CLASS SUMMARY: This position will spearhead the City of Dearborn’s visual, web, and brand design and collateral. The Branding & Design Strategist will serve as a lead creator of content and is responsible for the creation of visually excellent, inclusive, and representative graphics, print, and multimedia design on behalf of the City. They will also serve as the lead brand expert for the City of Dearborn. The Branding & Design Strategist will develop and lead the branding and design strategy for the City of Dearborn in close consultation with the Director of Communications, the Deputy Director of Communications, and the Digital & Marketing Strategist in line with the City’s digital strategy. The Strategist will also be the lead point for the City website, coordinating with any outside contractor and the Department of Innovation & Technology (DoIT) to ensure the design, formatting, and usability to the City website. May lead the work of others. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required.
TYPICAL CLASS ESSENTIAL DUTIES: (These duties are a representative sample; position assignments may vary.)
1. Oversees the City of Dearborn’s branding strategy and implementation of branding guidelines. Serve as a key thought partner in the visual articulation of Dearborn’s long-term branding strategy.
2. Ensures that all City of Dearborn products and publications are visually excellent and adhere to the City’s brand guidelines. Serve as principal editor and administrator of visual brand guidelines on all design products produced intradepartmentally and interdepartmentally at the City.
3. Liaises with internal clients for the design, edit, and reformatting of graphics, layouts, and other visual and multimedia collateral. Manage the design process to ensure that products meet the specifications of web, social media, and other distribution channels in a timely and efficient fashion. Organize and retain all designs for record-keeping purposes.
4. Serves as lead project manager and liaison for visual design initiatives for the Mayor’s Office and all City departments. To accomplish this goal, this position will also provide operational support to the Digital & Marketing Strategist, Deputy Director of Communications, and Director of Communications to achieve project goals, including but not limited to project scoping, timelines, pitches, proposals, and presentations.
5. Will oversee the content, design, and usability of the City website platform; ensuring consistency of design, format, and functionality across all webpages; directing the creation of new content on the website; and communicating when and where structural, design, and content changes are needed with key partners between the Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT), the Communications Department, and other City subject matter experts (SMEs).
6. Develops, updates, and maintains a brand book for the City of Dearborn.
7. Convenes and leads a “brain trust” of designers and those involved in design initiatives from across the City to plan and execute communication initiatives, ensure brand alignment and consistency, and develop tailored strategies to reach specific audience groups such as seniors, youth, businesses, and others.
8. Forges key partnerships and manages relationships with external partners to amplify City messaging and design.
9. Participates in regular staff meetings, work events, attends trainings, provides status reports, leads special projects, and serves on interdepartmental working groups ahead of key public engagements.
10. Demonstrates regular and predictable attendance including attendance at required meetings; participates on committees as required.
This job description is intended to represent only the key areas of responsibilities; specific position assignments will vary depending on the business needs of the department.
TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE: Associate’s degree in Graphic Design and at least 5 years of related experience; or, Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Journalism, or Communications and at least 3 years of related experience; or, all required certification(s); or, an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job such as those listed above.
LICENSING REQUIREMENTS:
Valid State of Michigan Driver’s License
KNOWLEDGE:
- Fundamental graphic and layout design techniques and principles;
- Fundamental web design techniques and principles;
- Branding principles such as brand personality, brand management, and brand strategy;
- Document design and layout principles;
- Fundamental printing guidelines and principles;
- Best practices for modern graphics and social media design;
- Incorporating and editing clean, modern, and visually appealing graphic elements into a variety of visual products;
- Computers and related equipment;
- Document and PowerPoint/slide design and layout principles;
- City of Dearborn history and landscape.
SKILLS:
- Excellent research, writing, editing, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills that prioritize brevity and concision;
- Ability to create a range of products under pressure, without sacrificing quality;
- Proficiency with graphic design tools (e.g., Photoshop, Canva, Figma, Illustrator, etc);
- Basic use of Joomla, Drupal, and other applicable website platforms that are utilized by the City;
- Efficient and excellent use of Google Workspace products (Sheets, Docs, Forms, Slides, etc.) and Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.); Strong organizational skills;
- Computers and related equipment;
- Creating graphics for use in printed products;
- Utlitizing communication and interpersonal skills as applied to interactions with coworkers, their supervisor, the general public, and others to exchange or convey information and to receive work direction.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
Positions in this class typically require: reaching, standing, walking, grasping, feeling, talking, hearing, seeing, and repetitive motions.
Sedentary Work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time
