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DC Design is on a mission to eliminate multigenerational poverty and uplift Black, brown, and low-income communities in the United States. We do that work by addressing what we call the 5 systems of Black inequality, which are housing, education, wealth creation, healthcare, and criminal justice. By redesigning how these systems work, we believe we can build an America where all communities are fortified, self-determinant, and prosperous.
We’re looking for a Lead Strategy & Design Consultant, which is a social impact strategic consultant who uses Design Thinking, to join our team.
ROLE: Lead Strategy & Design Consultant - Full Time
LOCATION: Remote with travel and in-person requirements
COMPANY: DC Design
WEBSITE: www.dcdesignltd.com
COMPANY OVERVIEW
DC Design is a social impact strategy & design consulting firm. Using Human-Centered Design, our cross-disciplinary team engages the key stakeholders affected by a problem, especially those who have been through that problem themselves, to develop solutions that are validated and long-lasting. We partner with nonprofits, foundations, and governments to address complex social problems and teach them our methods. We have extensive experience redesigning aspects of poverty-related social systems such as criminal justice, education, employment, healthcare, and housing.
PRODUCT OFFERINGS
RESEARCH: DC Design helps organizations on the frontlines of creating change to create deeper impact. By helping social sector organizations better identify their community and key stakeholders’ needs, we help them make the right decisions about which problems or opportunities to pour their resources into. Our research offering includes helping organizations better understand the needs of the people they serve through in-depth interviews, surveys, user testing, journey mapping, stakeholder mapping, persona creation, needs assessments, and other methods.
STRATEGY: We guide social innovators and organizations to create more effective and long-lasting social impact. All of our work is powered by the belief that we can only create consistent positive change by being in community with those we aim to serve. Through our framework of Multi-Stakeholder Human-Centered Design, we help organizations deepen their community ties and more confidently choose how to apply their limited resources. We bring expertise in crafting strategic plans, updating missions and visions, and developing action plans alongside our clients, such as Santa Clara County’s Office of Reentry Services, to execute on their ideas.
DESIGN: Once a strategy has been identified, we co-develop customized services and products that are aligned with the needs of the people an organization serves. The apps and services we design are tailored through iterative prototyping rounds to ensure functionality. Apps like the one we developed for Grail Family Services work in both iOS and Android, and stand the test of time because of our user testing methodology.
EDUCATION: Through our education arm, DC Design University, we offer Design Thinking and social impact education to innovators who want to ingrain the tenets of Multi-Stakeholder Design into their practice. We’ve been trusted by the Obama Foundation, BUILD.org, Central Valley Foundation, and others to teach their stakeholders. Additionally, we offer online courses for social impact innovators interested in entering social impact/design thinking fields or incorporating those methodologies in their work.
ROLE OVERVIEW
The Lead Strategy & Design Consultant will play a pivotal role in the company, working to bring a human-centered design lens to challenging social issues. Through their ability to think critically about complex systems, human needs, and appropriate processes, they will work with clients to redesign products, services, and systems.
The Lead Strategy and Design Consultant will be responsible for the following:
Community-centered research
Strategic planning
Service design
Directing App design work
Social impact curriculum design
Teaching human-centered design
End-to-end completion of work needed for client portfolios, including operational tasks, project management and client relationship building
DC Design internal systems optimization
Managing multiple projects
Contributing directly, or helping lead, one of DC Design’s internal business pillars
Other needs, as they arise
This team member will be responsible for consulting with clients on how to better design for those they are serving. They will plan and lead all aspects of design thinking workshops, develop strategic planning processes and then guide clients through them, conduct and synthesize long-form empathy research including interviews with the people our clients are serving, draft and present recommendations to clients, and otherwise understand client needs, plan how to address them, and execute with assurance. This requires the ability to navigate ambiguity and communicate clearly.
The Lead Strategy and Design Consultant will manage concurrent projects with clients in different social impact fields. Additionally, this person will execute on DC Design operational priorities. DC Design is a small and growing firm in a burgeoning field, and everyone at the company wears different hats at different times. The Lead Designer will be integral to expanding DC Design offerings and adapting to new and exciting needs as the company grows. This might include developing and deploying online courses, supporting operational needs as we implement new internal systems, developing proposals for prospective clients, seeking out new clients or building our business development channels, or otherwise addressing needs that arise. We are looking for a designer with skills in multiple areas to make an immediate impact within the company.
Finally, this person has a passion for social impact. Maybe it’s a particular cause, or maybe it's the people you've met and grown up with. Either way, we want to know where your passion comes from and why this work matters to you on a personal level. We work with communities of color, especially Black communities, as well as other communities who have historically been excluded economically and socially. Our work impacts people of color, low income communities, those with disabilities, and a diversity of other communities in need of opportunity. For each member of our team, we ask, what lived experience do you have that can contribute to our understanding of America's most challenging issues? What drives you to do this work? And how are you hoping to make a difference with your life?
RELEVANT SKILLS, EXPERIENCE, AND MINDSETS:
You have a bachelor’s degree or higher in a technical or design-related field like industrial design, mechanical engineering, or visual design, ethnographic research and at least 2 years of professional experience.
You have substantive experience applying the human-centered design / design thinking process and feel comfortable explaining its nuances. You ideally have experience teaching design thinking or facilitating design thinking workshops.
You are a demonstrated human-centered problem solver, able to leverage these mindsets to solve real-world problems.
You have experience in a client service role, especially as a consultant.
You can work well independently and in a collaborative, team-based environment.
You are comfortable guiding clients and teams through the design process and having difficult conversations about social problems.
You have experience in designing products or experiences that have both physical and strategic components.
You have experience as a project manager, tracking, delegating, managing and successfully completing multiple tasks that may present conflicting deadlines and prioritization. You can manage projects both for yourself and for internal and cross-organizational teams.
You are a strong writer, and your writing is concise, grammatically correct, and compelling without the need for excessive review.
You are flexible, able to “keep up” with shifts in priority inherent to a small company.
You are responsible, punctual, detail-oriented, and you meet deadlines.
You are self-driven and proactive, with the ability to look ahead and be prepared for the next step -- to notice areas where support is needed in the team and take initiative
You are curious, with a natural desire to probe further into data.
You are a strategic thinker, able to zoom out to a “bird’s eye view” and in for a “granular view” as needed.
You are a team player, demonstrating a “can-do” attitude with a growth mindset and the desire to learn new skills, engage in planning and strategy discussions, voice concerns, take initiative to support team members and ask for help when needed.
You take instruction well from management and can incorporate feedback into your process without becoming overly defensive.
You will excel in a remote work environment, with the ability to work independently in an off-site environment with minimal supervision.
You are self-disciplined with excellent time management skills
You are self-motivated, self-directed, and willing to go above and beyond to learn new skills, even if they are not in your educational background.
You have passion for addressing deeply ingrained social problems.
You have lived experience working with the communities we serve and with the services we’re focused on. We redesign outcomes in:
Housing
Education
Employment
Entrepreneurship
Health
Criminal Justice
HELPFUL ADDITIONAL SKILLS (Not required but great):
You speak multiple languages, especially Spanish.
You understand the operations and motivations of nonprofits, foundations, or governments particularly well
You are interested in taking on additional business roles that help guide an organization toward reaching its full potential.
You have a background in impact evaluation
You are a strong aesthetic designer, (UX or experience designer) able to combine technical and aesthetic design with strong human-centered values.
You are a whiz at Photoshop, Illustrator, Sketch, InDesign, etc. and can handle any task thrown your way.
You are a web developer with a deep knowledge of CSS, HTML, and Javascript.
You have a background or knack for social media strategy, social media analytics, PR, or marketing.
You have a strong sales background and are willing to do the detailed work necessary to follow-up with and close clients.
You have strong data science and quantitative research skills, and can suggest new processes for DC Design and our clients, analyze data, and turn that analysis into clear decisions.
Work examples available via website and will be provided throughout interview process
WHY WORK WITH DC DESIGN?