📌 Core Information
🔹 Job Title: Senior Marketing Visual Designer
🔹 Company: Colonial Life
🔹 Location: Columbia, South Carolina, USA
🔹 Job Type: Full-Time
🔹 Category: Design
🔹 Date Posted: July 3, 2025
🔹 Experience Level: 5-10 years
🔹 Remote Status: On-site (Hybrid)
🚀 Job Overview
Key aspects of this role include:
- Creating and executing visual design communication to support Unum Group's financial and marketing goals
- Collaborating with various teams to produce marketing assets across multiple media and channels
- Acting as a thought leader on design and mentoring visual design staff members
- Developing and maintaining brand design templates, design systems, and style guidelines
ASSUMPTION: This role requires a high level of creativity, strong originality, and appropriate risk-taking in design concepts. The ideal candidate will have a strong portfolio demonstrating these qualities.
📋 Key Responsibilities
✅ Delivers high-level design creativity based on concepts that exceed objectives and reflect usable ideas, indicating strong originality and appropriate risk-taking
✅ Acts as a thought leader on design with the writing team, broader marketing team, and business partners to assist in the concepting and production of marketing assets across media and channels
✅ Successfully works on a full range of advertising, sales promotion, digital marketing, event marketing, and other projects ranging in size and complexity
✅ Designs for digital and print, including wireframes, UI design, flyers and brochures, print and digital ads, presentations, emails, infographics, and demos
✅ Provides guidance to other departmental teams to ensure that visuals meet established brand standards
✅ Mentors visual design staff members on job parameters and expectations
✅ Develops, maintains, and enforces brand design templates, design systems, and style guidelines and ensures that these toolkits are accessible to other design staff members
✅ Creates and executes graphic design solutions that communicate marketing messages clearly and effectively
✅ Creates and packages digital files for print or digital production
✅ Collaborates with staff designers to ensure projects and templates are consistent with current branding guidelines
✅ Manages and prioritizes a high volume workload with little supervision
✅ Partners with Marketing Communications, Digital Marketing, business partners, and subject matter experts to support the creation of live action productions from start to finish
✅ Leads medium to large live action productions with guidance from area management and senior business leaders
ASSUMPTION: This role requires strong time management skills and the ability to work on multiple projects, shifting focus based on priority and timeline.
🎯 Required Qualifications
Education: College degree in Graphic Design, Communications, or related field
Experience: A minimum of 5 years of full-time agency or corporate professional experience preferred
Required Skills:
- Strong design sense evidenced by proven portfolio examples
- Ability to leverage in-depth knowledge of production processes including printing, photography, illustration, and reproduction qualities of paper
- Expert proficiency in all design-related software, including Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator, XD (or similar program), and PowerPoint
- Strong time management skills and the ability to work on multiple projects, shifting focus based on priority and timeline
- Experience in directing all aspects of design from concept through completion
- Ability to participate in meetings and kick-offs and advocate for use of visual design best practices
- Capable of interacting effectively with all levels of clients/business partners and interpreting marketing plans and translating them into strong creative concepts
- A strong, in-depth working knowledge of all Unum’s operating lines of business and their marketing strategies and customer profiles
- Capable of establishing logical design systems that allow for theme and variation, enabling the brand(s) to stay true to their identities while being flexible in presence and tone
Preferred Skills:
- Experience with responsive design and user experience (UX) principles
- Familiarity with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
ASSUMPTION: While not explicitly required, experience with responsive design and familiarity with web development technologies may be beneficial for this role.
💰 Compensation & Benefits
Salary Range: $63,500.00 - $120,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Health, Vision, Dental, Short & Long-Term Disability
- Generous PTO (including paid time to volunteer!)
- Up to 9.5% 401(k) employer contribution
- Mental health support
- Career advancement opportunities
- Student loan repayment options
- Tuition reimbursement
- Flexible work environments
Working Hours: Full-time, 40 hours per week. This role may require occasional overtime or flexible scheduling to meet project deadlines.
ASSUMPTION: The salary range provided is an estimate based on industry standards for a Senior Marketing Visual Designer role. Actual pay may vary based on skill, geographical location, and experience.
📌 Applicant Insights
🔍 Company Context
Industry: Insurance
Company Size: 1,001-5,000 employees
Founded: 1939
Company Description:
- Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Unum Group, provides financial protection benefits to America’s workers and their families when the unexpected happens
- The company offers workplace benefits, including disability, life, accident, dental, cancer, critical illness, and hospital confinement indemnity insurance
- Colonial Life’s benefit services, education, and innovative enrollment technology support over 87,000 businesses and 4 million workers
Company Specialties:
- Benefits communication and education
- Enrollment services
- Personal insurance products
Company Website: http://www.coloniallife.com
ASSUMPTION: Colonial Life is a well-established company in the insurance industry, with a strong focus on employee benefits and customer service.
📊 Role Analysis
Career Level: Senior
Reporting Structure: This role reports directly to the Manager, Creative Services
Work Arrangement: Hybrid - a combination of on-site and remote work
Growth Opportunities:
- Potential career progression to a Creative Director or similar leadership role
- Opportunities to mentor and develop junior designers
- Chance to work on a wide range of projects and expand skillset
ASSUMPTION: This role offers opportunities for career growth and professional development within the creative services department and the broader organization.
🌍 Location & Work Environment
Office Type: On-site with hybrid work arrangement
Office Location(s): 1200 Colonial Life Blvd, Columbia, SC 29210, US
Geographic Context:
- Columbia, South Carolina, is the capital and second-largest city in the state
- The city offers a mix of urban and suburban living, with a cost of living slightly below the national average
- Columbia has a humid subtropical climate, with mild winters and hot, humid summers
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, with occasional overtime or flexible scheduling as needed
ASSUMPTION: The hybrid work arrangement allows for flexibility in work location while still providing opportunities for in-person collaboration and team building.
💼 Interview & Application Insights
Typical Process:
- Online application submission
- Phone or video screen with the Hiring Manager
- In-person or virtual interview with the Hiring Manager and a team member
- Final interview with the Creative Director and other stakeholders
Key Assessment Areas:
- Design portfolio and creative problem-solving skills
- Communication and collaboration skills
- Understanding of Unum Group's operating lines of business and marketing strategies
- Ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines
Application Tips:
- Tailor your resume and cover letter to highlight relevant skills and experiences for this role
- Prepare a portfolio showcasing your design skills, creativity, and problem-solving abilities
- Research Unum Group and Colonial Life to demonstrate your understanding of the company and its products
ATS Keywords: Senior Marketing Visual Designer, Graphic Design, Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, XD, PowerPoint, Brand Standards, Mentoring, Collaboration, Creative Concepts, Marketing Strategies, Design Systems, Communication
ASSUMPTION: The interview process for this role is designed to assess the candidate's design skills, creativity, and cultural fit within the organization.
🛠️ Tools & Technologies
- Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, XD)
- PowerPoint
- Responsive design tools (e.g., Sketch, Figma, or similar)
- Web development technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) - preferred but not required
ASSUMPTION: Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite is essential for this role, while experience with responsive design tools and web development technologies may be beneficial.
👔 Cultural Fit Considerations
Company Values:
- Integrity
- Respect
- Accountability
- Customer Focus
- Innovation
Work Style:
- Collaborative and team-oriented
- Results-driven and deadline-focused
- Adaptable and open to feedback
Self-Assessment Questions:
- Do you thrive in a collaborative environment and enjoy working with cross-functional teams?
- Are you comfortable managing multiple projects and prioritizing tasks based on deadlines and priorities?
- Do you have a strong attention to detail and a commitment to maintaining brand consistency?
ASSUMPTION: Colonial Life values candidates who are strong team players, results-driven, and committed to maintaining high-quality standards in their work.
⚠️ Potential Challenges
- Managing a high volume workload with little supervision
- Balancing multiple projects and shifting priorities
- Adapting to changes in project scope or direction
- Working in a hybrid environment, requiring both on-site and remote collaboration
ASSUMPTION: This role may present challenges in managing a high volume workload and balancing multiple projects, requiring strong time management and organizational skills.
📈 Similar Roles Comparison
- Compared to other Senior Marketing Visual Designer roles, this position may offer more exposure to live action production and event marketing
- Colonial Life's focus on benefits communication and education sets it apart from other insurance companies, providing unique opportunities for creative problem-solving
- Career progression in this role may follow a similar path to other senior design roles within the creative services department or broader organization
ASSUMPTION: While this role shares similarities with other Senior Marketing Visual Designer positions, its focus on benefits communication and education sets it apart and offers unique opportunities for creative problem-solving.
📝 Sample Projects
- Developing a comprehensive brand style guide for a new product line
- Designing a responsive website for a benefits enrollment platform
- Creating a series of infographics to explain complex benefits concepts in an easy-to-understand format
ASSUMPTION: These sample projects demonstrate the range of design tasks and responsibilities required for this role, from brand development to web design and information graphics.
❓ Key Questions to Ask During Interview
- Can you describe the typical workflow for a project from concept to completion?
- How does this role collaborate with other departments, such as Marketing Communications and Digital Marketing?
- What opportunities are there for professional development and growth within the creative services department and the broader organization?
- How does Colonial Life support work-life balance for its employees?
- What is the company's approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and how does this role contribute to those efforts?
ASSUMPTION: Asking these questions will help you understand the role's day-to-day responsibilities, the company culture, and the opportunities for professional growth and development.
📌 Next Steps for Applicants
To apply for this position:
- Submit your application through this link
- Tailor your resume and cover letter to highlight relevant skills and experiences for this role
- Prepare a portfolio showcasing your design skills, creativity, and problem-solving abilities
- Research Unum Group and Colonial Life to demonstrate your understanding of the company and its products
- Follow up with the hiring manager one week after submitting your application to express your interest in the role
⚠️ This job description contains AI-assisted information. Details should be verified directly with the employer before making decisions.
