Work at Wild Animal Initiative

 

Applications closed

As of 10 November 2022, we are no longer accepting applications for this position.

This is an archived copy of the job description for your reference.

Basics

Job title: Visual Communications Specialist

Department: Communications

Application deadline: September 6, 2022

Application materials:

  • Please submit an application using this form. The form will ask you to provide the following:

    • A 1- to 2-page resume (PDF) concisely describing your educational, professional, and other relevant experiences.

    • A design portfolio showcasing your visual communication expertise. You may upload as a PDF (15 pages or fewer) or submit a link to your online portfolio.

    • Short answers to the following questions:

      1. What are two specialty areas within visual communications that you are particularly good at, and what feedback have you gotten on your work in these areas from collaborators or clients? (150-200 words)

      2. Tell us about a time when you had to communicate a scientific concept or message through a visual medium. What unique challenges did you encounter and how did you address them? If you do not have applicable experience, what challenges do you anticipate you would face and how might you address them? (200-250 words)

      3. Tell us about a visual communications project you managed recently. How did you incorporate the client’s feedback to achieve their goal(s) for the project? (150-200 words)

      4. Is there anything else you would like our hiring team to know about your experience and qualifications for this role? (up to 200 words, optional)

Application process timeline:

  • Stage 2 (work test): mid-September

  • Stage 3 (video interviews): late October

  • Target start date: late November

About our mission

Wild Animal Initiative is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to understand and improve the lives of wild animals. 

Even in nature, most wild animals struggle to survive every day. Unfortunately, preserving habitats or species does not guarantee that animals themselves have good lives. At Wild Animal Initiative, we believe we have a responsibility to act to improve the well-being of wild animals, whether they live in captivity or somewhere else. 

Yet, responsible action requires sound science. There is still so much we don’t know about which animals are sentient, what their lives are like in the wild, and how we can responsibly help them. Our work supports the study of wild animal welfare by funding cutting-edge science, supporting the careers of researchers in the field, and contributing original research.

The success of our mission depends on the diversity of our team. We are looking to work with people that approach our mission as an inherently inclusive endeavor and celebrate the differences of others. We strongly encourage people of every color, religion, age, origin, class, citizenship, parental status, disability status, genetics, veteran status, sexual orientation, and gender to apply. Note that we are unfortunately not able to sponsor work visas at this time and require candidates to already be eligible to work in the jurisdictions where they live or will live by the start of their employment.

Please feel free to reach out to Hiring Manager Emily Sharp at hiring@wildanimalinitiative.org if:

  • You have any questions about our hiring process or open positions;

  • You would like to help us find excellent candidates to join our team; or

  • You are interested in working with us in a capacity we’re not currently hiring for (in which case, a resume and some details about your professional interests would be helpful to receive).

Terms of employment

Location:

  • Full-time remote, US or UK based applicants only.

  • Must be able to meet with colleagues in Eastern Time (US) and Pacific Time (US) most days of the week, and to meet with colleagues in European time zones a few times a week.

  • Note: We are not able to sponsor work visas and are only considering applicants who are eligible to work in the country where you plan to live and work.

Reports to:

  • Communications Manager Cat Kerr

Travel:

  • Potential travel within the United States and Europe required for staff retreats (maximum of two per year and minimum of zero).

Expected Salary: $50,658 to $61,915, depending on the approximate cost of living in your area.

  • For a complete description of how we set and raise salaries, see our salary algorithm.

Benefits:

  • Comprehensive health and dental insurance.

  • Four weeks of paid vacation, 12 additional holidays, and two weeks of sick leave.

  • A fully remote work environment that allows you to choose when and where you work.

  • A friendly, open work culture that encourages feedback, collaboration, experimentation, and evidence-based innovation.

  • Opportunities for advancement as our team and programs continue their growth trajectory.

  • Note: This benefit structure is what we use for our US staff and largely similar to what we offer to many non-US staff, but may be different depending on the legal requirements of the country you work in.

Responsibilities

Position mission statement:

As Wild Animal Initiative’s Visual Communications Specialist, you will use visual design to advance our efforts to help wild animals. As the only member of our team dedicated entirely to visual design, you'll create a wide variety of content across our digital and print channels in collaboration with the rest of the communications team. You will also recommend and execute additional projects to advance Wild Animal Initiative’s communications goals.

Supervisory responsibilities:

None.

Core responsibilities:

  • Ideate and create visual content:

    • Digital graphic design

      • Create graphics for social media, email, and web.

      • Create slide decks for internal meetings and public speaking engagements. 

      • Create Wild Animal Initiative’s annual report in PDF form.

      • Create templates for white papers, reports, and other content.

      • Create email layout templates.

    • Print design

      • Create and order collateral such as business cards, brochures, tabletop signs, posters, etc. for conferences and other in-person events.

    • Web design

      • Optimize the design and user experience of Wild Animal Initiative’s web pages.

      • Ensure web pages are optimized for mobile viewing and engagement.

      • Develop interactive web experiences to communicate topics in wild animal welfare.

      • Create and optimize microsites for special topics or campaigns.

    • Multimedia management

      • Find and organize appropriate photos for use in our visual communications.

      • Find and organize appropriate video content for use in our visual communications.

      • Create and edit simple video projects.

    • Collaboration with other communications staff

      • Work iteratively to produce drafts of visual content and refine those concepts using feedback from fellow team members.

  • Manage Wild Animal Initiative’s visual brand guidelines:

    • Visual brand management

      • Improve and complete Wild Animal Initiative’s current brand guide.

      • Ensure all visual communications content aligns with our brand guidelines and meets or exceeds accessibility standards so our messages are clear to all audiences.

      • Update and improve our brand guidelines as necessary over time.

  • Recommend and execute additional projects to advance Wild Animal Initiative’s communications goals.

Qualifications

This role will require you to have the following qualifications.

  • Graphic design: Ability to independently create beautiful, on-brand designs for colleagues or clients.

  • Remote teamwork: Ability to thrive in a remote work environment while working effectively as part of a remote team.

  • Executive functioning: Excellent time management and organization skills, and ability to set and meet deadlines.

  • Software: Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (e.g. InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator).

This role might also benefit from you having some of the following qualifications. You should still apply even if you don’t have any of these qualifications.

  • Science communications: Familiarity with styles and applications of science communications — that is, communicating technical information in a way that’s credible to experts while still accessible to laypeople.

  • Photo and video: Experience capturing and editing photography and videography.

  • Other software: Ability to use Google Drive, Google Slides, Airtable, Asana or other project management or design software.

  • Adaptiveness: Comfort making decisions under uncertainty, experimenting with new approaches, and adapting to changes in organizational structure and programmatic planning.

  • Interdisciplinary coordination: Ability to work smoothly with an interdisciplinary set of teams to support their unique communications needs.

  • Prioritization: Ability to balance multiple projects simultaneously and manage competing demands to ensure work is appropriately prioritized.

  • Design management: Familiarity with best practices for managing design projects to ensure deliverables are high-quality and completed on time.

Credentials and experience

  • Note that we do not require any specific academic credentials or prior work experience for you to be considered for this position, as research shows that such requirements can diminish the quality of candidate pools by deterring individuals from applying who would otherwise be a great fit for a role.

Feel free to email hiring@wildanimalinitiative.org with any questions about the role or the application process.