Senior Graphic Designer

Position Title: Senior Graphic Designer

Department: Marketing and Communications

Reports to: Creative Manager                          

Location: Remote 
Schedule: 9-5, Monday - Friday

Travel: ≤ 10%
Salary Range: $69,100 - $92,000
 

Formerly the Mental Health Association of New York City (MHA-NYC), Vibrant Emotional Health’s groundbreaking solutions have delivered high quality services and support, when, where and how people need it for over 50 years. Through our state-of-the-art technology-enabled services, community wellness programs, and advocacy and education work, we are building a society in which emotional wellness can be a reality for everyone.

• Important: Please include URL/link to your portfolio/samples of current/previous work on your resume or cover letter. Candidates with no portfolios will NOT be considered.

Position Overview:

The Senior Graphic Designer is a senior-level individual contributor on Vibrant’s Creative team, responsible for conceiving and executing high-quality visual design across digital and print channels for Vibrant Emotional Health and related brands/programs. Working from creative briefs and direction provided by the Creative Manager and Creative Director, this role owns projects from brief through delivery. The Senior Graphic Designer is expected to operate with a high degree of independence and design judgment – proactively clarifying needs, recommending approaches, and ensuring that final work is both on brand and strategically aligned. The role translates complex, sensitive mental health content into clear, accessible, and emotionally grounded visual communications that build trust with diverse audiences.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Interpret creative briefs, objectives, and brand guidelines to develop compelling visual concepts, layouts, and final designs across Vibrant and related properties. Proactively bring forward design options and improvements that elevate the work beyond the initial ask while remaining grounded in the brief.

• Design digital and print assets including: social media graphics, email and newsletter layouts, web and blog imagery, environmental/booth design, and marketing collateral including but not limited to toolkits, one-pagers and multi-pagers, reports, infographics, presentations and more

• Create user-friendly, updatable templates: PPT, Word, Canva for non-designers; Adobe/Figma templates for design team

• Serve as a day-to-day steward of Vibrant’s visual identity systems, ensuring consistency in typography, color, hierarchy, and overall look-and-feel across assets

• Apply and extend existing design systems and templates; identify opportunities to streamline, standardize, and improve them based on day-to-day use

• Produce co-branded materials with funders, partners, and campaigns, balancing Vibrant’s identity with partner brand standards while maintaining clarity and cohesion

• Prepare accurate print and digital-ready files (correct color space, resolution, margins/bleeds, dielines, pre-flight checks) and collaborate with the Creative Manager on vendor specs and approvals as needed.

• Build clean, well-organized files (layers, styles, components) suitable for revision, reuse, and hand-off to other designers

• Maintain organized project files in the Digital Asset Management tool using established naming conventions, version control, and metadata best practices

• Collaborate with Marcomms, Digital, Development, and Program teams by asking clarifying questions on briefs, recommending visual approaches, and incorporating feedback efficiently

• Participate in campaign brainstorms and concept reviews; clearly present design rationales and options to stakeholders, advocating for solutions that serve both the audience and the brand

• Partner with motion and video teammates by providing static key visuals, frames, and layered artwork for animation and edits

• Manage multiple concurrent projects and fast turn-arounds with minimal supervision; proactively communicate timelines, risks, trade-offs, and resource needs to the Creative Manager

• Apply accessibility best practices (contrast, legibility, font choices, hierarchy, alt-text guidance) across digital and print work

• Provide peer feedback, file checks, and informal mentorship to other members of the team

• Stay current on design trends, tools, and AI-driven workflows; propose practical ways to increase quality and efficiency (for example: batch resizing, mockups, exploratory use of AI for concepting within brand and ethical guidelines)

• Other duties as assigned

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Expert craft in digital and print graphic design with a strong command of typography, grid systems, layout, color theory, and information hierarchy

• Advanced proficiency in Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop and Figma; strong skills in Microsoft PowerPoint for presentation design

• Solid understanding of print and digital production best practices: CMYK vs RGB, file formats, resolution, bleeds, pre-flight, and vendor specs

• Experience designing co-branded materials and adapting core brand systems across multiple partners or sub-brands

• Ability to translate complex or technical information into clear visual narratives (diagrams, data visualizations, timelines, process graphics)

• Strong attention to detail and demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects, prioritize independently, and meet tight deadlines in a fast-paced, matrixed environment

• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to give and receive feedback constructively and to explain design decisions to non-design stakeholders

• Proven ability to operate as a senior-level designer: make sound design decisions with minimal direction, anticipate issues, and proactively improve deliverables – consistently producing on-brief, on-brand work that requires few revision cycles and keeps projects moving forward

• Interest in and sensitivity to mental health, suicide prevention, and trauma-informed communication, with an inclusive and equity-centered approach to imagery and language

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience) in Graphic Design, Visual Communication, Multimedia Design, or a related field.

• 6+ years of professional experience in graphic design roles focused on digital and print communication; in-house experience for large/complex organizations and/or agency experience strongly preferred.

• A portfolio demonstrating: strong typographic and layout skills, multi-channel campaign work (digital + print), experience with brand systems and templates, examples of complex or sensitive topics distilled into clear, accessible visuals. Experience designing for sensitive or mission-driven subject matter (such as health care, mental health, human services, social impact) is highly valued, though not strictly required.
   

Physical Requirements:

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position for long periods of time.

• Will frequently communicate over video calls with internal and external stakeholders.

• None to less than <10% travel expected.

We determine base pay through a comprehensive review of skills, experience, education, certifications, geographic location, and other relevant factors. The range listed reflects the compensation parameters for the role and does not represent the full compensation package. A complete overview of compensation and benefits will be provided by the Talent Acquisition team during the hiring process.

Full time employees will be eligible for excellent comprehensive benefits, including medical, dental, vision, supplemental income insurance, employer paid disability insurance, employer paid life insurance, pre-tax FSA for medical and dependent care, and 401K available.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they are able to perform every task in the job description. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may be one who comes from a less traditional background. Vibrant will consider any equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education and experience to meet minimum qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.

Vibrant Emotional Health is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants are considered for positions without regard to veteran status, uniformed service member status, race, creed, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, citizenship status, national origin, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, caregiver status or any other category protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

Please be aware that fictitious job openings, consulting engagements, solicitations, or employment offers may be circulated on the Internet in an attempt to obtain privileged information, or to induce you to pay a fee for services related to recruitment or training. Vibrant does NOT charge any application, processing, or training fee at any stage of the recruitment or hiring process. All genuine job openings will be posted on our careers page and all communications from the Vibrant recruiting team and/or hiring managers will be from an @vibrant.org email address.