Creative Solutions Manager - ETS Marketing

The Creative Solutions Manager is a senior creative leader responsible for overseeing a multidisciplinary team of designers, copywriters, and digital creatives who deliver high-quality, integrated marketing assets across B2B, B2C, B2U, and B2B2C audiences. Supporting Sophia Learning, Workforce Edge, and employer-facing solutions across SEI brands, this role operates as a shared service and serves as a key member of the broader Marketing Leadership Team.
This position balances strategic leadership with hands-on creative expertise. The Creative Solutions Manager translates enterprise and brand-level marketing strategies into cohesive, audience-centered creative systems and campaigns, while ensuring operational excellence, scalability, and consistent brand expression across channels. As a creative steward and people leader, this role elevates creative quality, strengthens design and content systems, and partners closely with Marketing Operations to optimize workflows, resourcing, and productivity.

ETS’ Creative Solutions team functions as an in-house agency, supporting creative strategy and execution across Workforce Edge, Sophia Learning, and employer-facing B2B experiences for Capella, Strayer, and SEI brands. The team collaborates deeply with Brand, Channel, Product, and Operations partners to deliver compelling, high-impact marketing that advances business outcomes.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Strategic Creative Leadership

• Serve as a senior creative leader within Marketing, contributing to strategic planning, prioritization, and decision-making alongside Brand, Channel, and Operations leaders.
• Translate business and marketing objectives into clear creative strategies, frameworks, and executional direction across campaigns, programs, and always-on marketing.
• Advocate for creative excellence, audience-centered thinking, and brand consistency across the organization.
• Provide expert creative direction and feedback across disciplines, including visual design, copywriting, messaging, UX/UI, motion, and emerging formats.

Creative Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of designers, copywriters, and digital creatives with diverse skill sets and experience levels.
• Set clear expectations for creative quality, performance, and collaboration; provide ongoing coaching, feedback, and formal performance management.
• Support career development through goal setting, skill-building, exposure to new challenges, and alignment with industry best practices.
• Lead or contribute directly to creative work when needed, particularly for high-impact, complex, or strategic initiatives.

Brand Stewardship & Design Systems

• Own and evolve brand expression across Sophia Learning, Workforce Edge, and SEI employer brands, ensuring cohesive storytelling and visual consistency.
• Guide the development, documentation, and adoption of brand guidelines, design systems, templates, and content standards that enable scalability and efficiency.
• Ensure creative solutions are accessible, inclusive, and aligned with audience needs, channel best practices, and regulatory requirements.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Partner closely with Brand Marketing Managers to align creative with brand strategy, positioning, and audience insights.
• Collaborate with Channel, Product, UX, and Technology teams to deliver integrated creative across digital, print, and experiential touchpoints.
• Act as a primary creative point of contact for stakeholders, providing clear guidance, setting expectations, and ensuring alignment from concept through delivery.

Operational Excellence & Resource Optimization

• Work in close partnership with Marketing Operations and Project Management to plan capacity, assign resources, and manage creative intake and prioritization.
• Identify opportunities to improve workflows, tools, and processes that enhance team productivity, creative quality, and speed to market.
• Support short- and long-term resource planning, including the strategic use of freelancers and agencies.
• Collaborate with external creative partners to ensure work meets brand, quality, and performance standards.

Quality, Performance & Continuous Improvement

• Establish and uphold standards for creative review, critique, and iteration across disciplines.
• Assess creative effectiveness using performance data, usability insights, and stakeholder feedback; apply learnings to continuously improve outputs.
• Stay informed on industry trends, tools, and best practices to evolve creative capabilities and elevate marketing impact.

Job Skills:

Required

• Strong core expertise in design, copywriting, brand systems, or creative strategy, with the ability to lead and critique across multiple creative disciplines.
• Demonstrated experience developing and maintaining brand standards and scalable creative systems.
• Proven ability to translate marketing and business strategies into effective creative direction and execution.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience partnering with marketing operations or project management teams to manage workflows and resources.
• Working knowledge of creative and collaboration tools (e.g., Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, CMS platforms, writing/editing tools, project management software).

Preferred

• Experience leading creative for digital-first, B2B and B2C brands.
• Familiarity with UX/UI principles, accessibility standards, and digital performance optimization.
• Experience managing agencies, freelancers, and external creative vendors.
• Background in higher education, workforce development, or mission-driven organizations.

Work Experience:

• 6+ years of progressive experience in creative leadership, design, brand, or integrated marketing roles.
• 3+ years managing creative teams in an in-house agency or agency environment.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution; BA/BS/BFA in Graphic Design, Communications, Marketing, or a related field required.
• MBA, MFA, or equivalent advanced degree preferred.

Other:

• Must be able to travel occasionally should a business need arise. For most roles travel would not be common. Travel may involve plane, car or metro. In accordance with ADA policies, reasonable accommodations regarding travel limitations can be provided.
• Ability to work onsite in Corporate or Campus location (in a typical office environment) may be required based on role. If so, this would include being mobile within the office, including movement from floor-to-floor using elevators or stairs.
• If offsite or hybrid role, must have access to work in setting which enables meeting all requirements of the role (including privacy, reliable internet access, phone, ability to video conference, etc.) at a remote location.
• Faculty and Federal Work Study roles require access to work in setting which enables meeting all requirements of the role (including computer, privacy, reliable internet access, phone, ability to video conference, etc.) at a remote location.
• This role may require lifting, however reasonable accommodations will be provided in accordance with our ADA policies.
• Must be able to meet critical thinking and problem solving aspects aligned to job duties, as well as effectively communicating with co-workers.
• Must be able to work more than 40 hours per week when business needs warrant. Accommodations related to schedule may be considered. 
• Able to access information using a computer.
• Other essential functions and marginal job functions are subject to modification.

SEI offers a comprehensive package of benefits to employees scheduled 30 hours or more per week. In addition to medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans, SEI employees may take advantage of well-being incentives, parental leave, paid time off, certain paid holidays, tax saving accounts (FSA, HSA), 401(k) retirement benefit, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, tuition assistance as well as entertainment and retail discounts. Non-exempt employees are eligible for overtime pay, if applicable.

Careers - Our Benefits, Strategic Education, Inc

SEI is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive and collaborative culture where individuals can grow their careers and contribute fully. We strive to attract talent with broad experiences, skills and perspectives. We welcome applications from all. While it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top end of the pay range at SEI, we offer a competitive salary.  The actual base pay offered to the successful candidate may vary depending on multiple factors including, but not limited to, job-related knowledge/skills, experience, business needs, geographical location, and internal pay equity. Our Talent Acquisition Team is ready to discuss your interest in joining SEI. The expected salary range for this position is below.

$92,700.00 - $139,100.00 - Salary

If you require reasonable accommodations to complete our application process, please contact our Human Resources Department at Careers@strategiced.com.