Job Summary
USA Pickleball (USAP) is looking for a dynamic and innovative Graphic Design & Creative Manager to lead the creative direction and design for all marketing materials, digital content, event collateral and brand initiatives. This role is essential for establishing and maintaining the brand’s visual identity across all channels, ensuring consistency and maximizing the USAP brand impact while highlighting organizational goals and mission. The ideal candidate will be a highly organized, creative leader who can both inspire a team and execute design projects from concept to completion quickly and efficiently.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead design efforts by overseeing all graphic design initiatives for USA Pickleball, ensuring the creation of cohesive and compelling visuals that reflect the brand’s mission, goals and messaging. Including design for digital and print assets, social media, promotional materials, signage, event graphics and more.
- Uphold and enhance the USA Pickleball brand across all platforms. Ensuring brand consistency and that brand guidelines are adhered to, providing strategic direction and feedback to internal teams, partners and external vendors to maintain visual consistency.
- Collaborate with all internal departments and brand agency to conceptualize and execute creative strategies for major campaigns, product launches, events, partnerships and tournaments. Develop innovative visuals that captivate target audiences and drive engagement, ticket sales, membership growth and retention and establish USA Pickleball branding.
- Stay up to date with the latest design trends, tools and technologies, and proactively incorporate them into design strategies. Continuously bring fresh, innovative ideas to keep the brand's visuals modern and engaging.
- Create partnership and pitch decks to help secure and retain major sponsors as well as creating visuals or providing design feedback on partnership announcements and major initiatives.
- Manage and prioritize the design workflow, ensuring all projects are delivered on time and within budget. Oversee the project lifecycle, from initial brief to final approval, while managing design assets and resources efficiently. Ensuring PMS is tracking projects and up to date.
- Manage relationships with external contractors, freelancers and print vendors, ensuring that work meets brand standards, timelines and quality expectations.
- Track the success of creative assets and campaigns, gathering feedback from internal stakeholders and external audiences to inform future design decisions. Regularly evaluate design effectiveness and adjust to enhance impact and engagement.
Qualifications
Experience:
- Minimum of five (5) years of professional graphic design experience with a focus on branding, campaign creation, and visual communications. At least two (2) years project experience project managing vendors and contract designers.
Skills
- Expertise in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign) and other design tools. Canva a plus.
- Strong understanding of typography, color theory, layout design and user experience.
- Knowledge of digital and print production processes, including file preparation and prepress.
- Experience with web design and basic HTML/CSS is a plus.
- Proven ability to lead and inspire a team of designers while managing multiple projects and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to effectively present and communicate design concepts to non-design stakeholders.
- Experience in project management and workflow optimization. Strong organizational and time management skills with an ability to prioritize multiple tasks.
- An interest in staying ahead of design trends and technology, applying new ideas to create innovative and relevant designs.
- Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communications, or related field (or equivalent experience).
Preferred
- Experience in sports, lifestyle, or membership-based organizations.
- Knowledge of video production and motion graphics.
- Familiarity with marketing automation tools and email design.
We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.
