The VP Creative is a senior creative and storytelling leader within Carnegie’s Go-To-Market organization, responsible for shaping how Carnegie positions itself in the market and how our story is told—especially in high-stakes moments.
This role partners closely with Marketing, Business Development, and executive leadership to translate Carnegie’s strategy, capabilities, and point of view into compelling narratives, experiences, and creative systems. The VP Creative plays a critical role in defining how Carnegie shows up in pitches, proposals, campaigns, and flagship brand moments—helping the firm articulate its value with clarity, confidence, and distinction.
This is not a downstream production role. It is a strategic leadership position at the intersection of brand, storytelling, and business development.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Brand Strategy & Stewardship
- Co-own the evolution and stewardship of Carnegie’s brand in close partnership with Marketing and executive leadership.
- Translate company strategy, positioning, and values into clear, differentiated brand narratives and expressive systems.
- Help refine and operationalize brand standards that balance consistency with flexibility across go-to-market needs.
- Serve as a collaborative brand steward—advising teams on how to apply the brand thoughtfully, confidently, and effectively.
- Creative Systems & Scalable Frameworks
- Lead the development of scalable creative systems, templates, and guidelines that enable speed, quality, and consistency.
- Oversee the creation of core brand assets used across marketing, sales, conferences, and internal communications.
- Ensure creative work balances visual excellence with usability, accessibility, and real-world business needs.
- Move the organization from one-off creative execution to durable, repeatable creative frameworks.
- Manage and guide the Presentation Designer and provide strategic oversight to their Business Development and Marketing deliverables.
- Business Development & Pitch Leadership
- Serve as a creative consultant to Carnegie’s business development and pitch team, helping shape how the company positions itself in competitive, high-value pursuits.
- Support creative ideation, direction, and story development for major pitches, RFPs, and growth opportunities
- Partner with Business Development, GTM leadership, and subject matter experts to translate complex strategies, data, and capabilities into clear, compelling narratives.
- Help teams move from “what we do” to “why it matters,” articulating Carnegie’s value in a way that resonates with senior higher education leaders.
- Support the evolution of Carnegie’s pitch approach and materials, building repeatable frameworks that scale across pursuits while allowing for customization where it counts.
- Marketing & Sales Enablement
- Partner closely with marketing, business development, and sales to bring storytelling and design excellence to go-to-market efforts.
- Set creative direction for presentations, proposals, campaigns, research, and thought leadership.
- Elevate how Carnegie communicates its capabilities, value proposition, and impact—helping sales teams tell a clearer, more compelling story.
- Support capability-led selling by ensuring creative assets reinforce Carnegie’s integrated value.
- Digital & Experience Design Leadership
- Provide creative leadership for digital experiences, including the website, campaign landing pages, and interactive content.
- Ensure brand expression is thoughtfully integrated into UX/UI, content, and interaction design.
- Collaborate with internal teams and external partners to deliver cohesive, on-brand digital experiences that support conversion and credibility.
- Team & Partner Leadership
- Lead, mentor, and inspire internal creative talent and external partners or agencies.
- Set clear creative direction, provide actionable feedback, and uphold a high bar for craft and execution.
- Manage workflows, priorities, and timelines to ensure creative efforts align with strategic goals and GTM moments.
- Help define how creative talent scales as Carnegie grows.
- Collaboration & Communication
- Act as a trusted creative partner to GTM leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.
- Clearly articulate creative concepts, rationale, and feedback to diverse audiences—including senior leaders.
- Balance creative ambition with stakeholder input, timelines, and business realities.
- Bring clarity, calm, and confidence to moments of ambiguity.
Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:
- A clear, differentiated, and consistently expressed Carnegie brand across all touchpoints.
- Creative systems that scale with the business and help teams move faster without sacrificing quality.
- Elevated marketing and sales materials that strengthen credibility, clarity, and conversion.
- Creative is viewed internally as a strategic growth driver—not a downstream service.
- Strong collaboration and trust across Marketing, GTM, and leadership teams.
Credentials and Experience:
- 12+ years of experience in brand, design, or creative leadership roles, with a portfolio demonstrating both strategic thinking and strong execution.
- Proven experience building and leading brand systems across multiple channels—not just campaigns.
- Deep understanding of marketing, sales enablement, and digital experience design.
- Experience partnering cross-functionally and influencing senior leaders.
- Ability to think strategically while remaining hands-on when needed.
- Exceptional storytelling, communication, and presentation skills.
- Experience in B2B, professional services, or complex, multi-offering organizations is a plus.