Graphic Designer and Strategic Communications Specialist

San Luis Obispo, CA (Hybrid)

$86K/yr – $137K/yrMid Level5+ years expFull time

Posted 5 months ago

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Job Summary

Drive graphic design and strategic communications support for Water Systems Consulting, owning brand and content creation across print, digital, and events.

  • Must-have: 5+ years in graphics/communications and mastery of InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop.
  • Standout: Travel up to 30% and ability to coordinate across cross-functional teams.
  • Standout: Brand implementation experience and strong editorial/technical writing skills.

Job Description

Responsibilities

  • Graphic design and brand management.
  • Develop icons, diagrams, charts, infographics, illustrations etc. for complex material and concepts. Material may be used for creative applications including presentations, print, video, social and web.
  • Review design for documents and presentations.
  • Manage printing and production of collateral for events and meetings.
  • Support graphic needs for marketing, proposals, and internal initiatives as needed.
  • Potential for brand implementation and management, working closely with WSC leads and staff to define comprehensive brand strategies and priorities.
  • Strategic Communications: Define and develop strategic communication, engagement, and planning activities.
  • Conceptualize, produce, write, review, and finalize written content for reports, surveys, agendas, presentations, print, video, social, and web platforms. Perform technical editing and formatting for written documents.
  • Facilitate and incorporate feedback to quickly implement edits and improvements.
  • Plan and coordinate events, both in-person and virtual.

Requirements

  • 5+ years of experience in graphics, marketing, public, or community relations.
  • Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Journalism, PR, English, Communications, a related field, or equivalent experience.
  • Demonstrated experience successfully managing multiple projects and priorities, working across teams to meet complex communications needs and project goals.
  • Strong organizational and time management abilities.
  • Receptive to feedback and adaptable to change.
  • Impeccable accuracy and attention to detail in developing and finalizing designs and content.
  • Strong skills in technical writing, editing, formatting, verbal and written communication.
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office products, including PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.
  • Design Skills including: Properly exporting and formatting files for print production (CMYK compatible colors, crop marks and bleed, proper ppi for print).
  • Dynamic layout & editorial design (with attention to good style and accessibility in type size, color contrast, proper visual hierarchy, generous margins etc.).
  • Experience using InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop including mastery of paragraph and character styles in InDesign.
  • Ability to adhere to brand guidelines and match style of existing assets.
  • Experience in social media content development, design, and management.
  • Willingness and ability to travel up to 30% of the time, with frequency varying based on project needs.
  • Commitment to sustainability and the environment.

Preferred

  • Experience in consulting, engineering, public agencies, or the water industry.
  • Skills in digital illustration and photo editing without reliance on AI generated assets.
  • Experience creating templates in PowerPoint and Word.
  • Experience in website design and content development, preferably with WIX and WordPress.
  • Willingness to learn and support proposal preparation through layout design as well as building scopes and fees.
  • Understanding and experience with ADA/WCAG compliance in digital and print design.
  • Ability to animate graphics in Adobe AfterEffects.
  • Ability to edit video in Adobe Premier and/or Final Cut.
WSC (Water Systems Consulting) logo

WSC (Water Systems Consulting)

WSC (Water Systems Consulting) is a values-driven water consulting firm committed to creating a better water future for our clients and their communities. Our integrated team of engineers, planners, designers, hydrogeologists and communicators deliver integrated, high-performing, transformative solutions at every stage of the water cycle.We envision a better water future where communities everywhere have reliable access to affordable, clean water. With increasing pressures on water resources and infrastructure, this mission is more important—and more challenging—than ever. We are a collaborative, multi-disciplinary group of some of the industry’s most talented minds. Together, we are tackling water challenges through innovation and partnership, and by empowering one another to do our best work.We put people first in everything we do as a company. Four Core Commitments embody our shared values and our promise:1. LISTEN TO UNDERSTAND. We listen with an open, unbiased ear to connect to others’ experience and perspective. 2. NURTURE TRUST. We continually model integrity, transparency and humility to forge trust in every interaction. 3. DELIVER VALUE. We courageously ask “what if” to surpass expectations and deliver value that moves us and our clients forward. 4. LEAVE IT BETTER. We acknowledge our responsibility to leave everything we touch better than we found it.We are passionate about building and sustaining a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace where our team is inspired to voice ideas and share diverse cultural perspectives and identities. Our people-first culture empowers every employee to grow and thrive. Every employee, from our experienced leaders to our younger professionals, has the opportunity to meaningfully contribute to some of the most innovative, groundbreaking water projects in the country.

Founded in 2007
San Luis Obispo, California, USA
71 employees (8 in marketing)

Traffic Signals

Monthly Visitors
2.6K
Traffic Source Mix
Search
24%
Direct
53.5%
Referral
5.7%
Social
15.4%
Paid
1.4%

Headcount Trend

Current headcount: ~72

Marketing Team

Marketing Team Size
5 (7% of company)