Deputy Design Director

Through creative and empowering leadership that supports the mission and values of the Service Design Studio at the NYC Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity, the Deputy Design Director will help shape how service design can impact and strengthen the way NYC designs public services and programs that focus on decreasing poverty and increasing opportunity for New Yorkers.

This individual will work closely alongside the Design Director to strengthen the Studio team and manage how we build service design capacity across the City alongside doing the actual work of executing service design projects with partnering agencies and communities.

This individual desires to proactively address issues of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion within the context of service design and is someone who advocates centering the voice of New Yorkers - our residents, community-based service providers, frontline staff and other stakeholders - through our processes, tools and outputs.


  Responsibilities

The Deputy Design Director uses their expertise and experience to:

  • Oversee the daily operations of the Service Design Studio team,
  • Manage and promote Studio services and offerings including Office Hours, Workshops, Trainings and the Civic Design Forum, and
  • Support the management and execution of Studio projects

The Deputy Design Director is influential in advising the Director on team strategy, managing the Studio team, and balancing the pace of project timelines. They work closely to enhance and expand the team’s influence, and take time to promote the service design practice and advocate the importance and impact of centering the voices of New Yorkers in all City services and programs.

Responsibilities include:

  • Contribute to the identification of new projects and offerings including development of strategy, design, deliverables and final products.
  • Manage project teams and advise on project strategies.
  • Stepping in to support as a project lead or project support when additional capacity is needed to assist with research, facilitation, co-design sessions, stakeholder meetings, brainstorming and prototyping sessions, presentation prep, designing artifacts like journey maps or personas, and supporting in the writing of research reports, recommendation decks or the packaging of other materials.
  • Track and continue to improve the infrastructure to capture Studio metrics that show our value and impact. This includes but not limited to tracking Office Hours, advising on best practices for tracking, measuring and monitoring the impact of our design interventions, and managing any internal evaluations or internal academic research work being conducted on our team.
  • Cultivate and manage relationships with strategic and funding partners, as well as outside vendors.
  • Direct the Civic Design Forum program to build design capacity across City agencies.
  • Direct and amplify the Studio’s Fellowship and Apprenticeship programs.
  • Assist with procurement, contracting and budget management.
  • Speak publicly, write, and share on social media about our work.
  • Influence design team strategy, process, and methodologies.
  • Contribute to city-wide design standards and initiatives.
  • Perform duties as assigned by the Director of Design.

  Skills We're Seeking

Experience working closely with communities who are engaging with public services and programs and/or has lived-experience engaging with public services and programs themselves.

Experience in policy, government or non-profit, in particular with low-income and vulnerable youth and families is a plus.

Project management experience, especially with multiple stakeholders (Crafting scope of work documents, writing design briefs, managing timelines and coordinating schedules, building strategic plans, etc.).

Meeting and workshop facilitation (preparing facilitation guides, building agendas, leading discussions and co-design sessions).

Understands and has employed participatory research and community-centered design research and engagement practices.

Experience building and strengthening partnerships amongst multiple stakeholders

Strong analytical skills and ability to understand and synthesize complex systems.

Experience seeking, writing and managing grants and grant partnerships

Commitment to the mission of advancing greater equality and opportunity.

Experience collecting data and developing metrics that demonstrate the impact of our work.

Technical skills that are preferred, but not required: Microsoft Office, Google Drive, Figma, MIRO, or other prototyping or visualization platforms.

Strong communication and presentation skills, both verbal and written.

  Education and Experience

A master's degree from an accredited college in social design, anthropology, public administration, public policy, economics, information technology, data science, finance, sociology, political science, urban studies or a closely related field, and two years of satisfactory full-time professional experience in government, or non-profit or social impact sector.

or,

A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and four years of professional experience in the areas described above.

  Benefits and Compensation

This is a permanent, full-time position offering competitive salary and benefits.

The salary range for this position is $84,468.00 - $97,138.00 commensurate with experience and qualifications.

  How to Apply

Please fill out the application form. The form will prompt you to upload a resume and coverletter.

Due to the volume of applications received we may not be able to respond to every application.