Lead Graphic Designer

Salary :

$70,726.23 - $106,089.34 Annually
Location :

Monroe, NC
Job Type:

Full-Time Regular
Job Number:

406001
Department:

Public Communications
Opening Date:

05/26/2026

General Statement

The Graphic Designer, under limited supervision, is responsible for developing, refining and proliferating the County's brand through creative graphic design elements throughout numerous platforms. This role is the expert on the Union County brand and responsible for developing marketing and communications materials that are within brand guidelines, as well as working with Public Communications team members and vendors to develop materials as needed. The Graphic Designer works closely with the Communications Director and the entire Public Communications team to ensure branding consistency among all departments, facilities, platforms, and communications materials. The Graphic Designer plays a key role in developing creative solutions and content for internal and external projects and initiatives.

Must demonstrate initiative, good judgment, attention to detail, creativity, ability to work collaboratively, and the ability to express thoughts clearly and simply. Employee must also exercise considerable tact and courtesy in frequent contact with senior leadership, elected officials, staff, vendors, and the general public.
Essential Functions
Creates and develops all marketing and communications materials for various platforms including website(s), social media, signage, vehicle wraps, etc. in collaboration with other members of Public Communications and external vendors as needed.
Contributes to the marketing/communication strategies created by Public Communications team members to develop creative and unique materials to reach employees, residents, businesses, community partners, and visitors.
Continues to refine and expand brand guidelines as the Union County brand matures.
Communicates ideas effectively and information visually.
Develops a variety of informational materials, presentations, newsletters, brochures, graphics, video motion graphics, and other materials as needed.

Develops, tests, and maintains a standardized library of "born accessible" organizational templates within Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, ensuring enterprise-wide compliance with digital accessibility standards from the initial point of creation.

Establishes and governs the county's collaborative design spaces (including Canva and Adobe Express), building locked-down, user-friendly brand kits and templates that empower non-designer staff to create compliant, on-brand department assets.

Ensures all distributed digital documents, public-facing PDFs, newsletters, and web graphics are systematically structured, tagged, and remediated to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and ADA Section 508 compliance standards.
Communicates with external vendors, such as printers, photographers, videographers, freelancers, and creative firms as needed.
Updates the digital asset manager continually with stock imagery and branding assets; executes precision photo editing, retouching, and color-grading on all internally produced photography to ensure a consistent visual narrative.
Collaborates with Public Communications colleagues and county stakeholders to disseminate official county information through various channels/platforms.
Maintains a safe and positive work environment in compliance with all county policies and standards.
Participates in special projects, as needed.
Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Experience:

A bachelor's degree in marketing, advertising, graphic design, visual communication, or a related field and (3) three years of experience in graphic design or professional photography/videography.
Licenses or Certifications:

None Specified.
Special Requirements:

Proficiency in core design software such as Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), specialized photography workflow software (Adobe Lightroom or equivalent), hybrid creative platforms (Canva, Adobe Express), and deep formatting/template building proficiency within Microsoft Office 365 (Word, PowerPoint) is essential.
A strong understanding of typography, color theory, layout design, and visual aesthetics is crucial.
Strong understanding of marketing principles, brand strategy, consumer behavior, and market research is essential. Excellent communication, analytical, and strategic thinking skills are important for developing and implementing effective brand strategies.
Strong technical understanding of digital accessibility principles, including document structuring, logical reading order, alt-text generation, color contrast ratios, and PDF tag remediation required to achieve full WCAG 2.1 and ADA Section 508 compliance.
Work schedules can be irregular and frequently interrupted. Schedules often must be rearranged so that the employee can meet deadlines. Must be able to work on the development and management of multiple concurrent projects.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Experience:

A bachelor's degree in marketing, advertising, graphic design, visual communication, or a related field and (5) five years of experience in graphic design or professional photography/videography.
Advanced expertise in creating born-accessible templates and remediating complex digital layouts (including interactive PDFs, multi-page reports, and digital forms) to meet strict federal and state accessibility mandates, with preferred experience working within public sector agencies, government entities, or similarly regulated environments where compliance is legally required.
Advanced proficiency in professional photo post-production, including expert-level color correction, skin-tone matching, image restoration, and advanced compositing utilizing Adobe Lightroom, Camera Raw, and Photoshop.
Demonstrated experience leveraging generative AI and AI-assisted design tools (such as Adobe Firefly, Photoshop Generative Fill, and integrated platform automation) to streamline workflows, expand visual assets, and accelerate conceptual brainstorming while maintaining strict adherence to brand guidelines, copyright compliance, and ethical asset standards.
Special Requirements:

Proficiency in design software such as Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) is essential. A strong understanding of typography, color theory, layout design, and visual aesthetics is crucial.

Supplemental Information
PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Must be physically able to operate a variety of machinery and equipment including computer, design software, video/digital recording and editing, printers, calculators, etc. Must be physically able to exert a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time, but may involve walking or standing for brief periods of time.
WORK ENVIRONMENT

Work is performed in a safe and secure work environment that may periodically have unpredictable requirements or demands.
INSURANCE PROGRAMS

HEALTH INSURANCE

All full-time employees and their eligible dependents can participate on the first day of the first full month of employment. You must sign up for coverage within your first 30 days of employment or wait until the annual enrollment period. Preventative Care Coverage Prescription Coverage

Health & Wellness Center available exclusively to Union County employees, spouses and dependents covered under the health plan.

DENTAL INSURANCE

All full-time employees and their eligible dependents can participate on the first day of the first full month of employment. You must sign up for coverage within your first 30 days of employment or wait until the annual enrollment period.

LIFE INSURANCE

Basic Term life Insurance in the amount of one times the annual salary is provided for all full-time and benefitted part-time employees. Additional coverage for Life Insurance (Accident, Cancer, Long Term and Short Term) is available for purchase through payroll deduction for the employee and eligible dependents.

FINANCIAL PROGRAMS

RETIREMENT

Membership in the North Carolina Local Government Employees Retirement System is a requirement for all full-time and benefitted part-time employees. Employees contribute six percent (6%) of their annual compensation before it is taxed. If you leave County service before retirement, you may withdraw your retirement contributions or elect to freeze your contributions in anticipation of future local government employment. If you have five (5) years of service, you are 100% vested in the NCLGERS.

NC401(k)

The NC401(k) supplemental retirement program is available to full-time and benefitted part-time employees. The County establishes this 401(k) account for each eligible employee and makes a five percent (5%) contribution based on biweekly earnings. Employees may elect to make voluntary contributions through payroll deduction.

457 DEFERRED COMPENSATION

The 457 Deferred Compensation program is available to all employees through payroll deduction. Deferred compensation is a voluntary investment plan to supplement retirement income and to defer taxable income.

FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNTS

Options are available to regular full-time and benefitted part-time employees who wish to use pre-tax dollars for eligible medical, pharmacy, dental, vision, and daycare expenses. The Flex Debit Card program gives you instant access to your account funds.

Health Care Spending Account -- Section 125 of the IRS Code allows yearly voluntary enrollment to set aside pre-tax dollars for eligible health care expenses.

Dependent Care Spending Account -- Section 125 of the IRS Code allows yearly voluntary enrollment to set aside pre-tax dollars for eligible dependent care expenses.

DIRECT DEPOSIT

Deposit of your paycheck will be made to checking or savings accounts in a bank of your choice.

TRUIST
No Overdraft Fees
$100 Negative Balance Buffer
Online and Mobile Banking with Bill Pay

LEAVE PROGRAMS

VACATION LEAVE

Vacation leave is accrued based on creditable years of service in the Local Government Employees Retirement System.

SICK LEAVE

For full-time County employees, sick leave accrues at eight (8.0) hours per month. Benefitted part-time employees accrue prorated sick leave based on a percentage of the full-time rate. Your unused sick leave balance can be applied as creditable service toward a service retirement under the guidelines of the NCLGERS.

SICK LEAVE TRANSFER FROM OTHER AGENCIES

Unused sick leave earned from another North Carolina Governmental Agency and/or entity, will be accepted and transferred to the County as follows: twelve (12) sick leave days will be transferred and added to the employees active sick leave balance after completion of six (6) months of employment. The remaining balance of sick leave documented for transfer at the time of employment will be recorded in the employees permanent personnel file. On the fifth anniversary of employment with the County, the remaining balance of transferred sick leave will be added to the employees active sick leave balance.

HOLIDAYS

There are 13 County recognized holidays (includes 3 days for Christmas) per year with 1 floating holiday available.

MILITARY LEAVE

Annual Training - 10 paid workdays granted.

Active Duty - 20 paid workdays granted.

CIVIL LEAVE

Paid leave is provided to full-time or regular part-time County employees called for jury duty or as a witness of the court for the federal or state government, or a subdivision thereof.

FAMILY & MEDICAL LEAVE ACT

Federal law provides job protection and continuation of existing paid health insurance during 12 weeks of leave, paid or unpaid, to an eligible employee for qualifying events. These events can include birth or adoption, and serious illness of an immediate family member, or of the employee.

PAID PARENTAL LEAVE

Parental Leave provides the employee paid leave for the first eight weeks of approved FML for the birth of a son or daughter, or placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care.

ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE

Educational Leave is available to regular full-time and benefitted part-time employees when participating in a job-related, short course, such as an update, not to exceed ten (10) consecutive working days.

VOLUNTEER TIME OFF

Volunteer Time Off will provide employees with 16 hours of paid time per calendar year to volunteer at approved Union County community partner agencies.
OTHER PROGRAMS

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

The Employee Assistance Program is open to all employees and their dependents. It is a confidential service provided at no cost to the employees of the County. EAP provides certified counselors who administer assessment and brief therapy to employees who want help with a variety of personal and work-related issues such as stress, parenting concerns, grief, alcohol/drug use, family problems, financial concerns, and work-related problems.

AQUATIC AND FITNESS CENTER

We believe that staying healthy is more than just exercising regularly and eating well. Individual and family discount membership and monthly dues are available to full-time and benefitted part-time employees through payroll deduction.

NATIONAL COLLEGE SAVINGS PROGRAM

The National College Savings Program is open to all employees. The Program is designed to provide certain tax advantages, encourage and facilitate saving to pay the costs of attending eligible institutions.
01

Do you have experience designing for web and print accessibility (e.g., ADA compliance, WCAG 2.1 standards, color contrast requirements)? If so, please provide an example of how you applied these standards to a past project.
02

Government design often involves taking complex data, policies, or technical information (like a county budget) and making it easy for the general public to understand. Share an example of a time you translated complex information into a simple infographic or visual layout.
03

You will frequently collaborate with and receive feedback from colleagues who are not design professionals. How do you handle design critiques or conflicting feedback, and how do you advocate for good design principles when necessary?
04

If you have a digital portfolio, please include the link:
Required Question