Graphic Designer

About Ava Community Energy

Ava Community Energy (Ava) is a Joint Powers Authority comprising Alameda County and its incorporated areas, and the cities of Lathrop, Stockton, and Tracy. Ava’s charter is to provide its customers with low carbon, cost-effective electricity that integrates innovative energy products and maximizes local benefits through the development of local solutions, ranging from increasing access to rooftop solar to supporting the adoption of electric vehicles.

Culture and Commitment to Diversity

Ava believes in a vibrant culture that supports and nurtures a workplace that offers every individual the opportunity to attain professional goals and contribute to accomplishing our mission. We foster a culture of open communication, responsibility, curiosity, accountability, and teamwork. We want creative problem solvers that are excited to work in an entrepreneurial environment and grow our organization!

As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce that is reflective of our service area’s rich culture and communities. We welcome a diversity of experiences, perspectives, and skills.

We strongly encourage people of all characteristics to apply and prohibit unlawful discrimination and harassment of any type based on age, religion, color, gender identity or expression, race, ancestry, or national origin, religion or creed, marital status, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information or characteristics, and those with a disability as protected by federal, state and local laws.

Position Summary

Ava is seeking to hire a Graphic Designer to join the Marketing team on a part-time basis. The Graphic Designer will report to the Associate Creative Director and is remote eligible, though a hybrid schedule (with up to two days a week in Ava’s Oakland office) is preferred. In this role, you will provide professional design support on projects as assigned, providing clarity to Ava’s offerings through design solutions, applying our brand guidelines with care, and upholding strong visual identity standards across projects.

Position Details

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

Under the direction of the Associate Creative Director:

• Create graphics and/or templates for Ava’s social media feeds
• Support Ava programs with marketing collateral via design solutions
• Prepare print materials to specification, utilizing existing templates and resources
• Source free-to-use or licensable imagery for use throughout projects (generative AI is discouraged and prohibited in most cases)
• Maintain resources in our shared knowledge base including packaged and production-ready design files
• Ensure work adheres to brand guidelines and design best practices
• Collaborate with Marketing and cross functional teams on presentations and other internal staff design requests
• Edit/retouch photography
• Other duties as assigned.
  
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum of 2 years of experience in applying design best practices, including structuring information to effective type hierarchies, employing negative and positive space, utilizing grid systems, and working to assigned timelines and budgets
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, particularly InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop
• Portfolio showing a range of project types and design approaches
• Ability to articulate design decisions, incorporate feedback, and iterate on revisions
• Ability to work in other environments as needed, such as Google Slides, Canva, and Microsoft Word and PowerPoint
• Enthusiasm for clean energy and climate action
• Illustration skills a plus
• Animation skills a plus
• Video-editing skills a plus
• Strong writing skills a plus
• Hybrid (locally based) a plus for occasional onsite work and in-person meetings
• Detail-oriented and organized
• Ability to work with a team as well as being independently motivated
• Ability to work 16-24 hours per week
  
  
  

***As part of your application, please submit a resume, cover letter, and link to your portfolio. Please also be prepared to email a simple text-based InDesign file containing multiple paragraph styles should you move forward in the interview process. ***

Compensation

The hourly rate for this position is $75 to $100 per hour based on experience.

Working Conditions

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Ava is dedicated to reasonably accommodate an applicant for known physical or mental disabilities so that the applicant may participate in the application process. We will engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process with any employee with a known physical or mental disability to identify potential reasonable accommodations, if any, to enable the employee to perform the essential functions of their position.

• General office environment is primarily sedentary work which requires the following physical activities: standing, sitting, walking, reaching, lifting, finger dexterity, grasping, repetitive motions, talking, hearing and visual acuity.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.
• The noise level is usually moderate.
  
  
  

Working at Ava Community Energy

Ava is committed to complying with applicable laws, including the Americans with Disability Act and Fair Employment and Housing Act, ensuring equal employment opportunities to qualified individuals with a disability. Ava prohibits unlawful discrimination based on age, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), genetic information or characteristics, gender identity, gender expression, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, creed, marital status, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, medical condition, or on any other basis prohibited by federal, state, or local laws.

The information contained herein has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job. The information also does not constitute either an expressed or implied contract, and these provisions are subject to change.