Senior Graphic Designer

Job Description

Job Description

Senior Graphic Designer

Westminster University

Position Type: Full-Time, Benefited
Work Location: Westminster University Campus
1840 South 1300 East
Salt Lake City, UT 84105

Position Summary:

The Senior Graphic Designer is a key creative member within Westminster University's Office of Marketing, Communication, and Events. Reporting to the Director of Marketing, this role serves as the university's visual brand steward, ensuring consistency and excellence across print, digital, social, advertising, and editorial materials.

Working under the creative direction of the Director of Marketing and in collaboration with the Junior Graphic Designer, the Senior Graphic Designer brings ideas to the table, contributes creative concepts and campaign thinking, and translates strategic objectives into compelling visual solutions. This role is responsible for executing and evolving Westminster's brand across print, digital, social, and editorial platforms while maintaining high visual standards and cohesion.

The ideal candidate combines strong design skills with strategic thinking, proactively identifying creative opportunities and bringing fresh ideas to projects while collaborating closely with marketing, communications, events, web, and campus partners.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communications, or a related field
• 3+ years of professional graphic design experience, with meaningful time spent in an agency or client-facing environment
• Strong portfolio demonstrating brand campaign work, multi-channel execution, and design across print, digital, social, and web, with a strong understanding of visual design principles—including layout, hierarchy, typography, contrast, and composition—and exceptional attention to detail
• Demonstrated experience in client-facing roles, including asking the right questions, presenting concepts, and navigating feedback
• Familiarity with tools campus clients commonly use, including Canva and PowerPoint, to support and guide them effectively
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and deliver on tight deadlines without sacrificing quality
• Expert proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and Figma
• Exceptional written, verbal, and visual communication skills

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with motion graphics or basic animation (Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, or similar)
• Illustration skills or, alternatively, demonstrated experience writing briefs for and managing illustrators and specialty creatives
• Experience working in higher education or similarly complex institutional environments

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

CREATIVE DIRECTION AND BRAND

• Execute Westminster's visual brand across print, digital, social, advertising, and editorial materials
• Contribute creative concepts, campaign ideas, and strategic design solutions that advance university goals, strengthen Westminster's brand, and elevate projects from concept through execution.
• Partner with the Director of Marketing and MarComm teams to translate institutional priorities into compelling visual communications, using strategic design thinking to create effective solutions across multiple channels
• Ensure consistency, quality, and brand alignment across all university marketing and communications materials

BRAND OPERATIONS AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT

• Participate in project intake alongside the Director of Marketing, bringing curiosity and design-specific questions to help define project goals and creative briefs.
• Manage individual design projects and deadlines in collaboration with the Director of Marketing to ensure high-quality, timely execution
• Strategize, design, and produce the Westminster Review magazine, annual event invitations, and other institutional editorial publications in print and digital formats
• Manage and maintain university-wide design templates, including Canva, PowerPoint, and other branded resources, ensuring accessibility and consistency
• Manage print production and vendor relationships, including estimates, specifications, timelines, and delivery of final materials
• Maintain Westminster's brand portal (CLC Brand Manager 360), maintaining brand guidelines, approved assets, templates, and resources for campus use
• Support the Director of Marketing in sourcing and managing freelance creatives, illustrators, and other specialty vendors as needed
• Serve as an advocate for strategic design, fostering collaborative partnerships and helping campus stakeholders understand the value of strong visual communications
• Present creative work to stakeholders, articulating design decisions and providing guidance on brand standards and visual communications best practices
• Stay current on design trends, production best practices, and emerging technologies to continuously improve the university's creative capabilities

TEAM LEADERSHIP AND MENTORSHIP

• Provide mentorship and design guidance to the junior graphic designer and student employees, fostering a culture of craft and creative growth
• Maintain awareness of the team's project pipeline alongside Director of Marketing, delegating to Junior Graphic Designer and student employees while supporting their growth and development

Equal Employment Opportunity:

Westminster University is committed to a diversified workforce, equal opportunity, and nondiscrimination. To this end, Westminster prohibits any form of discrimination or harassment based on race or ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identification, disabilities, genetic information, status as a veteran, or any other category or classification protected by applicable federal, state, or city laws.