Senior Manager, Design

The Senior Manager, Design will lead us in the development of big ideas and producing quality work across all channels. The ideal candidate must be conceptual, strategic, collaborative and be able to extract amazing thoughts and ideas from your creative team.

S/he will maintain a close working relationship with key members of the team; will operate as an authoritative voice on creative and will be responsible to mentor, give clear direction and constructive feedback on creative work. This role will partner closely with leadership around team utilization. On select projects, s/he will also function as the primary designer responsible for delivering compelling concepts and design.

Responsibilities to include but not limited to:

Creative Direction

·         Develop thought leadership and creative solutions

·         Lead brainstorming / creative sessions, establish creative vision and provide hands-on direction while overseeing the creative process, guiding and collaborating as needed

·         Partner with Business Owners and internal teams on business objectives and develop the appropriate creative vision, direction and execution while strengthening Biogen’s market distinction and leadership position

·         Present creative work to Biogen stakeholders, articulate and defend ideas

·         Help to establish and maintain the reputation of the company as a creative leader in healthcare advertising

·         Set and maintain creative standards for the department

·         Inspire and motivate all members of the design team – promote continual creative improvement for both yourself and others and actively contribute to a culture of innovation, excellence and accountability

·         Lead the design team in the planning, brainstorming, collaboration, creative reviews, and creative development of a wide range of integrated marketing projects (online and offline)

·         Review creative briefs and provide creative feedback/input when necessary

Design

·         Personally conceptualize and execute on design-driven internal & external communications

·         Keep current on the latest award-winning advertising, video and graphic techniques, industry trends, plus media and technology innovations

·         Must be able to develop a range of creative concepts effectively while in collaboration with copywriters

·         Regularly work with a wide range of creative partners including, but not limited to; illustrators, photographers, retouchers, editorial department, video editors, producers, medical directors, marketing strategists, and account executives to ensure highest quality product within specified deadlines

·         Incorporates and/or explore stakeholder responses to presentation; creatively and collaboratively resolves questions and concerns

·         Make sound, timely decisions about final changes to work in progress

·         Collaborate with senior management from other disciplines to enhance creative output

·         Represent the Biogen brand with both internal and external partners

People Manager

·         Supervise, lead and motivate design team and production talent, promoting the professional development of the department by encouraging the staff to continuously grow in their profession, stay abreast of industry trends

·         Proven track record of mentoring and developing direct reports ensuring professional development needs are considered

·         Provide continuous and ongoing feedback and annual reviews to a team of at least 4 FTE’s

·         Empower team to take initiative and inspire others to excel

·         Proactively address issues that may arise and encourage open communication

·         12 plus years as a Designer at an external or in-house advertising agency or equivalent

·         Biotech/Pharma industry related experience preferred

·         Great people skills – have to inspire and lead client and internal teams 

·         Superior visual design sensibilities and principle knowledge 

·         Willingness and ability to lead and mentor creative team members while also being hands-on with the day-to-day work

·         Proven experience managing a team

·         Strong working knowledge of design applications including In Design, Photoshop, Illustrator and PowerPoint as well as a thorough working knowledge of online and offline production.

·         Ability to articulate your thoughts and ideas both verbally and visually

·         Shows interest in finding the cause of problems, looks for and chooses effective solutions and takes the necessary action to resolve them

·         Ability to establish an effective demeanor and communication to influence one's point of view

·         Can communicate a vision or goal to others and lead them towards achieving it

·         Coaches to develop their team’s capabilities beyond their job duties

·         Emphasizes the broader, longer term vision and values as a means of guiding decisions and actions

·         Basic understanding of HTML, XHTML, CSS, Java, web publishing, etc.

·         Knowledge of SEO and web traffic metrics

·         Familiarity with social media

·         External agency experience desired

·         In-house agency experience preferred

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Graphic Design combined with outstanding creative portfolio