Creative Director
Senior creative leader at Hawai'i Community Foundation who stewards the brand's visual identity across print, digital, and multimedia while remaining a hands-on designer on a lean communications team. Core tools are Adobe Creative Suite (incl. Premiere Pro and After Effects), with some HTML/CSS/JS and SharePoint work.
- Compensation
- Not disclosed
- Location
- Honolulu, Honolulu, HI, US
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Not specified
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- 4+ years
- Category
- Creative
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communications, Marketing, Fine Arts, Communications, or related field (or equivalent combination of education and experience)
- Experience developing creative strategies, leading multidisciplinary creative teams, and managing creative projects from concept through delivery
- 10+ years of professional design experience, including 5+ years in a senior or lead creative role
- 4+ years of experience managing staff and/or contractors
- Expert-level proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and digital design tools
- Strong portfolio demonstrating brand leadership and high-impact multi-platform design across print and digital
- Advanced print design and production experience (prepress, proofing, color management, vendor coordination, press-ready files)
- Working proficiency in multimedia production: video editing, motion graphics, audio editing, image retouching, captioning
- Experience with Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects, or comparable video/motion-design applications
- Working knowledge of photography, videography, lighting, audio capture, and multimedia production equipment
- Experience managing creative production workflows, budgets, and external partners
- Deep understanding of inclusive design, accessibility, and audience-centered storytelling
- Experience with email marketing platforms, content management systems, and SharePoint Online websites
- Experience managing website redesigns, site enhancements, content governance, and maintenance
- Experience communicating interactive ideas in-browser with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- Solid foundation in typography, layout, graphic design, copywriting, creative strategy, and design thinking
- Excellent visual, written, and oral communication skills and strong aesthetic judgment
- Exceptional interpersonal skills with donors, community partners, vendors, and other constituents
- Ability to exercise discretion with sensitive or confidential information
- Ability to manage multiple projects, priorities, timelines, budgets, and deadlines
- Knowledge and sensitivity to the history and complexities of Hawai'i's multicultural community and passion for the betterment of Hawai'i
Nice to have
- Ability to thrive in a highly collaborative and flexible organization with diverse colleagues
Full description
HCF’s Collaboration Philosophy
At the Hawai‘i Community Foundation (HCF), we believe that an organization’s team as a ‘whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ (Aristotle). To us, this means that we are committed to being a collaborative ‘ohana that lives and puts our mission into action, respects and cares for each other, and innovates and learns together. We understand that we must rely upon all of our individual strengths as we partner to provide excellent value and achieve effective results for our generous donors, community partners, and all of Hawai‘i’s people.
Position Summary
Like all HCF team members and volunteers, the Creative Director exudes heart and passion for HCF’s mission: to inspire the spirit of giving and invest in people and solutions to benefit our community.
The Creative Director is a senior creative leader who shapes and stewards HCF’s visual identity across platforms. As a hands-on designer on a lean communications team, this role combines executive-level creative direction with high-caliber design execution, producing high-visibility assets and setting standards for consistency, accessibility, and brand excellence.
Working in close partnership with the Strategic Communications Director, the Creative Director helps to co-lead departmental priorities, coordinate workflow, allocate resources, and ensure alignment between communications strategies, creative execution, and organizational objectives. Together, these roles foster a collaborative, integrated communications approach that advances HCF’s mission, strengthens stakeholder engagement, and supports organizational goals.
In addition to providing design leadership, the Creative Director personally executes a significant volume of print, digital, and multimedia design work. The role serves as backup to the Multimedia Designer when that team member is unavailable or when additional production capacity is needed. The Creative Director also serves as project manager for creative projects, overseeing all aspects and phases of production through timely delivery.
Essential Position Responsibilities
Key responsibilities fall within the following areas of focus.
Creative Leadership, Collaboration and Management
- Lead creative projects from concept through delivery, overseeing ideation, planning, design, production, review, implementation, timelines, workflows, budgets, and evaluation.
- Develop and present creative briefs, concepts, frameworks, and presentations aligned with organizational goals, audience needs, and stakeholder requirements.
- Manage creative processes, systems, resources, and capacity planning to support effective project delivery across departments.
- Collaborate with staff, vendors, contractors, and external creative partners to complete projects from concept to completion.