Marketing Designer

We are recruiting a Marketing Designer to join our Marketing and Business Development department.

About Macfarlanes

Macfarlanes is a pre-eminent law firm that serves a global client base in private capital, private wealth, M&A and disputes. Personal connection, an entrepreneurial spirit and a commitment to excellence are at the heart of our firm. These values drive our ability to deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients.

We are big enough to undertake the most complex and demanding mandates yet small enough to know each other well and to be agile, adapting to the needs of our clients. We seek to strengthen the firm by recruiting talented people from all backgrounds who want to build long-lasting and impactful careers with us. Our culture is challenging and supportive, creating an environment where individuals can thrive.

What this means for you

Joining Macfarlanes means being part of a collaborative, approachable team who want you to succeed. You’ll be encouraged to get involved and recognised for your contribution.

We take your development seriously. Our learning and development programmes are second to none and are designed to help you strengthen your skills.

Above all, you’ll be part of a firm where we all work together as part of a cohesive and supportive team, value your efforts and help you to thrive.

The team

You will be part of a design team of three within the wider Marketing and Business Development department, working closely with the Senior Designer and the Head of Brand and Marketing. Day to day you will collaborate with colleagues across the firm – including fee-earners and business services teams – supporting campaigns, thought leadership, pitches and events with design work that spans print and digital.

We operate a hybrid working model, with a minimum of three days per week in the office.

The role

We are looking for an experienced designer to join a busy Marketing team. The role would suit a generalist who can move between briefs confidently and take full ownership of each output.

We recently completed a rebrand and this role will be central to embedding the new visual identity across the firm and our materials – converting existing brand assets and ensuring everything we produce reflects the new brand with confidence and consistency. You will need to understand the visual brand in depth, know how to apply it correctly, and find creativity within it rather than around it

The role requires someone who can take a brief, make confident design decisions, and deliver to a high standard. Strong organisation, attention to detail and the ability to manage competing priorities are essential.

There is also a workflow coordinator in the team, and on some days this role will involve covering workflow responsibilities – logging incoming requests, assigning priorities and communicating with the team.

No two days look the same. You might start the morning finishing a pitch document in InDesign, resize a hero image for an email invite before lunch, and spend the afternoon working on a thought leadership report that will be exported as an interactive PDF. The range is part of the appeal, but it also requires someone who can switch quickly, work to shifting deadlines and maintain quality across all of it.

Core responsibilities

• design and produce branded materials across print and digital channels, primarily in InDesign – including pitch documents, brochures, thought leadership reports and editorial content;
• build and adapt InDesign templates, creating new ones from brand guidelines when needed rather than relying solely on existing layouts;
• create presentations and data visualisations in PowerPoint that communicate complex information clearly – working to the standard expected in a consultancy or financial services environment;
• produce digital assets for email marketing, social media and the website, with an understanding of how design requirements vary across channels;
• contribute to channel-level design projects – for example, reviewing and evolving how the firm presents itself on social media or in digital publications;
• source and edit images via Getty Images; carry out image resizing and editing alongside light video editing of recorded events and webinars;
• support colleagues across the marketing team in producing materials that meet brand standards, acting as an expert resource for Adobe Creative Cloud;
• quality control and proof all materials before final sign-off;
  prepare and send print-ready artwork to the internal printing team; and
• cover workflow coordination when required, using Monday.com (we will train you on this if new) to log, prioritise and communicate incoming design requests.

This job description encompasses the main duties of the role and is by no means exhaustive. Duties may vary from time to time according to the needs of the department.

The candidate

The successful candidate will have the following skills and experience:

• five or more years’ experience as a designer in a professional services, financial or corporate environment. Law firm experience is not essential, but being comfortable working in a regulated, deadline-driven environment is;
• a generalist approach: the ability to move between briefs and formats, working collaboratively within a small team while taking full ownership of individual outputs;
• a proven ability to work within a defined visual identity, applying brand rules consistently and finding creative solutions within the system rather than outside it;
• strong layout and typography skills, with the ability to structure a branded page with clear visual hierarchy;
• proficiency across Adobe Creative Cloud: InDesign (primary tool), Illustrator, Photoshop and Premiere Pro;
• the ability to build and adapt templates in InDesign from brand guidelines, not just work from existing files;
• solid PowerPoint skills – including charts, data visualisation and presentation formatting to a standard consistent with professional services or financial services outputs;
• a working understanding of HTML, CSS and web technologies – sufficient to understand how digital assets are used and to communicate clearly with developers;
• experience with data visualisation and infographics – the ability to present complex or quantitative information through designed visual formats;
• the ability to work accurately and efficiently, manage competing priorities and maintain quality under tight deadlines; and
• proficiency in standard business applications: Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams and Zoom.

Desirable experience:

• experience with After Effects or motion graphics – even at a basic level;
• experience designing presentations for conferences or external speaking engagements;
• creating and editing social media artwork in Canva;
• familiarity with Figma – we do not currently use it consistently, but experience with the tool would be useful;
• experience with Ceros or similar interactive content platforms; and
• an interest in how AI tools can support day-to-day design work.

Application screening

Any offer of employment with us is subject to our pre-employment checks which are conducted by a third-party screening provider. These may include but are not limited to your professional and academic qualifications, any criminal records and employment references. These checks will be initiated with your consent and your offer will be subject to the successful completion of these checks.

Our commitment to inclusion

Inclusion is one of our key priorities and it is a goal we are actively working towards. We believe that an inclusive, forward-thinking culture is intrinsically important and enables us to provide innovative solutions to our clients.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, bringing different perspectives and experiences, making Macfarlanes an exciting and stimulating place to work. We seek to recruit the best candidates, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, social or economic background, religion, disability, sexual orientation or any other characteristic.

As part of this commitment, we will ask you certain diversity data questions. We would really appreciate you and/or your recruiter completing these questions when submitting an application to Macfarlanes as this data enables us to measure our progress and identify any actions needed to continue to support an inclusive culture. This data is anonymised to maintain the privacy of applicants. If you have any questions relating to how this data is used, please contact a member of the recruitment team.

Should you require any adjustments during the application and/or interview process, please do not hesitate to inform your recruiter or a member of the recruitment team. Please note, the job description is available in other accessible formats (for example, large print).

We are a Disability Confident Employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who best meet the essential criteria for the role. If you would like to apply through the Disability Confident Interview Scheme, please email the recruitment team at [email protected].