About this role
External Relations at the University of Virginia (UVA) seeks a forward-thinking leader at the intersection of creativity and technology to join its team as the Director of Creative Technologies. This role will guide the exploration and adoption of emerging tools and platforms, from immersive and interactive media to AI-assisted production, that elevate how UVA tells its story, engages its communities and reaches new audiences. The University of Virginia has a strong and reputable advancement community, boasting effective, results-oriented and resourceful professionals. We offer a wide variety of career opportunities, as well as an outstanding environment for professional growth and development.
Reporting to the Senior Creative Director, the Director of Creative Technologies will play a vital role in leading a distinct area within the External Relations Communications team: the design, development, and AI-enabled production of high-craft interactive digital experiences, tools, and systems that advance the University’s fundraising and engagement goals. This dynamic position involves working where design, front-end development, and applied artificial intelligence come together to produce bespoke interactive work that standard templates and outside vendors cannot deliver.
The Director of Creative Technologies also provides senior technical creative leadership for the team, serves as its primary resource for responsible AI adoption, and partners with units across the University to solve problems through creative technology. Success in this role requires technical fluency, design craft, and the ability to turn strategic and fundraising goals into polished, working experiences.
Responsibilities
- Designs and builds custom interactive experiences for major-gift solicitation, stewardship, and legislative and stakeholder engagement, owning the work end to end from concept through design, code, and delivery.
- Manages giving.virginia.edu and its surrounding digital ecosystem, including front-end development, creative coding, event-page templating, and cross-platform maintenance, and provides senior technical support on complex email production when needed.
- Develops and maintains branded and reusable templates and toolkits that enable efficient, high-quality production across the team.
- Leads the team’s applied-AI practice, developing adoption and authorship-disclosure frameworks and contributing to institutional AI guidance.
- Trains and coaches colleagues across the team and partner units on creative-technology tools, AI, and interactive production, building shared fluency and helping other teams apply these capabilities in their own work.
- Serves as a creative-technology resource to units across the University, including Corporate & Foundation Relations, Event Experiences, and State Government Relations, among others, advancing External Relations Communications as a partner for AI-enabled creative problem-solving.
- Keeps creative and communications output aligned as External Relations enterprise-level technology systems evolve, including the CRM, web platform, and event and email tools.
- Other duties as assigned.
The successful candidate will excel in the following areas:
- Front-end development and creative coding, with fluency in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and a track record of building custom, responsive experiences that go beyond what templates and platforms allow.
- Delivering high-quality work at speed, using AI and efficient production workflows to engineer polished, custom experiences on the timelines that fundraising and engagement work demands.
- Staying abreast of fast-changing tools and platforms, evaluating emerging tools and techniques and assessing which are appropriate to incorporate into the team’s work.
- Design and interactive craft, translating brand and content into engaging, well-structured digital experiences with strong attention to usability and visual quality.
- Turning strategic and fundraising goals into built, working experiences, owning the path from concept through delivery rather than handing off specifications.
- Creative problem-solving, finding inventive technical and design solutions to challenges that other teams and units bring, and identifying opportunities where creative technology can change what is possible.
Working effectively in team environments that collaborate on deadlines, managing both responsive, fast-turnaround requests and longer-term priorities.
Minimum Qualifications
- Education: Bachelor’s degree required.
- Experience: 8+ years of relevant professional experience required.
- Licensure: None.
Preferred Qualifications
- 10+ years of experience in design, digital platforms, front-end development, and AI-driven workflows.
- Experience in higher education or advancement communications.
Salary Range
The anticipated hiring range is $140,000 - $150,000, commensurate with education and experience.
Position Type & Work Location
This is an exempt-level, benefited position. Learn more about UVA benefits. This position will remain open until filled.
This is a restricted position, which is dependent on funding and is contingent upon funding availability.
UVA External Relations offers a flexible and hybrid workplace. All team members must have access to and maintain a secure home office environment with high-speed internet service and be able to work collaboratively with others using a variety of technologies and tools. Depending on the type of position and work performed, or as deemed by the manager, some positions may be required to work intermittently in our shared office space located in Charlottesville, Virginia.
This hybrid position can be worked remotely on occasion, although frequent in-person work in our office building, on UVA Grounds, or at event venues is required.
About UVA and the Community
To learn more about UVA and in the Charlottesville area, visit UVA Life and Embark CVA.
Additional Requirements
Background checks will be conducted on all new hires prior to employment.
This position will not consider candidates who require immigration sponsorship now or in the future.
How to Apply
Internal applicants: Search and apply for jobs on the UVA Internal Careers website and submit the following:
- Resume
- Cover Letter
- Portfolio
Upload all materials into the resume submission field. You can submit multiple documents into this one field or combine them into one PDF. Applications without all required documents will not receive full consideration.
Reference Check Process
Reference checks will be completed by UVA’s third-party partner, SkillSurvey, during the final phase of the interview. Five references will be requested, with at least three responses required.
Contact
- For additional information about the position, please contact April Sibiski, Director of Staff Success, at [email protected]
- For questions about the application process, please contact Daniel Strong, Senior recruiter at [email protected].
The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Click here to read more about UVA’s commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS
This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.
The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Learn more about UVA’s commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment.