Creative Director

Hawaiian Council is looking for a Creative Director to lead brand and design across its portfolio in Honolulu, HI (onsite). This is a hands-on role where you own visual positioning, identity development, design systems, and creative direction for designers and video, turning brand strategy into market-ready brand worlds and deliverables that hold up across channels.

Salary: USD 115,000 to 135,000 per year. Experience: 8+ years.

What you’ll deliver

• Shape brand strategy and positioning for Hawaiian Council and each portfolio brand (for-profit or non-profit) in partnership with the Senior Director, agency partners, and cultural stewards.
• Lead identity work across the portfolio, including logo development and refinement, brand architecture, and creation of brand worlds (typography, color, imagery direction, graphic language, and key art) for new products and turnaround situations.
• Build and own the design systems, template libraries, and brand guidelines the team executes from, ensuring consistent visual expression across programs, subsidiaries, and external partnerships.
• Extend approved systems after receiving working files and guidelines from contracted creative partners, carrying the strategy and identity forward in house after handoff.
• Design flagship work personally, including brand decks and pitch materials, campaign key art, priority print, out-of-home, digital, social, email, signage, sales and press materials.
• Set and maintain the design quality bar by reviewing all output before release and providing clear, constructive direction that raises team craft.
• Direct and develop designers, establishing file organization, naming, versioning, and handoff standards to keep delivery fast without sacrificing quality.
• Art direct photography and video with the filmmaker and videographer, from concept and shot lists through selects and retouching, so still and motion assets work as one system.
• Partner with cultural stewards and cultural reviewers so moʻolelo, ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, imagery, and place are handled with accuracy and care through the process, not as a last step.
• Present work to the CEO, producers, general managers, and agency partners, incorporating feedback while protecting the strength of the idea.
• Scope design work in hours, track against the deliverables plan, and support the team as a billable creative studio.
• Support brand and design needs for CNHA programs, events, and convenings, including the Annual Native Hawaiian Convention.
• Stay current with design tools and methods, including responsible use of AI-assisted design and production tools where they speed execution without compromising quality or cultural integrity.
• Represent CNHA with professionalism in external creative engagements.

What you bring

• Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communication, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• 8+ years of professional design experience, including at least 3 years leading brand identity work at a branding or design studio, an advertising agency, or in a senior in-house brand role. Agency or studio experience strongly preferred.
• A portfolio demonstrating brand positioning and building, not only execution: identity systems, logos, brand worlds, and campaign systems that went to market and held up.
• Proven ability to contribute to brand strategy and positioning and translate it into creative platforms.
• Experience directing and mentoring designers and running a design review process.
• Exceptional typography, layout, color, and image judgment, with meticulous attention to detail.
• Ability to clearly explain strategic thinking behind creative work to a CEO, producers, and partners, and to partner equally with strategy and media agencies.
• Expert command of Figma and Adobe Creative Cloud (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop).
• Understanding of After Effects or Premiere, Canva template engineering, and print production and prepress.
• Ability to manage multiple brands, projects, and deadlines while maintaining a collaborative work style.
• Knowledge of and respect for Native Hawaiian culture, history, and language, with a commitment to working under cultural guidance. Correct use of ʻokina and kahakō in all work is a baseline expectation.
• ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi proficiency is a plus.
• Demonstrated AI fluency and curiosity, including practical application of generative AI tools to design and production workflows where relevant.

Benefits

• 401(k) and 401(k) matching
• Health insurance, Health savings account, Vision insurance
• Dental insurance
• Life insurance
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible spending account
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan

Performance expectations

• High ethical standards, professionalism, and integrity in all work
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
• Initiative, accountability, and reliability
• Adaptability in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment
• Commitment to CNHA’s cultural values and serving Native Hawaiian and local communities
• Regular and reliable attendance