Specialist, Creative

SHRM; Alexandria (VA); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

SHRM seeks a Specialist, Creative to shape brand visuals across digital, print, social, and events. This role blends visual design, motion design, and UX principles to bring data-driven stories to life while upholding brand standards.

Collaborating with Brand, Marketing, Content, and Multimedia teams, you will translate research and audience insights into compelling visuals and contribute to the team’s evolving visual toolkit, exploring AI-assisted workflows.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in graphic design, visual communications, digital media, or related field.
• 3+ years of professional design experience across digital, motion, and brand storytelling.
• Portfolio demonstrating cross-format design capabilities, including static and motion design, data visualization, interactive or experiential design.

Responsibilities

• Conceptualize, design, and produce visual assets across digital, print, social, event, and other marketing channels while applying brand standards.
• Maintain adaptable design systems, templates, and assets for modular and scalable content.
• Translate research, data, and audience insights into compelling visual storytelling.
• Develop graphics, infographics, presentations, and visual materials for diverse audiences.
• Stay current on design trends and apply best practices.

Skills

Visual design

Motion design

Brand storytelling

Cross-functional collaboration

Adobe Creative Suite

Figma

Generative AI tools

Data visualization

HTML5 assets

Education

Bachelor's degree in graphic design or related field

Tools

Canva

Midjourney

Adobe Firefly

Runway

Job description

SHRM is a member-driven catalyst for creating better workplaces where people and businesses thrive together. As the trusted authority on all things work, SHRM is the foremost expert, researcher, advocate, and thought leader on issues and innovations impacting today’s evolving workplaces. With nearly 340,000 members in 180 countries, SHRM touches the lives of more than 362 million workers and their families globally.

Summary The Specialist, Creative is a multimodal designer who helps shape how the brand looks, feels, and moves across omnichannel marketing campaigns and experiences, including print, digital, social, and events. This role blends visual design, motion design, and user experience principles to bring data, insights, and ideas to life through audience-centered storytelling.

Working with moderate independence and in close collaboration with members of the design, multimedia, content production, and broader Brand and Marketing teams, the Specialist takes assigned projects from concept through final production. The role applies relevant design and industry trends, contributes to the evolution of the team’s visual toolkit, and explores opportunities to incorporate emerging technologies, including generative AI, into creative workflows.

The Specialist builds effective working relationships with stakeholders across the organization who submit creative requests and translates business needs into high-quality visual solutions that support organizational and strategic priorities.

Responsibilities Cross-Channel Visual Design

• Conceptualize, design, and produce visual assets across digital, print, social, event, and other marketing channels while consistently applying established brand standards, identity, and tone.
• Contribute to and maintain adaptable design systems, templates, and assets that allow content to remain modular, scalable, and easy for broader marketing and communications teams to repurpose.
• Partner cross-functionally to translate research, data, business priorities, and audience insights into compelling visual storytelling.
• Develop graphics, infographics, presentations, and other visual materials that simplify complex information for executive, professional, and public audiences.
• Stay current on relevant design, marketing, and industry trends and apply appropriate trends and best practices to assigned projects.

Motion, Interactive & Emerging Media

• Design and produce short-form motion graphics, animated explainers, HTML5 assets, and other digital content optimized for audience engagement.
• Collaborate with multimedia partners to develop animated overlays, transitions, typographic motion, and other visual elements that enhance video storytelling.
• Explore multimodal design formats, including augmented reality, generative visuals, interactive presentations, and AI-generated imagery, and share relevant findings and recommendations with the team.
• Prototype and test visual formats for emerging and evolving platforms, including YouTube Shorts, Maglr, LinkedIn carousels, interactive PDFs, and HTML5 experiences.
• Adapt creative concepts for multiple formats and platforms while maintaining a consistent visual experience.

AI, Brand & Experience Contribution

• Use approved generative AI tools in creative workflows for ideation, concept development, mood boards, asset generation, and other appropriate design applications in accordance with organizational guidelines and responsible-use standards.
• Contribute to the maintenance and refinement of the visual identity system to support brand evolution and campaign needs.
• Serve as a brand steward by ensuring creative assets align with established visual standards, whether developed through traditional design methods or generative AI-assisted workflows.
• Apply accessibility, inclusivity, usability, and clarity standards to visual design work and proactively identify opportunities for improvement.
• Collaborate with Brand, Marketing, Content, Multimedia, and other cross-functional partners to promote consistency across audience touchpoints.
• Develop creative templates, toolkits, and modular assets that support broader marketing and communications needs and recommend enhancements to existing resources.
• Identify opportunities to improve creative workflows, tools, processes, and production efficiencies.

Education & Experience Requirements Education

• Bachelor’s degree In graphic design, visual communications, digital media, or a related field preferred or relevant equivalent experience in lieu of degree.

Experience

• Three (3) or more years of professional design experience across digital, motion, and brand storytelling.
• Portfolio demonstrating strong cross-format design capabilities, including static and motion design, as well as foundational experience with data visualization, interactive, or experiential design.
• Experience working collaboratively in fast-paced, cross-functional marketing, communications, creative, or agency environments.
• Experience managing multiple creative projects simultaneously from initial brief through final production.

Certifications – NA

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects, as well as Figma and relevant generative design tools such as Canva, Midjourney, Adobe Firefly, OpenArt, Runway, or comparable platforms.
• Strong visual design, layout, typography, composition, and storytelling skills.
• Solid conceptual, creative, and critical-thinking skills with the ability to translate creative briefs, business objectives, and audience needs into polished, on-brand visual solutions with moderate guidance.
• Ability to review project intake requests, identify requirements, and establish project schedules that incorporate proof development, stakeholder review, revisions, and final delivery.
• Ability to identify incomplete or ambiguous project requirements and seek appropriate clarification before beginning design work.
• Ability to organize, balance, and prioritize multiple projects based on changing business needs, deadlines, and competing priorities.
• Working knowledge of accessibility standards, responsive design principles, digital platform specifications, and production requirements.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills with the ability to receive, interpret, and incorporate constructive feedback.
• Curiosity and technical fluency to continuously explore emerging creative technologies, platforms, and design approaches.
• Ability to effectively leverage artificial intelligence tools and technologies to streamline workflows, enhance productivity, support creative exploration, and improve overall work quality while adhering to applicable organizational standards and policies.

Physical Requirements

This position operates in a typical office environment (which includes a home office setting) and requires the ability to perform essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodation. Physical requirements may include:

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Frequent use of hands and fingers for typing, handling documents, and using office equipment.
• Occasional standing, walking, bending, and reaching.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 30 pounds as needed.
• Clear verbal and written communication skills for effective interaction with colleagues and stakeholders.

Work Environment

Hybrid Schedule (3 Days In-Office/2 Days Remote)

This position follows a hybrid work schedule, with Tuesday through Thursday in office and Monday and Friday remote. Employees must be available during standard business hours, with core hours beginning between 8:00–9:00 a.m. and concluding between 5:00–6:00 p.m. local time.

Travel: Occasional 0 — 10%

The hiring range for this position is $70,000 to $85,000 per year. This range is an estimate, and the actual salary may vary based on the candidate’s experience, skills, and qualifications. SHRM offers a competitive and comprehensive total rewards package. The benefits for this position include professional growth and development, health, dental, vision, well-being, health savings, flexible spending, retirement, open leave, and annual discretionary bonus and incentives. Our employment practices are in accordance with the laws that prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals on the basis of race, religion, color, gender, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran’s status, marital status, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, or any other status protected by applicable law.

SHRM is an equal opportunity employer (Minority/Female/Disabled/Veteran).

We do not sponsor applicants for work visas.