Creative Design Manager

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Creative Design Manager

Company: Keypath Education

Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (Remote OK - Australia-wide)

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Creative & Design Management / Marketing Operations

Date Posted: May 13, 2026

Experience Level: 7+ Years (3+ in Leadership)

Remote Status: Remote OK (Australia-wide)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead and evolve a distributed creative function within a global EdTech leader, focusing on enhancing design quality and brand impact for Keypath Education and its university partners.

• Drive the strategic shift from a reactive production model to a proactive, high-performing creative capability by establishing robust systems, setting high design standards, and nurturing talent.

• Act as the organization's foremost creative authority, shaping overarching creative strategy, championing innovative design solutions, and ensuring the delivery of compelling, student-centric work across all channels.

• This is a critical "player-coach" role, requiring a blend of strategic leadership, hands-on creative contribution, and capability development for a geographically dispersed team.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned within the broader GTM (Go-To-Market) and Marketing Operations framework, focusing on the strategic execution of creative assets that drive engagement and support educational program marketing. While the title is "Creative Design Manager," the responsibilities heavily lean into operationalizing creative processes, managing a distributed team, and ensuring consistent brand delivery, aligning it with operations functions.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Creative Leadership & Excellence: Serve as the primary creative authority, defining and upholding elevated design standards, articulating creative strategy, and ensuring the delivery of impactful, student-focused creative outputs across digital, UX, motion, and print channels.

• Team Leadership & Capability Building: Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing, distributed team of designers, cultivating a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous professional growth, while managing resource allocation and external vendor relationships to meet evolving business needs.

• Design Systems & Process Optimization: Architect and implement scalable design systems, frameworks, and efficient workflows to ensure brand consistency, design quality, and operational efficiency across all creative initiatives, leveraging Figma as the central source of truth.

• Innovation & AI Enablement: Spearhead the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emerging creative technologies to enhance design output, accelerate delivery timelines, and automate repetitive tasks, continuously exploring new trends and formats to elevate creative performance and effectiveness.

• Stakeholder & Partner Collaboration: Foster strong, collaborative partnerships with marketing teams and university stakeholders to achieve high-impact creative outcomes, acting as a strategic advisor to improve brief quality, champion integrated campaigns, and ensure a seamless transition from concept to execution.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "strategic shift," "systems, standards, and talent," and "player-coach" indicates a need for a candidate who can not only manage but also actively contribute to creative execution while building operational frameworks. This suggests a hybrid role with significant operational oversight for the creative function.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Relevant tertiary qualification in Design, Visual Communications, or a closely related field.

Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years of progressive experience in design, with a significant portion focused on creative strategy and execution.

• At least 3 years of direct experience in a leadership role, specifically managing distributed or embedded creative teams.

• Proven success in building and scaling design systems, leading creative strategy development, and delivering high-quality design outcomes across diverse media (digital, UX, motion, print).

• Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and present compelling, performance-driven creative concepts that demonstrably contribute to measurable business outcomes.

Required Skills:

• Creative Leadership: Proven ability to inspire, guide, and develop creative teams, setting a clear vision and fostering a culture of excellence.

• Design Systems Expertise: Demonstrated experience in building, implementing, and scaling comprehensive design systems and frameworks for consistency and efficiency.

• Figma Proficiency: Advanced, hands-on expertise in Figma for design, prototyping, and collaboration, including its role as a central design hub.

• UX/UI Principles: Strong understanding of user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design best practices, ensuring user-centricity in all creative outputs.

• Performance-led Creative: Ability to develop creative concepts that are driven by data, aimed at achieving specific marketing and business objectives.

• Stakeholder Management: Exceptional skills in collaborating with, influencing, and presenting to senior stakeholders and external partners.

• Team Development: Experience in coaching, mentoring, and growing design talent, particularly within a remote or distributed team structure.

Preferred Skills:

• Motion Design Expertise: Familiarity with motion graphics principles and tools for dynamic content creation.

• Print Design Capabilities: Understanding of print production processes and design for traditional media.

• AI Enablement: Experience integrating AI tools and emerging technologies into the creative workflow to enhance efficiency and output.

• Visual Communications Strategy: Ability to develop and execute a cohesive visual communications strategy aligned with brand and business goals.

• Agile Methodologies: Familiarity with agile project management principles for creative delivery.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "7+ years' experience" and "3+ years in a leadership role" clearly defines this as a senior-level position, necessitating strategic thinking and proven leadership capabilities in managing creative operations. The emphasis on Figma and AI points to a modern, tech-forward approach to design management.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive PDF portfolio is mandatory for all applications.

• Showcase a diverse range of work, explicitly highlighting projects across digital design, UX/UI, and campaign design to demonstrate breadth of skill.

• Include case studies that illustrate your process from brief to execution, emphasizing problem-solving and strategic thinking.

• Demonstrate your ability to manage and scale design systems and frameworks within past roles.

Process Documentation:

• Provide evidence of established design workflows and process optimization strategies you have implemented.

• Detail your experience in creating and managing design systems, including their components and governance.

• Showcase your approach to brief intake, project management, and cross-functional collaboration within a creative context.

• Illustrate how you've leveraged tools like Figma to streamline design processes and ensure version control and collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit requirement for a portfolio, especially one showcasing process and metrics, is a strong indicator that candidates will be evaluated on their ability to operationalize creative processes and demonstrate tangible impact, aligning with operations-focused evaluation criteria.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

Given the senior leadership nature of the role, the extensive experience required (7+ years, 3+ in leadership), and the "player-coach" dynamic, combined with the location in Melbourne, Australia, a competitive salary range is expected. For a Creative Design Manager with these qualifications in Australia, the estimated annual salary range typically falls between AUD $120,000 - $180,000. This estimate is based on industry benchmarks for senior creative leadership roles in major Australian cities, considering the specialized EdTech sector and the company's "Best Place to Work" status, which often correlates with competitive compensation.

Benefits:

• Work Flexibility: Choose to work from home, in the office, or a hybrid model, with applications welcomed from anywhere in Australia.

• Remote Work Support: All necessary equipment provided for successful remote work, plus an internet allowance.

• Well-being Focus: Paid Mental Health days to support employee well-being.

• Professional Development: Access to LinkedIn Learning for continuous skill enhancement and discounted study opportunities.

• Employee Support: Access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for confidential support.

• Company Culture Initiatives: Participation in employee-led programs like Culture Club and RAP (Reconciliation Action Plan).

• Social Engagement: Company events and activities organized both in-office and remotely.

Working Hours:

• Standard full-time working hours are expected, approximately 40 hours per week.

• While flexibility in location is offered, maintaining consistent availability and responsiveness during core Australian business hours will be important for team and stakeholder collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimation is based on general market data for senior creative roles in Australia. Specific compensation will depend on the candidate's experience, the final scope of responsibilities, and Keypath Education's internal compensation structure. The benefits package highlights a strong emphasis on work-life balance and employee well-being, which is attractive for operations professionals seeking a supportive environment.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Education Technology (EdTech). Keypath Education partners with universities to deliver online programs, focusing on addressing real-world social and economic challenges through accessible education.

Company Size: While not explicitly stated in the provided data, the job description mentions a "global EdTech company" and a "distributed creative function," suggesting a medium to large-sized organization with a significant international presence. The "Best Place to Work in Australia" ranking implies a well-established and employee-focused culture within Australia.

Founded: Keypath Education was founded in 2014. This indicates a company with established operations but still within a growth phase, particularly in the evolving EdTech landscape.

Team Structure:

• Creative Team: The role involves leading a "high-performing, distributed creative function," implying a team of designers and potentially other creative specialists working remotely across Australia.

• Reporting: The Creative Design Manager is described as the "organisation’s leading creative authority" and a "senior leadership role," suggesting they likely report to a senior marketing or GTM leader, potentially a Head of Marketing, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), or a similar executive.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Close partnerships are expected with "marketing teams" and "university stakeholders," indicating significant interaction with various departments to ensure creative deliverables align with broader business and partner objectives.

Methodology:

• Strategic Creative: The role is tasked with moving "from a reactive production model to a proactive, strategic creative capability." This involves establishing systems, setting standards, and developing talent to drive innovative and impactful design.

• Data-Informed Design: Emphasis on "performance-driven creative" and using "data insights to inform creative decisions" suggests a data-centric approach to campaign development and optimization.

• AI & Innovation Integration: A mandate to "drive adoption of AI and emerging tools" points to a forward-thinking approach to creative operations, focusing on efficiency and cutting-edge solutions.

Company Website: https://keypathedu.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is highlighted by its "Best Place to Work" status, suggesting a positive, supportive, and employee-centric environment. The EdTech industry context means the operations function, including creative, must be agile and responsive to evolving educational needs and digital marketing trends.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role represents a senior leadership position within the creative operations domain. It's not just about executing design but about building and managing the function, defining processes, and contributing strategically to the company's GTM efforts. It sits at the intersection of creative direction and operational management.

Reporting Structure: As a senior leader, the Creative Design Manager will likely report into a senior marketing executive (e.g., CMO, VP of Marketing). They will, in turn, manage a team of designers, forming a key part of the marketing or GTM operational structure.

Operations Impact: The role's impact is directly tied to elevating brand perception, enhancing the quality of marketing collateral, and ultimately contributing to the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and university partner engagement. By building scalable systems and improving efficiency, the role directly supports the operational backbone of Keypath's marketing and GTM strategy.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Expansion: Potential to grow into broader leadership roles overseeing larger marketing or creative departments, or expanding responsibilities to include more strategic GTM planning.

• EdTech Industry Expertise: Deepen expertise within the rapidly growing EdTech sector, becoming a specialist in creative operations for online education.

• Strategic Influence: Further develop influence in shaping company-wide creative strategy and operational best practices through successful implementation and demonstrable results.

• Skill Development: Continuous learning opportunities through LinkedIn Learning and potential for advanced training in AI for creative, design systems, and leadership.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a clear path for growth into broader GTM leadership or specialized creative operations management within the dynamic EdTech sector. The emphasis on building systems and processes aligns with career trajectories in operations management.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Keypath Education offers a flexible work environment, allowing employees to choose between working from home, in the office, or a hybrid model. This flexibility is a key aspect of their culture, recognized by their "Best Place to Work" status.

Office Location(s): While the role is based in Melbourne, Australia, and the company has an office at Level 12/530 Collins St, Melbourne, 3000, the "Work Anywhere" policy means candidates from across Australia are encouraged to apply. This necessitates a robust remote infrastructure.

Workspace Context:

• Remote-First Culture: The company actively supports remote work, providing necessary equipment and an internet allowance, indicating a mature approach to managing distributed teams.

• Technology Enabled: Expect a tech-forward environment with primary reliance on digital tools like Figma, and an emphasis on adopting new AI and emerging technologies to enhance productivity.

• Collaborative Hub: While remote, the company fosters connection through optional office presence, company events, and digital collaboration tools, ensuring creative teams can still connect and brainstorm effectively.

Work Schedule:

• Standard full-time hours (approx. 40 hours/week) are expected.

• The emphasis on flexibility means that while core hours for collaboration are important, there's likely an understanding of individual work rhythms. However, meeting deadlines and responding to stakeholders will remain paramount.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Work Anywhere" policy is a significant feature, indicating a mature remote work culture. Operations professionals will appreciate the structured support for remote work, including equipment and allowances, which are critical for maintaining productivity and well-being.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and, critically, your submitted portfolio. Ensure your portfolio directly addresses the requirements for digital, UX, motion, and campaign design, and ideally includes examples of design system implementation.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A discussion focusing on your leadership experience, strategic approach to creative operations, and how you've managed distributed teams. Be prepared to articulate your philosophy on design systems and AI integration.

• Team/Peer Interviews: You may meet with members of the marketing team or other creative leads to assess cultural fit and collaborative style. Prepare examples of cross-functional collaboration.

• Creative Challenge/Presentation: A potential exercise or case study where you might be asked to present a creative strategy, critique existing work, or outline a plan for building a design system. This is where your portfolio will be invaluable for illustrating your thought process.

• Final Interview: Likely with a senior executive (e.g., CMO) to discuss your strategic vision and alignment with Keypath's broader business objectives.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select pieces that best demonstrate your leadership, strategic thinking, and process optimization skills, not just aesthetic output.

• Showcase Process: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your approach, the tools used (especially Figma), the challenges faced, and the measurable outcomes (ROI, engagement increases, efficiency gains).

• Highlight Systems Thinking: Dedicate a section or specific case study to your experience with design systems, detailing their creation, implementation, and impact on consistency and efficiency.

• Address AI Integration: Include examples or discuss your approach to using AI tools in your workflow, even if it's theoretical based on your understanding.

• Practice Your Narrative: Be ready to walk through your portfolio confidently, explaining your role, decisions, and the impact of your work concisely.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Keypath & EdTech: Research Keypath Education's mission, values, current campaigns, and target audience. Understand the unique creative challenges in the EdTech sector.

• Design System Frameworks: Be ready to discuss best practices for building and maintaining design systems, including governance and adoption strategies.

• AI in Creative: Prepare to discuss how AI can be leveraged ethically and effectively to enhance creative workflows, from ideation to execution.

• Leadership Scenarios: Think about how you've handled team conflicts, managed underperforming team members, or navigated difficult stakeholder feedback in previous roles.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on the portfolio and a potential creative challenge underscores the practical, results-oriented nature of this role. Candidates should prepare to demonstrate not just creative talent but also operational prowess in managing creative output.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: This is explicitly stated as a requirement and will be the "single source of truth" for design. Advanced expertise is essential.

• Design & Prototyping Software: Beyond Figma, familiarity with other industry-standard design tools (e.g., Adobe Creative Suite - Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects) is likely expected.

• Project Management Tools: Experience with tools like Asana, Jira, Trello, or Monday.com for managing workflows, briefs, and team tasks is highly probable.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Analytics Platforms: Familiarity with web analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics) to understand user behavior and campaign performance data that informs creative decisions.

• Reporting Dashboards: Experience using or interpreting data from dashboard tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, or internal reporting systems) to track creative effectiveness and ROI.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: While not a primary function, an understanding of how creative assets integrate with CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) for marketing campaigns would be beneficial.

• Marketing Automation Tools: Awareness of how creative assets are utilized within marketing automation platforms (e.g., Marketo, Pardot) for email campaigns and lead nurturing.

• AI & Emerging Tools: Proactive exploration and adoption of AI-powered tools for content generation, image editing, workflow automation, and trend analysis.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Figma and AI tools highlights the modern technology stack expected. Proficiency in these areas, along with a general understanding of related marketing technology, is crucial for success in this role.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Excellence & Quality: A commitment to maintaining high design standards and delivering "standout design outcomes" that elevate the brand and partner offerings.

• Innovation & Adaptability: Embracing new technologies like AI and emerging trends to continuously improve creative output and efficiency, reflecting a forward-thinking approach.

• Collaboration & Partnership: A strong emphasis on working closely with marketing teams and university partners to ensure creative alignment and achieve shared objectives.

• Accountability & Ownership: Fostering a culture where team members take ownership of their work, deliver on commitments, and contribute to continuous improvement.

• Data-Driven Decisions: Utilizing data insights to inform creative strategy and measure the effectiveness of design, ensuring a focus on measurable business outcomes.

Collaboration Style:

• Integrated Approach: Working seamlessly with marketing teams to ensure creative is integrated into broader campaign strategies and GTM plans.

• Proactive Briefing: Improving the quality of creative briefs through clear communication and collaborative understanding of project goals.

• Feedback Culture: Encouraging constructive feedback loops among team members and with stakeholders to refine creative work.

• Knowledge Sharing: Promoting a culture where best practices, new tools, and innovative ideas are shared openly among the distributed team.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's "Best Place to Work" recognition suggests a culture that values employee well-being, collaboration, and growth. The operational aspects of the role will require strong communication and a proactive, results-oriented mindset.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Managing a Distributed Team: Ensuring consistent quality, engagement, and collaboration across a geographically dispersed creative team requires strong remote leadership and communication skills.

• Balancing Strategic vs. Tactical: Effectively managing both the strategic direction of the creative function and hands-on involvement in high-impact projects ("player-coach" role).

• Elevating Brand Impact: Consistently delivering "bold, differentiated creative" that stands out in a competitive EdTech market and resonates with diverse university partners.

• AI Integration & Change Management: Successfully driving the adoption of new AI tools and workflows within a creative team, which may involve overcoming resistance to change and upskilling.

• Brief Quality & Stakeholder Alignment: Improving the clarity and effectiveness of creative briefs and managing expectations across multiple stakeholders to ensure project success.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Creative Strategy & Leadership: Opportunities to refine and expand strategic thinking and leadership capabilities within a dynamic EdTech environment.

• AI & Emerging Technologies: Hands-on experience and training in leveraging AI and other cutting-edge tools for creative production and operational efficiency.

• Design Systems Mastery: Deepen expertise in the architecture, implementation, and scaling of design systems.

• Cross-functional Influence: Develop advanced skills in stakeholder management and influencing senior leadership across different departments.

• EdTech Industry Insight: Gain specialized knowledge and experience within the growing online education technology sector.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents significant opportunities for professional development, particularly in areas of remote team management, AI integration, and strategic creative operations within a rapidly evolving industry.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your approach to building and scaling a design system from the ground up. What were the key challenges and how did you overcome them?"

• "How would you foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement within a remote creative team, particularly in adopting new technologies like AI?"

• "Walk me through a situation where you had to present a bold, unconventional creative concept to senior stakeholders or university partners. How did you gain their buy-in?"

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you most about Keypath Education's mission and the EdTech industry, and how does your creative vision align with it?"

• "Based on your understanding, how would you approach integrating Keypath's core values into the daily operations and culture of your creative team?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: Organize your presentation logically, perhaps by project type or by demonstrating specific skills (e.g., leadership, systems, AI).

• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your strategic approach, the execution, and the measurable results. Focus on the "why" behind your decisions.

• Quantify Achievements: Wherever possible, use data and metrics to demonstrate the impact of your creative work and operational improvements (e.g., increased conversion rates, time saved through process optimization).

• Highlight Leadership & Process: Emphasize your role in leading teams, building systems, and optimizing workflows, not just individual design contributions.

• Be Ready for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about your specific contributions, decision-making processes, and how you would apply your experience to Keypath's challenges.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic thinking, operational acumen, and leadership capabilities, backed by concrete examples from your portfolio and past experiences. Understanding the EdTech context and Keypath's mission will be crucial.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Creative Design Manager position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the Keypath Education Teamtailor portal.

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your submitted PDF portfolio is tailored to highlight experience in digital design, UX/UI, campaign design, and importantly, design system development and AI tool utilization.

• Resume Optimization: Update your resume to clearly showcase your 7+ years of design experience and, crucially, your 3+ years of leadership experience managing distributed teams, using keywords from the job description.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your experience with Figma, design systems, AI integration, and stakeholder management. Prepare specific examples for behavioral and strategic questions.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Keypath Education, its mission, its university partners, and its culture. Understand the EdTech landscape and how creative operations contribute to its success.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.