Head of Creative (12 months FTC)

Role: Head of Creative (FTC – 12 months)

Location: UK, London

Job type: Full time, 12 months fixed term contract – hybrid

This position offers a hybrid work model, allowing flexibility between working from home and our office. Typically, employees are expected to work 2 days in the office per week.

Why QS?

At QS, we believe that work should empower you. That’s why we foster a flexible working environment that encourages every employee to own their career whilst flourishing personally and professionally. Our commitment to people development is recognised globally: QS is a Gold-accredited Investors in People organisation, placing us among the top 28% of workplaces worldwide. Our company values underpin everything we do – we collaborate, respect and support each other.

It’s our mission to empower motivated people around the world to fulfil their potential through higher education, ensuring that everyone has access to opportunities that change lives.

Our diversity makes us stronger. By sharing our experiences, we learn from one another and achieve more together, driving progress across the sector.

At QS, you’ll be responsible for implementing real change in the international higher education landscape. You’ll take on meaningful challenges that see a positive impact across the business and the wider sector.

We’re confident you’ll feel right at home here. QS was named as one of Newsweek’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces® in the UK (October 2023), recognising the respect, trust and appreciation that drive our culture every day.

As our Head of Creative, this is what you’ll be doing:

As the most senior Creative at QS, you’ll be responsible for the leadership and management of the Creative Studio, the UI/UX team, the Web Manager and Webflow Developer, curating and expressing our brand through campaigns creative, the B2B website and our suite of QS products contained in platforms.

The Creative Studio works on projects spanning the business, from Institutional-facing marketing to Student-facing print material to the website and marketing campaign branding creation. It’s a fast-paced environment with high-reward, being involved in upholding the visual identity of this well-known brand in higher education.

Managing the UI/UX team involves assisting with business strategy based prioritisation and QA’ing designs according to our QS Brand system and assisting with managing stakeholder expectations and requests.

You’ll be collaborating daily with Marketing, Product, Content, and other stakeholders, Head of Creative ensures outstanding, consistent and on-time creative delivery to mobilise and evoke positive sentiment among our audiences and bring to life our global and prestigious higher education brand. Coaching the international Creative Studio and UI/UX team members will be essential by providing timely feedback and ensuring quality control and consistency among assets produced, as well as keeping in close and daily contact with the Web Manager on website developments, QA and fixes.

Role responsibilities

Developing and manging a team of creatives in the UK, Colombia, Malaysia and Singapore, a team of UI/UX and a Webflow Developer in Bangalore, and a Web Manager in Brazil

Running team meetings and weekly Creative Critique sessions, enabling the team to provide and receive constructive feedback from yourself and team members and adapt creative projects accordingly

Proactively suggest branding evolutions, particularly for marketing campaigns, keeping in mind team capabilities and timelines for delivery

Managing expectations of senior stakeholders, with strong communication skills and a collaborative approach

Leveraging strong project management skills, requirements analysis, traffic and studio management, and impact analysis – to successfully deliver on creative and UI/UX projects

Managing team’s performance and quality of output, resourcing levels and budgets to meet QS stakeholder and client expectations

Data-driven in decision-making and making recommendations to stakeholders

Conducting and facilitating training sessions for QS teams, including Loom recordings for Canva, Webflow and other platforms where possible/needed

Sharing inspirational graphic examples and keeping up with industry trends

Design thinking and attention to detail is key

Regularly using and training in AI and automation tools to improve workflow and shorten timeframes, keeping quality of work high

Developing easy-to-use templates for efficiency and consistency across all graphics for campaigns and events, across Microsoft Office and Canva

Overseeing the presentation of final concepts, and obtain approvals for deliverables

Ensuring that brand guidelines are current, updated and adhered to in all creative activities across the company

Prioritising own tasks based on business strategy and potential impact of projects - balancing this with leading the team and quality checking

Maintaining and overseeing the SharePoint site and Canva folders, keeping them updated with newest files and templates

Any other duties in line with the scope and responsibilities of the role

Key skills and experience

Proficiency in Adobe suite (Figma, Hubspot and Webflow a plus)

Lead strategy meetings with internal stakeholders to understand business objectives and client needs against requests

Leadership skills with the ability to build and optimise creative output (be a coach and a player)

A keen eye for detail when it comes to layouts, colour schemes and brand coherence

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

Experience creating social media content for a variety of platforms, as well as print

Excellent time management skills and finding efficiencies in workflow, including using technologies like AI and platforms for automation

Experience developing skills and coaching creative team members

A diverse portfolio demonstrating graphic design skills in a variety of styles, including campaign designs and social media

Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, often under tight timeframes

Skills in infographics and data visualisation a plus

Experience in Click Up (or similar task management system) a plus

Experience briefing and liaising with freelancers/agencies a plus

Please note, if you don't meet all the criteria but believe you have the skills and passion to thrive in this role, we encourage you to apply.

So, who are we and what do we do?

QS is the world leader in higher education services, analytics, insights and intelligence. From consultancy to student mobility, academic partnerships to branding solutions, our services power both institutional and individual success.

We’re behind the world’s most widely read university rankings. With an 85% share of all Google searches for university rankings, the QS World University Rankings® reach hundreds of millions, shaping decisions and guiding futures.

Since launching in 1990, our impact and influence have only grown. Today, we work with more than 2,000 of the world’s leading higher education institutions, over 12,000 employers, and governments seeking change and socioeconomic development through higher education – while helping more than 75,000 students enrol each year.

Join QS and you’ll join an 800-strong community of problem-solvers, creators, collaborators and change-makers based in 40+ countries and 11 international offices, including Australia, Malaysia, India, Romania, Singapore, France, Germany, the USA and our headquarters in London.

With every talented new hire, business acquisition and bold initiative, we’re strengthening our reach and delivering even greater value to institutions and learners worldwide. Are you ready to shape the future of higher education?

We take investing in our people very seriously.

As standard you will have:

Competitive base salary

Access to an annual bonus scheme (for qualifying roles only)

25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays – increasing to 27 days after 5 years’

Access to a Buy Holiday scheme allowing you to buy up to 5 additional holiday days per year

Enhanced maternity and paternity leave

Generous pension through Royal London

Comprehensive private medical insurance and wellness scheme through Vitality

Cycle to work scheme

A vibrant social environment and multicultural and multinational culture

But that’s not all. Outside of these standard benefits we also offer resources to allow professional growth and wellness initiatives to nurture a healthy mindset:

Free subscription to the Calm App – the #1 app for sleep, meditation, and relaxation

A focus on welfare which is led by our global wellness team, with mental health first aiders globally

Access to a variety of diversity and inclusion initiatives and groups

Strong recognition and reward programs – including a peer-to-peer recognition platform, quarterly and annual QS Applaud Awards, Connect with your Career annual PD event

Support for volunteering and study leave

Free subscription to LinkedIn learning – with over 5000 courses and programmes at your fingertips

Options to join our outstanding global Mentorship programme

As a candidate, we know the application and interview process can be daunting and so it’s important that you have a great experience with us. Our dedicated Talent Team will work hard to ensure you are fully informed at all stages and you are really excited by this opportunity to do meaningful work in the education space.

Equal opportunities

QS Quacquarelli Symonds is proud to be a fair and equal organisation where everyone has the same opportunity to achieve their full potential, irrespective of their background or personal attributes. We celebrate our diversity and believe through sharing our experiences we can learn from one another, be stronger together, and enable our business to thrive.