Direct Reporting Line:
Design Studio Team Leader

The IIE Varsity College is an educational brand of The Independent Institute of Education (The IIE). The IIE enjoys the reputation of being at the forefront of private higher education in South Africa, and is registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to provide higher education qualifications accredited by the Council on Higher Education (CHE).

The IIE Varsity College National Office has a vacancy for a Senior Designer (Part-Time)

Job Purpose :

• A strategic senior designer able to lead and oversee the creation of visual executions and design projects, mentor midweight designers, ensure brand consistency, and develop innovative solutions for the brand, with strong communication, collaboration and leadership skills. 

Key Performance Areas:

• Leading Design Projects: Lead and oversee all design elements from concept to final delivery. Developing and implementing design strategies, while managing multiple projects simultaneously. Involvement in the full concept process, from prototype stages through to production.
  
• Team Leadership: Providing guidance and support to the studio designers to assist with their professional growth and development. Reviewing the work of the studio designers and providing constructive feedback to ensure high-quality design deliverables are produced which meet the brief requirements. Fostering a collaborative and creative team environment together with the Design Studio Team Leader.
• Strategic Thinking: Apply critical thinking, problem solving and creative thinking on all design projects and briefs. Communicate proposed design concepts and executions. Ensures the design studio team explore various conceptual approaches to meet the design brief. Deliver both strong ideas and a high level of craftsmanship across all elements of design.
• Maintaining Brand Consistency: Ensuring all creative outputs from the design studio align with the brand's visual direction, campaigning and key messaging.
• Creative Review: Create a range of visually appealing and user-centric design outputs for various channels/platforms. Present designs for review to the Studio Team Leader, Advertising & Promotions Manager and Head of Marketing. Responsible for ensuring all fundamental design principles have been applied across all creative outputs created by the studio team. Ensure full review and proof reading of all design output produced by all the studio designers. Ensure all creative executions adhere to the IIE policy and relevant feedback has been applied.
• Project Management: Ability to manage numereous projects and briefs which have been assigned to the Senior Designer within agreed timelines or at times to meet tight deadlines. Possess and display sound project management skills including planning, scheduling, multitasking, overseeing progress and ensuring all jobs that are allocated to the Senior Designer are completed timeously and per brief.
• Remaining Current: Being-up-to-speed with industry trends, design software, and emerging technologies. Ensure ongoing research for mood boards, scamps, and conceptualisation process. Bring big ideas and clear thinking to meet the business challenges in a uniquely creative way. Maintain a thorough understanding of our target audience and market trends to create designs that resonate with our customers and drive engagement. Ensure current understanding of competitors' creative executions at all times.

 Minimum Qualification Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree in Visual Communication/Graphic Design/Communication Design with a strong design portfolio showcasing a variety of design projects across multiple mediums.

Minimum Work Experience Requirements:

• ​​Minimum of 5+ years senior designer experience within a design capacity gained at a brand level or within an agency. 

Competencies Required:

• Fully proficient in Adobe Creative Suite [Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign and other design programmes] and MS Office.
• Strong understanding of graphic design principles, styles and layout techniques.
• A creative thinker, excellent at idea generation and visualisation.
• Ability to effectively communicate verbally, visually and written form.
• An eye for detail and a methodical organised way of working even when multi-tasking.
• Ability to organise and maintain design files and master assets for the Design studio.
• A good understanding of the print process and setting up artwork for print.
• Knowledge of animation and digital design is advantageous.

Working Conditions: 

• Please note that this is an Independent Contractor Part-Time role.

Application Response:

• Due to the high volume of CVs received, please note that personal contact with all applicants may not be feasible. Only candidates whose qualifications and skills closely align with the position requirements will be contacted for interviews.

Technical Support:

• Should you experience technical difficulties applying for the position, kindly use the following URL for further assistance: https://hire.simplify.hr/ContactUs

The IIE Varsity College, IIE Vega and IIE MSA are an Equal Opportunity Employer. However, preference may be given to previously underrepresented groups in accordance with the South African Employment Equity Act. The company reserves the right to close or place the vacancy on hold at any time, without prior notice.