a working knowledge of HTML, email development, and digital marketing best practices.
• Experience with website content management systems, such as Simpleview.
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud, including InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, and Lightroom.
• Experience in artwork for both print and digital production.
• Photography direction or photo editing experience.
• Knowledge of accessibility standards and best practices for digital communications.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted creative workflows and responsible implementation of emerging design technologies.
• Working knowledge of Associated Press (AP) Style and editorial best practices.
• Experience in destination marketing, tourism, hospitality, or lifestyle brands.
• Familiarity with the Santa Barbara South Coast tourism product.

What Visit Santa Barbara Offers You:

• Comprehensive medical insurance fully covered by the employer
• Voluntary dental and vision insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer matching contributions
• Paid vacation and sick leave
• Ten paid holidays
• Cell phone reimbursement
• Opportunities to explore and engage with local hospitality businesses
• Flexible work options, including up to two remote workdays per work week (minimum three workdays in the office)

Please note that these are representative examples of benefits and may vary based on organizational policies.

Compensation:

Hourly Rate: $35.00-$40.00 per hour

Compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and overall fit for the position.

About Visit Santa Barbara

Visit Santa Barbara is a nonprofit destination marketing organization (DMO) primarily funded by the South Coast Tourism Business Improvement District, along with grants and membership dues. Through tourism marketing, public relations, group sales, and community partnerships, Visit Santa Barbara works to generate overnight visitation, increase business and tax revenue, and support jobs throughout the Santa Barbara South Coast.

To learn more, visit SantaBarbaraCA.com .

Equal Opportunity Employer

Visit Santa Barbara is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetics, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Please note that we are not accepting phone inquiries regarding application status. Only candidates selected for further consideration will be contacted. We are not working with third-party recruiters or staffing agencies for this position.