Graphic Designer and Strategic Communications Specialist

Graphic Designer And Strategic Communications Specialist

Water Systems Consulting (WSC) is a growing and thriving employee-owned company that solves today's complex water challenges by putting people first in every solution we create. We are an integrated engineering, hydrogeology, and strategic communication consulting firm focused entirely within the water sector, delivering our clients' most challenging One Water solutions. Through the diversity of our clients, their communities, and our team, we find the most innovative solutions and leave everything we touch better than when we found it. We are seeking a full- or part-time detail-oriented professional to join our team, providing content development, graphic design, project management, and implementation support for our communication and outreach related projects and programs.

This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a dynamic environment, is passionate about delivering high-quality written and graphic content, can communication clearly, and will also be able to help plan, deliver, and possibly lead outreach projects with our clients and internal team of engineering and communication specialists.

This position may be based out of our headquarters in San Luis Obispo or any of our Southern California offices, including Laguna Hills, San Diego, or Ontario. The role is full-time with hybrid flexibility, though we are open to considering a part-time arrangement for the right candidate.

What You Will Do

• 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.
  • Facilitate multi-agency workshops, public meetings, stakeholder discussions, and interactive workshops, both in-person and virtually.
  • Provide a variety of communication support tasks as needed.

What You Bring

• 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.

Pay Range: The pay range for this position is $86,000 to $137,000 for a full-time role and may be higher or lower depending on experience. For candidates considered for a part-time arrangement, compensation will be adjusted accordingly.

Who We Are:

At WSC, we foster a people-centric culture where we care deeply about client relationships and see our team-mates as part of a big family. We have received recognition as one of the Best Places to Work and as a Fast-Growing Firm by Inc. Magazine's national workplace survey and our staff. We believe there are always opportunities to learn, grow, and advance, and we prioritize supporting each other in that process.

We make it easy for you to enjoy the work you love by providing great benefits. With an attractive compensation package including competitive salary, 401(k) plan, ESOP (employee stock ownership plan), employer-paid short- and long-term disability, holiday pay, generous paid time off, tuition reimbursement, and a comprehensive fitness and health benefits programwe have you covered. Both full-time and part-time employees working 20 hours or more per week are eligible for benefits. Learn more about what we offer.

WSC is committed to growing our network of people, programs, and resources to nurture an inclusive culture. As such, we do not make hiring or other employment-related decisions on the basis of an applicant or employee's race, color, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), gender, gender identity or expression, age, religion, disability status, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, generic information or characteristics, veteran, military or family status, or other classifications protected by applicable federal, state or local anti-discrimination laws.

Please Note: We are not engaging with external recruiters or agencies for this position. All candidates must apply directly. Unsolicited resumes from recruiters will not be considered and may be deleted without response.