Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Image Coordinator
💰 $45,000 - $65,000
🎯 Role Definition
The Image Coordinator serves as the organizational backbone for a company's visual content. This role is fundamentally responsible for the entire lifecycle of digital imagery, from acquisition and processing to categorization and distribution. Acting as a central point of contact for all image-related needs, the Image Coordinator ensures that all visual assets are on-brand, high-quality, and easily accessible to stakeholders across marketing, sales, web, and creative teams. This position is crucial for maintaining brand integrity and streamlining creative workflows, directly impacting the efficiency of content production and the visual appeal of the company's public-facing materials.
📈 Career Progression
Typical Career Path
Entry Point From:
- Photography Assistant
- Marketing Coordinator or Assistant
- Junior Graphic Designer
- Studio Assistant
Advancement To:
- Digital Asset Manager
- Senior Image Coordinator / Photo Editor
- Content Manager
- Creative Production Manager
Lateral Moves:
- Content Coordinator
- Social Media Coordinator
- Junior Producer
Core Responsibilities
Primary Functions
- Manage the day-to-day intake, processing, and organization of all incoming digital imagery from various sources, including internal photoshoots, freelance photographers, and stock photo services.
- Perform initial quality control checks on all images to ensure they meet technical specifications, aesthetic standards, and brand guidelines for composition, lighting, and resolution.
- Conduct essential image editing, including cropping, resizing, color correction, and light retouching, to prepare assets for use across multiple platforms like e-commerce sites, social media, and email marketing.
- Meticulously apply and maintain a consistent metadata and taxonomy framework, adding relevant keywords, tags, and product information to make images easily searchable within the Digital Asset Management (DAM) system.
- Oversee the health and organization of the Digital Asset Management (DAM) system, ensuring a logical folder structure and enforcing usage rights and expiration dates for all assets.
- Fulfill image requests from various internal departments (Marketing, PR, Sales, Web) and external partners, providing them with correctly formatted assets in a timely manner.
- Collaborate closely with photographers, art directors, and stylists during pre-production and on-set to ensure the shot list aligns with project goals and asset requirements.
- Maintain a comprehensive and up-to-date library of brand guidelines pertaining to imagery and ensure all new assets are in full compliance.
- Track and manage licensing agreements and usage rights for all stock photography and commissioned work to prevent copyright infringement and ensure legal compliance.
- Coordinate the distribution of final, approved images to all relevant channels, ensuring a seamless flow from post-production to publication.
- Develop and maintain clear documentation and best-practice guides for image submission, naming conventions, and DAM usage for all team members.
- Liaise with the e-commerce team to ensure all product imagery is accurately uploaded, named, and associated with the correct SKUs on the website.
- Curate collections of images for specific campaigns, projects, or presentations, demonstrating a strong understanding of visual storytelling.
- Archive outdated or retired assets according to established retention policies, while ensuring critical historical assets are preserved.
- Identify and troubleshoot any issues related to the DAM system, image quality, or creative workflow, escalating to senior team members or IT when necessary.
Secondary Functions
- Support the creative and marketing teams by sourcing appropriate stock imagery that aligns with campaign briefs and brand aesthetics.
- Assist in the selection and onboarding of freelance photographers, retouchers, and other external creative vendors.
- Generate and present regular reports on DAM system usage, popular assets, and overall library health to leadership.
- Stay current with industry trends in digital photography, image editing software, and digital asset management technologies to recommend process improvements.
- Participate in creative brainstorming sessions to provide input on the visual direction of upcoming projects and campaigns.
Required Skills & Competencies
Hard Skills (Technical)
- High-level proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, specifically Photoshop, Lightroom, and Bridge, for advanced editing, color management, and batch processing.
- Extensive experience with one or more Digital Asset Management (DAM) platforms (e.g., Bynder, Canto, Brandfolder, Adobe Experience Manager).
- Strong understanding of digital file formats (JPEG, PNG, TIFF, PSD), color spaces (sRGB, CMYK), and resolution requirements for both web and print.
- Knowledge of metadata best practices, including IPTC standards, keywording strategies, and the application of controlled vocabularies.
- Familiarity with project management software (e.g., Asana, Trello, Jira) to track image requests and project progress.
- Basic knowledge of photography principles, including lighting, composition, and camera settings.
Soft Skills
- Meticulous attention to detail with an exceptional eye for quality, consistency, and brand alignment.
- Superior organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to manage a high volume of assets and competing priorities under tight deadlines.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills for collaborating effectively with creative professionals and non-creative stakeholders.
- A proactive, problem-solving mindset with the ability to work independently and take ownership of the image management process.
- Strong interpersonal skills and a collaborative spirit, fostering positive relationships across different departments.
Education & Experience
Educational Background
Minimum Education:
- Associate's or Bachelor's degree, or equivalent practical experience in a related field.
Preferred Education:
- Bachelor's Degree.
Relevant Fields of Study:
- Photography
- Visual Arts
- Marketing
- Communications
- Library and Information Science
Experience Requirements
Typical Experience Range: 2-4 years of experience in a role focused on image coordination, photo editing, or digital asset management.
Preferred: Direct experience within a fast-paced e-commerce, retail, media, or creative agency environment is highly advantageous. A portfolio demonstrating experience with image curation and editing may be requested.