Associate Director, Design

About Berkeley

At the University of California, Berkeley, we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom, and belonging make it a special place for students, faculty, and staff. As a world-leading institution, Berkeley is known for its academic and research excellence, public mission, diverse student body, and commitment to equity and social justice. Since our founding in 1868, we have driven innovation, creating global intellectual, economic, and social value. We are looking for applicants who reflect California's diversity and want to be part of an inclusive, equity-focused community that views education as a matter of social justice.

Departmental Overview

The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics consists of more than 275 staff members and coaches and sponsors 30 varsity sports programs. These 30 programs include more than 850 student-athletes who participate in the various sports programs annually within the National Collegiate Athletics Association.

Position Summary

The Associate Director, Design is a member of the Athletics Department's Strawberry Creek Studios group and assists with the execution of visual assets and graphic design that support the Cal identity across various sports. Under the direction of the creative lead, this position captures the energy of live sporting events and produces content that aligns with the department's external strategy. The Associate Director, Design requires a fast-paced, solution-oriented mindset to help deliver storytelling across Cal Athletics digital platforms, marketing, and in-venue videoboards. This position takes direction on storytelling concepts and assists with the production of digital assets on tight timelines. The role supports the use of emerging technologies like AI to improve production speed and assists with the daily supervision of student interns to help scale content creation across the department.

Responsibilities

Content Production & Collaboration

• Assists with the development of storytelling concepts based on directions from leadership.
• Helps maintain content calendars that align with recruiting cycles and revenue goals.

Multimedia Execution

• Supports the end-to-end execution of visual assets, including graphic design, merchandise, and photography.
• Captures live event footage and assists in producing features for social and digital platforms.

Recruiting & Brand Support

• Uses established templates and AI tools to create personalized digital content tailored for student-athlete recruitment and program loyalty.
• Ensures all work stays within University brand guidelines and/or the ability to learn.

Revenue Generation

• Assists in developing and conceptualizing AI-generated personalized digital content and templates specifically tailored to attract elite brands and elevate the Cal Athletics brand.
• This ensures a consistent brand narrative that aids in both traditional and new revenue streams and building fan loyalty.

Student Supervision & Training

• Takes a lead role in supervising the student intern workforce.
• Assists with mentoring student staff on technical skills and ensures their output meets professional standards.

Innovation & Workflow

• Learns and applies emerging technologies, such as Generative AI, to assist in scaling content production and modernizing studio workflows.

Reporting & Admin

• Tracks project expenses and assists with the review of content performance data to help improve future assets and maintain quality control.

Required Qualifications

• Knowledge of all aspects of communications, including strategic planning for various media venues, technical aspects and requirements of various venues, and most appropriate and effective applications.
• Knowledge and understanding of technical applications to effectively direct technical staff, or personally perform technical work, including design concepts, various media, and applications.
• Knowledge of the organization, its achievements, mission, vision, goals, policies, practices, infrastructure, and a strong knowledge of current affairs, and issues in higher education and / or health sciences.
• Solid skills to create, develop, and implement comprehensive long and short term strategic communications plans.
• Knowledge and skills to advise and consult with management to ensure delivery of the desired message to the target and / or broad general audiences.
• Solid written, verbal, interpersonal communications, active listening and political acumen skills.
• Knowledge of location protocols and channels for communication internally and externally.
• Knowledge of various visual aspects of communications.
• Solid skills to create, develop, and implement comprehensive long and short term content efforts.
• A working knowledge of visual asset design, brand development, and the creative process.
• Previous experience and knowledge of the Adobe Creative Cloud and/or the ability to learn cinematic camera operation.
• Ability to capture high-speed sports action and produce content specifically formatted for stadium videoboards and social platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to create digital content including video, photography, and motion graphics.
• Knowledge of digital performance metrics (engagement, reach, conversion), how to package and present to management.
• The ability to pitch "big picture" concepts to management.
• Knowledge of location protocols and channels for communication internally and externally.
• Skills in training, and mentoring a student/intern workforce.
• Ability to work independently while remaining aligned with internal teams.
• A solution-oriented mindset capable of adhering to traditional brand guidelines without compromising quality.
• Willingness to learn and work with AI tools for automated workflows and creative brainstorming and visualization.
• Time and project management skills to effectively establish priorities and meet competing deadlines.
• Interpersonal communications skills to interact effectively with a variety of clients, staff and vendors.
• Strong skills in collaboration to best meet goals and objectives of the client.
• Knowledge of NCAA/Power 4 landscape, including recruiting cycles, NIL trends, and student-athlete retention drivers.

Education / Training

• Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training (Required)