Design Lead – Centre of Excellence (Design)

Location: Chennai (On-site)
Reports To: Brand Director
Works With: CoE – Content, Internal Marketing Services, Performance Marketing, Product, B2B, Insurance, Training, Strategic Initiatives

Role Overview

Own the end-to-end design function as a Centre of Excellence. You’ll set the creative bar, build and mentor a multi-disciplinary design team, and ensure every AssetPlus touchpoint is on-brand, consistent, and effective. This role combines creative direction, systems thinking, and design ops — spanning campaign assets, product/UI, web, motion, events, and sales enablement.

Key Responsibilities

  1. Creative Direction & Standards: Define and maintain the brand’s visual language (logo usage, typography, color, grid, illustration style, motion principles). Review high-impact work and protect craft quality.
  2. Design Systems & Templates: Build modular design systems and reusable template kits for ads, social, landing pages, sales decks, events, and video graphics. Drive consistency without stifling creativity.
  3. Team Leadership & Mentorship: Manage, coach, and grow a team of graphic, UI, and motion designers. Run crits, 1:1s, growth plans, and portfolio feedback to raise the bar across the board.
  4. Design Operations & Throughput: Partner with Internal Marketing Services to run intake, prioritization, and workbacks. Balance near-term asks and strategic projects; manage capacity, SLAs, and cross-team dependencies.
  5. Quality Assurance & Accessibility: Institute rigorous QA for specs, localization, and export hygiene across digital/print/video. Ensure accessibility and legibility standards are met by default.
  6. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Translate business objectives into sharp briefs. Work closely with Content CoE, Performance Marketing, Product, and GTM teams to align messaging and outcomes.
  7. Asset Library & Version Control: Own the design asset library/DAM: master files, components, brand guides, and release notes. Keep everything discoverable, current, and production-ready.
  8. Vendor & Tooling Management: Evaluate and manage agencies/freelancers for surge needs. Own the design tool stack (Figma, Adobe CC, motion tools), file governance, and naming/versioning SOPs.
  9. Measurement & Continuous Improvement: Publish a monthly design report: volume, TAT, revision cycles, stakeholder satisfaction, and learnings. Use data to refine templates, processes, and team workflows.

Ideal Candidate Profile

  • 7–10 years of design experience with 3+ years leading a design team (in-house studio or agency)
  • Strong portfolio across brand, marketing, and product/UI; command of typography, layout, grid, and visual storytelling
  • Hands-on proficiency in Figma and Adobe CC (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign); working knowledge of motion (After Effects/Premiere)
  • Proven experience building design systems, templates, and scalable production pipelines
  • Excellent brief writing, critique, and stakeholder communication; comfort juggling multi-track priorities
  • Process-first mindset with high attention to detail, accessibility, and export/spec discipline

Nice to Have

  • Exposure to BFSI/fintech/edtech or distribution-led businesses
  • Motion design leadership (Lottie/AE pipelines), basic prototyping, and web fundamentals
  • Experience supporting field events, regional adaptations, and last-mile print/vendor specs

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