Genflow
YouTube Thumbnail Strategist & Designer
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About Genflow
Genflow is the world's leading creator agency, building, launching and scaling creator-first brands across fitness, fashion, beauty, nutrition, wellness, education and productivity. We manage a portfolio of 65+ creator brands and provide consulting and done-for-you services to founders, agencies and creators. We move fast, experiment relentlessly, and prize builders who ship measurable results. Learn more at genflow.com and follow us @genflow_.
About the role
We are looking for a full-time YouTube Thumbnail Strategist and Designer to join the long-form content team working across Shan Hanif and Jun Yuh's personal brands and the Creator Unplugged podcast.
This is not just a thumbnail design role. We need someone who deeply understands the strategy element of YouTube thumbnails. You will be responsible for every thumbnail that goes out across our channels, whether that is executing on a brief or coming to the table with your own concepts. You will work under the content strategists but you are expected to operate with a high degree of autonomy, a strong creative instinct, and a deep understanding of what makes someone click.
If you understand the principle behind why a thumbnail gets clicked, this role is for you.
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What you will own
Thumbnail Design and Production
- Design and deliver all thumbnails across assigned YouTube channels, either from briefs or self-ideated.
- Develop multiple variations of each thumbnail for A/B testing and ongoing optimisation.
- Revisit, update and test new thumbnails on already-published videos to improve CTR.
- Maintain a consistent pipeline of work, being readily available for new briefs at all times.
Creative Strategy and Ideation
- Generate strong thumbnail concepts autonomously, bringing ideas proactively rather than waiting to be briefed.
- Develop a deep understanding of each creator's brand, audience, and visual identity.
- Stay ahead of trends across YouTube packaging and apply viral-first principles to every design.
- Present creative concepts clearly with rationale, especially where you believe an idea will outperform a brief.
Collaboration and Operations
- Work closely with content strategists to ensure thumbnails are aligned with title and content strategy.
- Join daily team standups and content strategy meetings as required.
- Manage your own workflow and deadlines, flagging capacity issues early.
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What are we looking for
- Proven experience designing YouTube thumbnails with a demonstrable focus on CTR and virality.
- Expert-level Adobe Photoshop skills, this is non-negotiable.
- Strong eye for aesthetics, branding, and visual hierarchy.
- Deep understanding of YouTube packaging and the relationship between title, thumbnail, and content.
- Experience with A/B testing and thumbnail optimisation on live videos.
- Ability to both execute on a brief and ideate independently.
- Full-time availability with no other clients, this role requires consistent presence and fast turnaround.
Nice to have
- Experience working on large YouTube channels focused on virality.
- Familiarity with tools such as TubeBuddy or vidIQ for performance analysis.
- Background working within a content team or agency environment.
Traits
- Viral-first thinker, you understand what makes people click before you open Photoshop.
- Detail-obsessed, every pixel is intentional.
- Fast and reliable, you hit deadlines without being chased.
- Proactive, you bring ideas rather than waiting for direction.
- Receptive to feedback and able to iterate quickly.
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