Graphic Designer & Brand lead
Location: Hybrid working remotely and in office (Caledonian Exchange, 19A Canning Street, Edinburgh, EH3 8EG)
Hours: 3-4 days (depending on the candidate)
Salary/Rate: £30,323 (pro-rata)
Closing date: Sunday 30 August at the latest (we may look to interview candidates on an iterative basis commencing before the final deadline.)
Experience: Demonstrable experience of effective creative delivery in a comparable role, ideally 2-3 years minimum.
About Young Scot
Young Scot is the national youth information and citizenship charity for young people aged 11–26 in Scotland.
We empower young people by providing trusted information, opportunities, rewards and a platform for their voices to be heard, helping them navigate life and shape their futures.
We work in partnership with central and local government, the private sector, the third sector and young people themselves to deliver meaningful impact across Scotland.
The Role
We are looking for a creative and versatile Graphic Designer & Brand lead to join our team and bring design, visual storytelling and creative production expertise to Young Scot.
This is a hands-on creative role with a broad remit. You will help us bring our brand to life across digital and print, support our content and campaign teams with additional creative capacity, and help colleagues across the organisation develop the skills and confidence to create engaging, accessible and on-brand content themselves.
You will be a key guardian of Young Scot's visual identity, ensuring that our communications are consistent, accessible, engaging and appropriate for our audiences. You will produce design work yourself, while also knowing when to support colleagues, provide templates and guidance, or bring in specialist external creative support.
The role will work closely with colleagues across marketing, communications, content and digital. You will complement our existing content creation and digital capability rather than lead our social media or digital content strategy.
We are looking for someone who combines strong creative and design skills with a collaborative, practical and enabling approach. You will be comfortable working at pace, managing competing priorities and turning ideas and information into engaging visual communications.
A key part of the role will be helping us build a more sustainable creative model for the future. You will develop templates, tools and resources, support colleagues to use Canva and other creative platforms effectively.
Key Responsibilities
Creative design & brand
Act as a key guardian of Young Scot's visual identity, ensuring our brand is applied consistently and effectively across communications and channels.
Create high-quality visual assets for digital and print, including campaigns, publications, reports, events, presentations, our YS Magazine, leaflets, posters and other organisational materials.
Develop creative concepts and visual approaches that bring campaigns, projects and organisational priorities to life.
Design high-profile and priority communications, working with colleagues to understand their objectives and translate ideas into compelling creative outputs.
Maintain and develop Young Scot's brand guidelines, templates and visual assets.
Provide advice and creative support to colleagues across the organisation.
Ensure design and creative outputs are accessible, inclusive and appropriate for young audiences.
Quality-check creative work produced internally and, where appropriate, by external suppliers.
Support the continued evolution of Young Scot's visual identity as our organisation and digital offer develop.
Content & creative production
Provide additional creative production capacity to the existing content and social media team.
Create visual assets to support social media, campaigns, newsletters, websites, digital platforms and other communications.
Support colleagues with design, image creation and video editing.
Create visual content that is appropriate for different digital channels and audiences.
Work collaboratively with the Assistant Content Creator and other content colleagues to develop complementary visual and digital content.
Contribute creative ideas to campaigns and projects, while working within wider campaign and content strategies set by colleagues.
Support the creation of engaging visual storytelling that showcases Young Scot's work and impact.
Creative capability
Help colleagues across Young Scot develop their confidence and skills in creative content production.
Develop and maintain a programme of creative training and support
Deliver or coordinate practical training sessions covering areas such as Canva, visual communication, video, presentation design, accessibility and brand.
Develop accessible resources, guides, templates and learning materials to support colleagues to create high-quality content independently.
Encourage a culture of creative self-service, helping colleagues understand when they can use templates and tools themselves and when specialist creative support is required.
Support colleagues to create content that is visually engaging, accessible and aligned with Young Scot's brand.
Identify opportunities to improve creative skills and capability across the organisation.
Creative Operations & External Support
Maintain an organised library of creative assets, templates and resources.
Contribute to the wider work and priorities of the Young Scot team including volunteering at least twice a year at Young Scot youth events.
Person Specification
Essential skills & experience
Design & creative
Demonstrable experience of effective creative delivery in a comparable role, ideally 2-3 years minimum.
Experience creating design assets for both digital and print.
Strong working knowledge of Adobe Creative Cloud, particularly relevant applications such as InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop.
Strong working knowledge of Canva, including the ability to create and manage templates and support others to use the platform.
Strong understanding of visual identity, typography, layout, composition and design principles.
Experience working within brand guidelines and maintaining visual consistency across multiple channels.
Ability to take complex information, ideas or messages and turn them into clear, engaging visual communications.
Digital content
Experience creating visual content for digital and social media channels.
Experience with basic video editing.
Understanding of how visual content needs to be adapted for different digital platforms and audiences.
Ability to work collaboratively with content and social media colleagues to support wider content strategies.
Collaboration & communication
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively with colleagues who have different levels of creative and digital experience.
Ability to understand a creative brief, ask the right questions and translate objectives into effective visual outputs.
A collaborative and supportive approach, with a willingness to share knowledge and help others develop their skills.
Ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities while maintaining high standards of work.
Ability to work independently, use initiative and make appropriate decisions about priorities and creative approaches.
Accessibility & inclusion
Understanding of accessible design and digital content principles.
Commitment to creating inclusive and representative visual communications.
Awareness of the importance of accessibility, readability and inclusive design when communicating with diverse audiences.
Desirable skills & experience
Demonstrable experience of effective creative delivery in a comparable role, ideally 2-3 years minimum.
Experience working within a brand-led organisation or managing the application of a corporate or organisational brand.
Experience developing or maintaining brand guidelines and creative toolkits.
Experience creating reports, publications or long-form documents using Adobe InDesign or similar software.
Experience with photography and image editing using Adobe Lightroom or similar software.
Experience creating short-form video content for social media.
Experience creating or managing Canva template libraries or Canva Teams.
Experience delivering creative, digital or design training to colleagues.
Experience developing training resources, learning materials or internal creative toolkits.
Experience working with young people or youth-focused organisations.
Experience working within accessibility standards and guidelines for digital and print communications.
Knowledge of copyright, image licensing and creative asset usage rights.
Experience working in a fast-paced communications, marketing or third-sector environment.
Photography
Ability to capture engaging, authentic images in a range of settings, including events and live activities.
Understanding of appropriate consent and permissions when photographing people, particularly young people.
How to Apply
Please submit your CV (no more than three pages) and a portfolio of your work to, recruitment@young.scot
Young Scot is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from all backgrounds.