Job Description

Department

Climate Institute Policy Communications

About the Department

The University of Chicago Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth (ICSG) is a groundbreaking initiative that brings together faculty from across the University to advance society’s understanding of our energy and climate future. ICSG integrates insights in energy markets and policy, climate systems engineering, and energy technology to generate transformative ideas, while also fostering the next generation of energy and climate leaders through innovative educational programs.

Job Summary

As a member of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth's communications team, the Digital Media Associate will play a central role in elevating the Institute's visual identity and digital content across social media, web, and email platforms. This role is responsible for leading social media graphic and video creation, supporting video production and design, and building out the Institute's evergreen visual content library, while also contributing to broader communications and design efforts including web, email and social content production support.

The Digital Media Associate reports to the Multimedia Designer, with close coordination with the Senior Digital Marketing Lead. The ideal candidate brings a strong visual and technical sense, an eagerness to grow their design skills, and the ability to translate complex climate and energy ideas into compelling visual content.

Responsibilities

• Creates social media graphics and visual assets for Institute social media accounts, developing design-forward content in alignment with brand templates and guidelines.
• Maintains and updates Canva templates for use across the Institute's communications team, ensuring brand consistency; supports Communications Specialists across Institute programs with graphic creation and review, as well as template guidance for campaign and event launches; and manages team access to Canva projects.
• Supports in shooting and editing short-form, platform-native social video content, such as student spotlights and event coverage, tailored to platform and audience, from student communities on Instagram to professional audiences on LinkedIn, in partnership with Communication Specialists.
• Supports in the development of design assets such as research summaries, 1-pagers, and other digital and print design needs.
• Supports in higher-production video workflows, including assisting with video shoots, footage organization, basic editing, captioning, and formatting video content for platform-specific requirements.
• Collaborates with the Multimedia Designer to build and maintain a library of high-resolution photography and video footage for use across Institute communications channels. Organizes this digital asset library, maintaining consistent file naming conventions and ensuring assets are easily accessible across cloud-based platforms (Box, Google Drive) and team systems.
• Manages the Institute's YouTube presence, including uploading video content, writing titles and descriptions, creating thumbnails, and maintaining consistent organization and tagging across channels; supports embedding and updating video content across Institute websites.
• Supports email marketing production from a creative standpoint, including image sizing, asset formatting, and visual quality assurance. Organizes digital media within the email marketing platform.
• Contributes to the development of an evergreen content library, drafting and organizing reusable written and visual content for use across social media platforms.
• Ensures visual content meets accessibility standards, including writing alt text for images and applying captions to all video content across platforms.
• Supports paid social campaigns with creative asset production, including resizing graphics and formatting visual content to platform specifications.
• Supports a comprehensive audit and update of naming conventions across Institute web and email properties, ensuring consistency and discoverability of digital content.
• Supports website content updates and uploads across Institute web properties as needed.
• Provides scheduling support for social media content as needed.
• Creates graphic artwork, such as charts, graphs or illustrations, for various publications, advertising materials and/or customers with limited supervision.
• Works within defined processes to ensure that graphic projects are completed on time, within budget, and to the user's satisfaction.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through < 2 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications:

Preferred Qualifications

Experience:

• At least two years of professional experience in a graphic design, digital media, or communications role.
• Demonstrated experience creating graphics and visual content for social media in a professional or organizational capacity.
• Demonstrated experience creating short-form, platform-native video content (Reels, TikTok, or similar) for an organization or brand.
• Experience supporting higher-production video workflows is a plus.
• Background in energy, climate, policy, or in a university setting encouraged.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Proficiency in Canva; comfort with mobile-first video creation tools, such as CapCut and Instagram native tools, for short-form content.
• Working knowledge of industry-standard non-linear video editing software, especially Premiere Pro and and After Effects, strongly preferred for video support responsibilities. Familiarity with Photoshop and Illustrator a plus; willingness to grow Adobe Premiere proficiency expected.
• Familiarity with content management systems, such as WordPress, and basic web content practices.
• Familiarity with email marketing systems is a plus.
• Proficiency in MS Office and Google Suite.

Preferred Competencies

• Strong visual sense and foundational understanding of design principles, including layout, typography, color, and composition.
• Translate complex ideas into clear, compelling visual content.
• Clear written communication skills, to adapt tone and format for different platforms and audiences.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail, particularly in managing digital files and assets.
• Manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced environment and meet deadlines with professionalism.

Working Conditions

• This is a hybrid position, with an expected 3 days on campus per week.

Application Documents

• Resume/CV (required)
• Cover Letter describing why the applicant is interested in and qualified for this specific position (required)
• Three Professional References Contact Information (required)

The University of Chicago uses AI-assisted tools to streamline and augment some recruitment processes; however, AI is not used to make hiring decisions.

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family

Communications

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

Scheduled Weekly Hours

37.5

Drug Test Required

No

Health Screen Required

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No

Pay Rate Type

Salary

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FLSA Status

Exempt

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Pay Range

$63,000.00 - $70,000.00

The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible

Yes

The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.