YouTube Growth Strategist & Thumbnail Designer

We're looking for an experienced YouTube Strategy & Creative Consultant to partner with our team on an initial pilot project focused on YouTube channel strategy and thumbnail development for a collegiate athletics brand. The ideal candidate combines creative execution with strategic thinking. You should be able to design high-performing YouTube thumbnails while using analytics and platform best practices to inform creative decisions, improve content packaging, and identify opportunities for channel growth. This project has the potential to evolve into an ongoing consulting relationship for the right partner. The initial project scope will include: - YouTube channel audit and strategy consultation - Review of current content packaging and thumbnail approach - Strategic recommendations for improving CTR, discoverability, and audience growth - Design of 12 custom YouTube thumbnails - Thumbnail testing recommendations and one round of revisions to finalize all 12 thumbnails - Recommendations for a scalable thumbnail system and creative workflow What We're Looking For - Proven success growing YouTube channels through data-driven strategy - Strong portfolio of high-performing YouTube thumbnails - Deep understanding of CTR, retention, Browse, Search, and Suggested traffic - Experience using analytics to inform creative decisions - Ability to clearly communicate strategic recommendations and collaborate with creative teams