McGraw Hill Looking for Lead Media Product Designer at Chicago, IL  Full Time

McGraw Hill is seeking a Lead Media Product Designer to help us create next generation learning experiences for PreK-12 students and teachers. We’re looking for someone who can develop innovative solutions, brainstorm, and translate high-level visions into compellingprint anddigital experiences. If you have apassion for learning, teaching, and engaging media design then this is an opportunity to join a company creating the future of education!

The Lead Media Product Designer is responsible for leading and mentoring Product Designers as well as hands-on creation of product design strategy. As a leader, the Lead will mentor and help foster a culture of continuous learning and desire to master a wide range of product design skills. As a hands-on Product Designer, the Lead will set and model standards of excellence for our teams while showing a passion for learning.

The Lead must be able to think strategically about process and product design to create solutions that are both effective and efficient, are easily scalable, and enable the cross functional product teams to execute on strategy and maximize efficiency throughout the product build process. The Lead must be well-versed in both print and digital product design.
The Lead will identify new opportunities in workflows, make and implement recommendations to help teams gain efficiencies, as well as optimizing roles and skill sets throughout the product design and build process. This is a key role to developing delightful product solutions and ensuring scalability while embracing a spirit of innovation.
The Lead role will leverage design teams and vendors in strategic ways to optimize efficiency and costs. They will work with design vendors to foster a partnership and run projects with little oversight from the Product Design team.

What you will be doing:
* Responsible for driving a user-centered approach to product design strategy and assure for scalability during the product build phase
* Work with direct reports to develop engaging, user-centered, and purposeful media from concept through final delivery.
* Collaborate with cross-functional team to brainstorm, design, research, acquire, track, and seek approval for all media assets: art; photo; video; sound; animation; etc. Clearly articulate choices to cross-functional teams and key stakeholders.
* Provide clear expectations and feedback to vendor partners. Monitor and report project status and guide team’s work to ensure media assets meet expectations for quality, data capture, scalability, alignment to media strategy, budget, and schedule.
* Develop guidelines for media development for both internal and external vendor partners based on project and team needs.
* Seek innovative and cost-saving ways to fulfill asset needs by reviewing specs and strategizing media objectives.
* Possess a high degree of creativity, visual communication, and problem-solving abilities.
* Demonstrate a strong attention to detail, embody the work ethic and personality that thrives in a fast-paced culture with tight deadlines, shifting priorities, and cross functional team collaboration.
* Advocate for direct reports and team; helps get them visibility, support, and resources they need to grow; balances individual, team, and company needs while delivering results.
* Responsible for vendor management, budget forecasting and vendor invoicing.
* Develop and maintain initiatives or departmental activities that will aid in increasing productivity, enhancing department workflow, decreasing costs, improving quality or other identifiable benefits or efficiencies.
* Demonstrate leadership in all aspects of design and in working relationships within and across cross-functional teams.

Desired Requirements & Experience:
* BA, BFA, or formal design degree in one of the following: art, film, audio, video, motion graphics, photography, design, or related field
* 5+ years’ work experience with art buying, media research and acquisition, media development, and project management.
* Strong working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Microsoft office. Smartsheet expertise a plus.
* Understanding of Web Accessibility best practices.
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

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McGraw Hill is an equal opportunity employer. McGraw Hill is committed to celebrating and supporting the differences that make us each unique and will not discriminate based on a person’s gender, gender identity or expression, nationality, color, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, appearance or veteran status. We are proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, and we will also provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities.