About Summer Discovery

Our mission is to provide best-in-class, immersive summer college enrichment experiences that perfectly balance courses curated by top tier universities in diverse fields of study, with opportunities for students to have fun, travel and explore new places with new friends. 

We support students in their mission to deepen their knowledge of their academic passion and foster college-ready confidence through hands-on learning experiences in their preferred field of study. We are the industry trailblazers, applying nearly sixty years of learning, refinement and relationship building into what we do each day. 

Simply put, our team is obsessed with summer and determined to help our students excel, building lifelong skills, embracing intellectual curiosity, innovation, and a love of learning.  

What’s the job?

We are seeking a visionary Creative Director with exceptional expertise, strategic insight, and an innate talent for storytelling and design to join our team as a direct contributor and lead innovator. In this role, you will take ownership of critical brand initiatives, driving creative direction to elevate our academic prestige and position as a premium brand. Your primary focus will be on redefining and elevating our digital presence through a comprehensive creative review and updates across our website maximizing the flexibility within the content management system of the website. You will understand the Gen Z voice and craft a seamless integration of visual identity and messaging that resonates with our brand promise, deeply engages our audience, and communicates our value. You will also have an innate ability to understand the parents of the Gen Z generation, and the motivations, proof points and language that compels them to invest in their child’s educational journey during this pivotal time. 

As the Creative Director, you will drive storytelling and engagement by authoring and developing compelling narratives and visuals that captivate, inspire, and create meaningful connections with our audience. You will strategically identify and target customers by deeply understanding and refining our audience profile, ensuring that our creative approach aligns with their needs and aspirations. You will innovate and inspire by pushing creative boundaries to deliver groundbreaking work that is in perfect alignment with organizational goals.

This is a rare opportunity to bring your vision to life, leading creative initiatives that make an immediate and lasting impact on the Company’s digital footprint and market presence. Summer Discovery is a nimble organization with a dynamic and fast-paced environment. You will not only lead but also implement your own work by directly contributing to content and design needs.  You will have internal sponsorship to be autonomous and to make quick changes.

The role requires travel to our campuses over the summer to capture content.

This role is hybrid--with up to 2 days in person and travel as needed during the year. The role requires travel to our campuses over the summer (June-July) to capture content.

Essential Functions: 

Creative Direction & Brand Leadership: Take ownership of critical brand initiatives and drive the creative vision, positioning the organization as a leader in the space by ensuring alignment with our brand promise and values.

Website Branding & Digital Presence: Lead visual transformation of the website, integrating visual identity and messaging that resonates with our target audience,deeply engages them, and clearly communicates our brand promise and value we offer.

Content Development & Content Creation: You not only oversee the brand identity but it will be up to you to bring it to life. You will be writing your own copy and comfortable creating your own graphic designs and manipulating photography to bring the brand story to the forefront of our visual presence.

Content Management & Optimization: Develop and oversee content creation for the website, ensuring all content is up-to-date, aligned with our brand messaging, and optimized for user experience and engagement. Collaborate with internal teams to develop and refine content on email, social and other channels that supports organizational goals and drives audience interaction.

Storytelling & Audience Engagement: Drive storytelling and engagement through the development of compelling narratives and visuals that captivate, inspire, and foster meaningful connections with our audience.

Align Brand Work With Customer Personas to Elevate Marketing Strategy: Strategically identify and refine the audience profile, ensuring that all creative work aligns with customer needs, aspirations, and business objectives.

Innovation & Creative Boundaries: Push creative boundaries to deliver groundbreaking, innovative work that aligns with organizational goals, while setting new standards in design and user experience.

Strategic Creative Leadership: Lead the current content team in executing high-impact projects, ensuring each deliverable supports the broader organizational goals and enhances the company's digital presence.

Qualifications

Educational Background and Experience: Minimum of 10 years of experience, including expert level copywriting and design skills, extensive work in creative direction, branding and digital strategy.

Strategic and Leadership Expertise: Proven track record of leading creative projects that redefine brand identity and digital presence, with expertise in storytelling, design, and customer engagement strategies.  Understands the Gen Z voice and has experience working with premium/luxury brands. 

Content and Digital Strategy: Strong experience in content management systems and website design, ensuring seamless alignment with brand identity and audience engagement. 

Technical Proficiency: Proficiency Google Workspace is required, as well as Canva, and the entire Adobe Creative Cloud Suite of offerings.

Communication and Collaboration: Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills with experience driving alignment across diverse stakeholders and teams.

Adaptability and Problem-Solving: Ability to excel in a dynamic, fast-paced environment, balancing strategic vision with hands-on execution.

Creative Innovation: Demonstrated ability to push creative boundaries and deliver groundbreaking work that elevates organizational goals and market presence.

Interview Process will include multiple virtual and in person meetings. This process requires submission of a portfolio of work and will also have an in person presentation component.

Employment is contingent upon a satisfactory employment background check. 

Compensation: range of $150-180k with full benefit package and bonus earning potential.

Summer Discovery embraces diversity and equal opportunity. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be