Senior Graphic Designer

The Bartlett School of Planning UCL; London; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

An established institution in the heart of London seeks a Senior Graphic Designer to elevate its brand through innovative design solutions. This role involves developing creative communications that align with the university's brand identity and managing projects from conception to execution. The successful candidate will possess a strong understanding of design principles and have experience leading design teams. With a commitment to diversity and inclusion, this position offers a dynamic work environment and the chance to make a significant impact on the university's public image. If you are passionate about design and eager to contribute to a leading educational establishment, this opportunity is for you.

Benefits

41 Days holiday

Defined benefit pension scheme

Cycle to work scheme

On-site nursery

On-site gym

Enhanced parental pay

Employee assistance programme

Qualifications

• Experience managing a design team and strong stakeholder negotiation skills.
• Extensive knowledge of branding systems and design principles.

Responsibilities

• Implement creative solutions to support the UCL brand.
• Manage the full project cycle of brand design projects.

Skills

Design Principles

Typography

Colour Theory

Layout and Composition

Brand Guidelines

Digital-First Approach

Presentation Skills

Negotiation Skills

Education

Post-graduate degree in Graphic Design

Post-graduate degree in Communication Design

Post-graduate degree in Interaction Design

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

Job description

Ref Number B23-00112 Professional Expertise External Engagement, Communications, Marketing and Events Department Vice-President (External Engagement) (B23) Location London Working Pattern Full time Salary £54,172-£63,752 Contract Type Fixed-term Working Type Hybrid Available for Secondment Yes Closing Date 20-May-2025

About Us

UCL is a radically different university. Founded in 1826 in the heart of London, we were the first university in England to welcome students of any religion and the first to welcome women to university education. Today UCL has over 40,000 students and 13,000 staff and is one of the world’s top 10 universities. The Vice-President External Engagement (VPEE) team delivers communications and marketing activity for UCL, working to ensure UCL’s public prominence, reputation and influence reflects the university’s excellence in knowledge creation, education, and innovation.

The department of the Vice President External Engagement coordinates UCL’s engagement with a range of audiences, raising the university’s profile and influence, and managing its reputation. It promotes the public value of UCL’s research and partnerships to the future of Britain and globally. It is a service-driven function made up of communications and marketing professionals who deliver sector-leading media relations, public affairs, institutional communications, brand and integrated marketing, student recruitment, and events.

About The Role

Reporting to UCL’s Head of Brand, the Senior Graphic Designer implements creative communications solutions that support the UCL brand.

The Senior Graphic Designer will provide creative design services to develop and build UCL’s profile and reputation and ensure excellent brand adoption internally and with external partners.

They will ensure that creative projects align with the overall brand, assist in the development and maintenance of brand identity standards, brand architecture, tools and resources.

The Senior Graphic Designer will play a pivotal role to ensure the successful roll out and activation of the refreshed brand across the university.

This is a hybrid role, however, you will be in the office on average two days per week, with Tuesday being one of the two days.

About You

The successful candidate will have a Post-graduate degree in a relevant discipline, e.g. a Post-graduate degree in Graphic Design, Communication Design, Interaction Design, Media, Communications or a relevant discipline, or equivalent working experience.

The successful candidate must have experience managing designers/a design team. Strong presentation skills and experience of negotiating with senior stakeholders is essential.

A strong understanding of design principles, typography, colour theory, layout and composition, and the ability to apply them effectively in various design projects, an understanding of branding systems. Has extensive experience developing and working with brand guidelines, editorial and tone of voice guidelines. Must lead with a digital-first approach.

Ability to respond strategically to complex challenges using innovative design thinking to identify and deliver creative communication solutions with system-wide relevance. Manage the full project cycle of all brand design projects from drafting creative briefs through to usability, development, build and production. Competent working in accordance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2AA).

The post is fixed term until 31 July 2026 and is available to start immediately.

All applications must include: a customised cover letter, CV and link to an online portfolio which best demonstrates their experience and skills for the position. Please ensure the link to your portfolio is working.

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:

• 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days) Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme
• Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
• Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan
• Immigration loan
• Relocation scheme for certain posts
• On-Site nursery
• On-site gym
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
• Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service
• Discounted medical insurance
  
  

Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/rewards-and-benefits to find out more.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.

We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce.

These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.

Available documents

Attached documents are available under links. Clicking a document link will initialize its download.

• download: Senior Graphic Designer Job Description v1 (2).docx