Creative Director

To learn more visit www.Awana.org and Child Discipleship Resources.

At Awana, we believe true change happens in the communities when children and youth are transformed by the gospel and engaged in Biblical discipleship in the presence of a caring adult. We believe that kids can come to know, love and serve Jesus, following Him for a lifetime. This is why, for 75+ years, Awana has been working with leaders in local churches in the US and around the world, providing solutions that equip these women and men to make disciples in children and youth.

Today, God is using Awana to reach over 10 million kids in 140 countries around the world. With over 500,000 equipped leaders in 91,000 clubs/churches, Awana is able to play a vital role in global evangelism and discipleship of children and youth. If you are passionate about being integral to reaching kids with the gospel, join us, and become a part of our global cause.

Summary

At our ministry, we are passionate about forming lasting faith in every child, everywhere!  As the Creative Director, you will play an important role in furthering our mission by leading the internal creative agency of Awana, resulting in outbound content to further the mission of child discipleship.

This individual leads internal graphic designers, photographers and filmmakers; and works with external contractors and freelancers. This strategic leader understands that the creative process is about solving problems with and for all functions of the ministry, meeting desired results, and maintaining a healthy balance for the team regarding form and function. This role will lead a team that has a reputation of being resourceful, humble, agile, highly competent, and service-minded. Ultimately, this leader is guiding the creation of work that is on-brand in look, sound, and feel while also being highly effective in desired results as we engage churches, individuals and organizations to equip leaders in order to reach and disciple kids all around the world.

You’ll thrive in this role if you can successfully combine your experience leading high-performance teams with your expertise in the area of creative design and marketing/communications, all while having a heart for mission work that directly impacts the lives of children and youth around the world. We’re seeking someone who views creative design and communications work not just as a series of tasks, but as vital ministry work with eternal value, and has the ability to understand both church and donor markets to be able to effectively engage these groups.

This position is primarily remote with occasional travel required based on strategic organizational meetings. Primary travel locations would be our offices in St. Charles, IL or Nashville, TN.  Other travel may include domestic US and/or international on occasion as ministry needs would indicate.

Hiring Range for this position is:  $85,000 – $95,000

Who We Are Looking For:

• An exemplary leader who builds, mentors, and engages assigned team(s) in a remote-first workplace while ensuring the team’s processes and work exceed the standards of operational and cultural excellence.
• A good steward of the assigned budget(s), allocating appropriate expenses for effective ministry in line with our vision and mission.
• Team player who supports, upholds and demonstrates the Awana values in internal and external communications and relationships.
• Collaborative partner who has a natural ability to cultivate genuine relationships with our internal team and external partners.
• Logical problem solver who proactively communicates workflow and/or deadline status to the team.
• Self-motivated, goal-oriented professional with a passion for helping fuel exponential ministry growth.
• Flexible team member who is open to taking on new responsibilities and easily adapts to shifting priorities and needs.
• Champion of children to belong, believe, and become resilient disciples.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership

• Works closely with leadership to ensure the brands of Awana, including look, feel, verbiage, and other elements, are in line with organizational standards and strategy.
• Directs the Creative Team in the production of print and digital advertising assets, conference materials, social media content, campaigns, promotions, videos, webinars, and other marketing collateral.
• Shepherds the team members in terms of professional development as well as managing budgets, projects and deadlines.
• Proactively allocates resources, manages the team’s workload and ensures deadlines are met.
• Leverages production processes to improve stewardship of time and financial resources in creative project/product development.

Creative Strategy

• Develops and maintains documented brand strategies for program and discipleship initiatives (including, but not limited to Awana Clubs, Brite, CDF, etc.)
• Guides creative direction across the entire organization, including communications, curriculum, donor, and marketing projects, products, and programs.
• Builds production processes to ensure deliverables are of the highest quality and have been through the proper proofing, approvals as well as user testing and quality assurance.

Client Service & Satisfaction

• Facilitates conversations with key stakeholders to craft campaign strategies and supporting asset development.
• Ensures quality and consistent visual and verbal identity based on defined brand strategies across the organization.
• Adeptly manages agency and vendor relationships (outside agencies, art services, web designers, printers, etc.) to ensure Awana receives the best pricing for quality services and production.
• Supports, upholds and demonstrates the Awana cultural values in internal and external communications and relationships.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

What You Need:

• Minimum 10+ years mission-driven leadership of professional creative teams with proven track record of producing measurable results within a dynamic work environment.
• Bachelor’s degree (BA or BS) desired with a concentration in Graphic Design, Communications, Marketing, or similar from an accredited college or university.
• Must have strong working knowledge of common graphic design technology including Mac and Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Lightroom); also required strong working knowledge of printing processes and technologies.
• Proven ability to effectively and artistically mentor staff on the elements of design such as: line, shape, space, color, scale, contrast, typography.
• Demonstrated ability to articulate abstract ideas in order to cast vision to staff thereby prompting production of compelling visual creations.
• Ability to combine creativity with technical precision in order to balance client expectations with internal deadlines.
• Experience working with external vendors and printers.
• Occasional local and out-of-town, overnight travel may be required.
• General understanding of the Bible and the Christian Church in its various expressions preferred.
• Experience with Awana Club, curriculum, resources, & solutions is a plus!
• Valid State driver’s license required.  Valid US Passport a plus.
• Eligibility to work in the United States is required; this position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship.

Spiritual Life

Must be a born-again Christian. Must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Must be in agreement with the Awana Doctrinal Statement. Must be in fellowship with the body of Christ through a local church. Regularly engages in reading the Holy Bible as a guide and standard for living.

Physical Demands/Working Conditions

While performing the duties of this job, the team member is regularly required to communicate. The team member is also required to regularly utilize computer equipment (e.g., screens and keyboards) to perform work. Awana recommends maintaining ergonomic posture, utilizing properly positioned computer equipment to minimize strain, and taking regular breaks to stretch and move around. Specific vision abilities required by this job includes close vision. Local and out-of-town, overnight travel may be required.

What We Offer:

As a ministry that equips leaders to reach kids with the gospel and engage them in lifelong discipleship, we value our team that makes this happen and are excited to offer:

• Mission-driven work that changes the lives of children and youth around the world.
• Intentional connection, flexibility, family, and community engagement are part of our culture.
• Remote-first work environment, allowing you to do the majority of your work from where it is you call “home”. We also have two office locations designed for collaborative work and connection with colleagues in St. Charles, Illinois, and Nashville, Tennessee, that can be used at your convenience.
• Benefits package, including a variety of programs you can choose from to meet you and your family’s needs. Some of these include medical, dental & vision health insurance, paid family leave, 401(k) & Roth 401(k) retirement savings plans with employer match, generous paid vacation & holidays, adoption assistance, an employee wellness program, and more!

This Job Description reflects the current assignment of essential functions and is not meant to be all-inclusive. Responsibilities may be assigned or reassigned to this job at any time based on the needs of the organization and may be modified to reasonably accommodate an individual with a disability or for other reasons. Please note, this opportunity is contingent upon favorable completion of a reference check, background check, and I-9 completion.