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July 10, 2020

We’re Hiring! Director of UX & Digital Strategy

Constructive, a leading social impact design agency in NYC for 20 years is looking for an experienced design leader to bring new ideas and perspective that expands our digital design practice, which emphasizes large-scale, content-heavy websites. We work on issues of social and environmental equity, justice, and sustainability. You can explore our work here.

Directors at Constructive are team leaders who shape the direction of their practice area, their team, and our company. They oversee the work of their team and also play a hands-on role in producing work for our most important projects. Our Director of UX and Digital Strategy operates at the intersection of digital strategy, information architecture, and content strategy. They are a strategic design thinker who thinks holistically about how to unite content, design, and technology to create mission-driven brand experiences that engage, educate, and activate audiences.

We’re looking for someone who’s innovative, collaborative and seeks greatness from themselves and from others. A person who thinks big and actively looks to take on big challenges. Someone who has vision and knows how to inspire others by communicating it effectively. And a person who makes sure that the details of their work pay tribute to the big ideas that drive it. And most important, someone who wants to be empowered to do great work.

If the person that we’re looking for sounds a lot like you, you’d like to work with a high-performing team of smart and talented people, and you want to work in a place where you have the opportunity to live your values every day and be the change you seek in the world, then we’d love to connect.

Though we are based in NYC, this is a position with the option for remote work (cuz we’re all doing that now, right? But Constructive has actually been planning to be more distributed for a while). 

Here’s what we’re hoping for in our next Director of UX & Digital Strategy:

Core Areas of Expertise

We’re looking for a design thinker who can lead clients and teams to define goals, needs, and requirements; develop strategies, and translate everything into the foundation of designed digital experiences. You don’t need to be a visual designer, but you do need a deep understanding of how digital things are made, of component-based UX/design systems, and how content and design work together to connect people.

We realize that not everyone will be an expert in all of the areas we’re looking for our Director of UX and Strategy to make the biggest contributions, but we do need someone with expertise in most.

Research & Strategy: You’ll be the primary client and team lead for most website engagements, setting the tone for how interactive design and content will help our clients accomplish their goals.  

  • Conduct and Synthesize Client and Market Research
  • Create and Lead Digital Strategy Workshops 
  • Articulate Goals, Requirements, and KPIs
  • Develop Recommendations & Strategy Briefs 
  • Ensure Project Execution is Aligned with Set Strategy

Information Architecture: You’ll both develop and oversee the development of IA that translates goals into valuable digital experiences. Hands-on expertise in developing complex information architecture is a must.

  • Develop Personas and User Journeys
  • Design Advanced Features & Functionality
  • Develop Narrative Content/Experience Flows
  • Develop Detailed Sitemaps & Wireframes
  • Collaborate on User/Prototype Testing

Content Strategy & Content Design: You’ll help define content goals and structure, and how it’s woven into the site experience. We see this skill as a nice-to-have, with members of your team taking the lead. However, taxonomy development as part of IA is one area we’d love our Director to have experience with.

  • Create/Collaborate on Qualitative Content Assessments
  • Create/Collaborate on Content Taxonomies
  • Develop/Collaborate on Content Design during IA Process

Practice, Process & Team Leadership: You’ll be a key member of Constructive’s Leadership Team, collaboratively leading our efforts to strengthen strategies, process, and innovation for how our teams develop digital products.

  • Participate in Leadership Team Meetings to Help Set Company Direction
  • Work with Leadership Team to Improve and Document a Holistic Process from Strategy Through to Execution.
  • Develop Best Practices and Recommend Tools for Digital Strategy, UX, and Content Strategy 
  • Lead and Manage Your Team, Including Professional Development and Bi-Weekly 1-1s

Business Development: Constructive’s Directors play an active role in supporting business development by deepening client relationships, evaluating new opportunities, and representing their areas of expertise.

  • Assess New Opportunities with Business Development
  • Participate in New Business Calls and Pitches
  • Develop Estimates and Recommended Scopes of Work
  • Create New Value that Deepens and Expands Existing Client Relationships
  • Write Thought Leadership Pieces and Give Presentations

Qualifications / Requirements

We have a strong preference for individuals who have the following qualifications. Not saying they’re 100% a must, but close to it.

  • A Team-First Mindset and Someone Who Hustles.
  • Seriously High Standards for Great Work
  • Great at Communicating and Building Relationships
  • Great at Context-Switching
  • 7-10 Years Experience as a UX Designer or Digital Strategist
  • 5+ Years / Overlapping Experience in a Leadership Role with Team Management Responsibilities
  • Deep Expertise in Information Architecture
  • Strong Experience Facilitating Workshops
  • Superior Research, Distillation, and Writing Skills
  • Strong Experience with User Research & Analytics
  • Strong Knowledge of Content Strategy
  • Strong Knowledge of How Digital Products Get Built
  • Sketch/Figma/Adobe CC/Miro/Etc
  • You Can Rock a Good Sticky Pad
  • Service Design & Design Thinking Experience a Huge Plus
  • Experience With User Testing a Plus
  • Creatively Process-Minded
  • In it to Win It and to Do Social Good
  • A Sense of Humor. Please.

Compensation & Benefits

Constructive values work-life balance—we don’t run our people ragged into all hours of the night. We offer a combination of competitive salary and bonuses along with generous time off, health benefits, professional development, and more.

Financial Compensation

  • Salary: The base salary for this position is likely to be $100K – $125K depending on experience and expertise.
  • Profit-Sharing: Constructive operates a profit-sharing pool for all employees. Based on our current year’s projections, Directors can expect to earn an additional $5K. (Our new Director will be eligible for the profit-sharing plan starting in 2021)
  • 401K Match: Constructive matches up to 4% of total compensation.
  • New Business Bonus: Any team member who brings in new business receives 2.5% of the total project fees (after client has paid in full)
  • Discretionary Bonuses: All team members can receive year-end or spot bonuses based on their contributions.

Time Off

  • Vacation Days: Constructive staff start with 2 weeks vacation and plus the week from Christmas Eve through New Years as vacation. Staff also earn an additional vacation day added to their total on their yearly anniversary (max 5 additional days)
  • Summer Fridays: Constructive closes at 1:30 from Memorial Day to Labor Day (16-17 half-days off/year)
  • Personal Days: Staff have 5 personal days per year.

Additional Benefits

  • Healthcare: Constructive Offers Health, Dental & Vision Insurance that we contribute to.
  • Professional Development: Staff can use up to $1,500 for professional development (subject to approval)
  • TransitChek: Not like we’re taking mass transit anytime soon, but if we do and you are in the tri-state area, you’ll be able to pay for transit with pre-tax dollars.
  • Having an Impact: Live your values every day and be part of the change you wish to seek in the world. Plus, you’ll get to work with and learn from some amazing and really smart clients who dedicate their lives to some of the world’s most important issues.

To Apply

Finally, we got to the end of this thing! Seriously, we appreciate you taking the time to give this long job description a thorough review. If Constructive looks like the kind of place you’d like to be a part of and you feel like you’d be a great fit, please get in touch. Here’s what we’re looking for to kick things off:

  • Resume & Cover Letter: Cover letters are really important to us. Why? Because we’d really like to get a feel for who you are and learn what you’re passionate about and why you’d like to be a part of what we’re doing. So, please share more than a boilerplate letter where you swap in our name and adjust a few words.
  • Portfolio & Work Samples: We’d love to gain some insight into your process. We’re also big on polished deliverables as part of the client experiences, so want to see how you pull things together for people you worked with. If you have stuff that’s confidential, we’re happy to sign a mutual NDA.
  • Email: Please send us these thing and anything else you feel is important to [email protected].
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