EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOP AND HEALTH BOARD

First Things First (Arizona Early Childhood Development and Health Board) is an essential leader and partner in creating a family‐centered, equitable, high‐quality early childhood system that supports the development, well‐being, health and early education of all Arizona’s children, birth to age 5. Created by a voter initiative in 2006, First Things First is governed by a state Board with 28 regional partnership councils. First Things First is a decentralized organization that engages diverse constituencies to accomplish its mission. Organizational values include a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion; a focus on accountability, transparency, coordination and collaboration; and an emphasis on the outcomes that will ensure young children start kindergarten healthy and ready to succeed in school and in life.

Brand & Visual Design Manager

Job Location:

Address: 4000 N Central Ave, Suite 500, Phoenix, AZ 85012

Posting Details:

Salary: $75,067

Grade: 21

Job Summary:

The Brand & Visual Design Manager will use strong creative skills and a marketing focus to create a wide variety of visual materials and solutions — encompassing both digital and print — that support and advance the agency’s strategic communications goals and advance storytelling and brand development of First Things First. The ideal candidate demonstrates a deep understanding of branding, design principles, user experience and marketing strategy, with the ability to translate complex ideas into compelling visual communications. The manager will support and train internal teams and grantees, maintain organizational content systems and work closely with vendors to execute high-quality print, promotional and digital products. This position reports to the Senior Director of Marketing & Brand Strategy.

This position may offer the ability to work remotely, within Arizona, based upon the department's business needs and continual meeting of expected performance measures.

The State of Arizona strives for a work culture that affords employees flexibility, autonomy, and trust. Across our many agencies, boards, and commissions, many State employees participate in the State’s Remote Work Program and are able to work remotely in their homes, in offices, and in hoteling spaces. All work, including remote work, should be performed within Arizona unless an exception is properly authorized in advance.

Job Duties:

Brand Stewardship: Primary point of contact to review and approve branded materials from internal teams and external partners. Ensures consistency in tone, style, design and messaging across publications, presentations and digital materials. Maintains review systems, templates and support tools, and provides ongoing brand training to staff and grantees.

Asset Library Management & Development: Manages the digital asset library, ensuring files are organized, current and accessible. Oversees version control, file structure, naming conventions and usage rights. Maintains brand templates, multimedia assets and oversees development and updates to the print and promo catalog to support consistent use of approved resources.

Design & Production: Creates high-quality visual materials that support agency priorities across print and digital formats. Work may include graphic design, presentation layout, branded templates and video or multimedia editing. Ensures materials meet brand standards and collaborates with team members and vendors to deliver accurate, timely and polished products.

Website & Email Marketing & Maintenance: Stages, reviews, and publishes website updates (WordPress) and email campaigns (Mailchimp). Troubleshoots publishing and deliverability issues and Maintains audience lists and segmentation to ensure timely and effective communication aligned with agency priorities.

Training, Onboarding & Collaboration: This position supports brand onboarding for staff and grantees, including training on tools, templates and brand standards. It collaborates across internal teams to streamline workflows, support alignment and identify opportunities for improved efficiency. The role contributes to a positive team culture rooted in First Things First's mission and values.

Team Collaboration: Performs duties in a manner that supports the First Things First internal culture and mission with respect and cooperation. Supports additional opportunities for the role and the Marketing and Strategic Initiatives functions.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities (KSAs):

Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communication, Marketing or related field.

Three to five years or more of direct experience in visual design, branding, email marketing, digital asset management and/or multimedia production.

Strong organizational skills and attention to detail with the ability to effectively manage multiple projects and meet deadlines.

Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), and preferred experience with Premiere or equivalent video editing tools and AI tools.

Experience with Mailchimp, WordPress or similar platforms, and with contact/list management best practices.

Strong communication and collaboration skills with experience supporting cross-functional teams and external partners.

Comfortable working independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced team environment dedicated to quality.

Knowledge of early childhood or human services systems/policy is a plus.

Ability to attend regular meetings in Phoenix and travel up to 10% of the time throughout the state of Arizona.

Pre-Employment Requirements:

If this position requires driving or the use of a vehicle as an essential function of the job to conduct State business, then the following requirements apply: Driver’s License Requirements.

All newly hired State employees are subject to and must successfully complete the Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify).

Benefits:

By providing the option of a full-time or part-time remote work schedule, employees enjoy improved work/life balance, report higher job satisfaction, and are more productive. Remote work is a management option and not an employee entitlement or right. An agency may terminate a remote work agreement at its discretion.

Learn more about the Paid Parental Leave pilot program here. For a complete list of benefits provided by The State of Arizona, please visit our benefits page

Retirement:

ASRS

HR@FirstThingsFirst.org

ARIZONA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (AMS)

All Arizona state employees operate within the Arizona Management System (AMS), an intentional, results-driven approach for doing the work of state government whereby every employee reflects on performance, reduces waste, and commits to continuous improvement with sustainable progress. Through AMS, every state employee seeks to understand customer needs, identify problems, improve processes, and measure results.
State employees are highly engaged, collaborative and embrace a culture of public service.

The State of Arizona is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer.

If this position requires driving or the use of a vehicle as an essential function of the job to conduct State business, then the following requirements apply: Driver’s License Requirements