Job offer: Senior Designer

You will be working with the in-house social innovation lab of iDE called Innovation Lab located in Asia and Africa, with a mission to practise, coach, and promote design and innovation processes as a co-creative, power-shifting problem-solving approach to address complex systemic challenges by understanding user needs, motivations, and behaviours and developing new interventions to power entrepreneurs.

The iDE Innovation Lab also functions as a strategy and innovation consultancy in focus areas of water, sanitation & hygiene, climate change (clean energy, conservation), agriculture, and maternal health & nutrition. Over the years, we have worked with a portfolio of international development organisations such as Care International, Hellen Keller, USAID, UNICEF, World Bank Group, Plant and Food Research, Save the Children, and SNV.

iDE is a global non-profit organisation spanning offices in 14 countries, employing over 1,000 people directly, and indirectly enabling income and opportunities for our rural audience of focus through market-based approaches across different sectors. Find out more about iDE here !

PROJECT OR DIVISION iDE Innovation Lab

REPORTS TO iDE Innovation Lab Senior Design Manager

WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

We are looking for an experienced Senior Designer with international work experience to join a team of designers, researchers and changemakers worldwide. Ideally, you are comfortable leading innovation projects, managing client relationships, managing the team members, and most importantly, bringing innovation methodologies, ideas and ways of working to a broader team. The current fifteen-person team at the iDE Innovation Lab have been working together for many years, so this is a rare opportunity to join a well-established team working on a broad range of projects with a social innovation focus in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

BONUS POINTS IF YOU HAVE:

• A designer with a business/marketing background or experience working as an entrepreneur
• Have experience in working on digital solutions (UX Design, AI, ICT tools)

IDEALLY, WE WOULD LOVE TO FIND SOMEONE THAT:

• Is optimistic, passionate, dynamic, and curious
• Is a fast learner and very hands on
• Is open and happy to share new methods and ideas with the team
• Is an autonomous problem-solver with a mind full of ideas ready to be tested
• Brings a positive attitude to the team and doesn’t take themselves too seriously
• Is driven by a social mission
• Has cultural sensitivity and respect towards unfamiliar contexts
• Has a flexible mindset, is agile and adaptive, and at the same time takes into account their capacity, deadlines and limitations
• Has excellent time and people management skills
• Can embrace uncertainty and manage stress
• Will challenge the status quo to create creative solutions

Duties

• TECHNICAL RESPONSIBILITIES: (65%)
• Leading multiple end to end social innovation projects, which include:
• Project & client management, collaborating and managing peers throughout the process
• Building a project plan, meeting deadlines, and delegating tasks
• Conducting desk research, expert interviews, designing research plans required to solve the design problem we want to tackle
• Conducting ethnographic research in diverse contexts
• Analysing and synthesising findings and presenting them in digestible and visual ways for the client
• Coming up with strategies and action plans that are easy to operationalise for the client
• Engaging with stakeholders, leading and facilitating alignment meetings and strategy workshops
• Running fun and engaging co-creation/brainstorming workshops in the field and the office
• Building and developing prototypes and testing loops that will inform the design of the final solution (strategy, product, digital product, businesses or services)
• Making confident and timely decisions to move the project forward
• Sharing and coaching a global team on a diverse set of innovative methodologies and approaches
• Establishing and nurturing client relationships
• Travelling (with willingness) to remote areas, mainly in Asia, Africa, and Latin America for research and testing
• MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES: (30% )
• Leadership
• Guiding, coaching, motivating, and setting a positive example for your team members (A few designers will be your direct reports)
• Ensuring that your team members understand and keep their efforts directed toward achieving their tasks assigned to execute design projects and achieve iDE’s mission
• Fostering an organisational culture that balances a strong commitment to results with respect and care for individuals
• Team management
• Contributing and participating in the recruitment and on-boarding process,
• Developing and retaining personnel with the necessary skills and experience
• Encouraging teamwork, superior performance, and mission commitment
• BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATION: (5%)
• Attending (including provide presentation) business meetings and other relevant events such as conferences, workshops…etc on behalf of iDE Innovation Lab
• Building network with potential partners and clients to create exciting new business opportunities for the iDE Innovation Lab
• Contributing to and writing proposals as needed

Requirements

• Have at least 5 years of experience working for a design firm/innovation lab with ample experience in applying a Design Thinking, Human-Centred Design and Behaviour Change methodology
• Have experience of working in different countries, across diverse cultural environments, or remote areas
• Have experience in innovation management techniques (sprint/agile project management, lean, stage gates)
• Possess experience in overseeing, managing and leading design projects (building a project plan, meeting deadlines, and delegating tasks)
• Possess strong skills and experience in analysing, synthesising and coming up with digestible strategies and action plan based on the design research effort
• Have experience in leading, managing and coaching other team members
• Possess visual design, product design and service design skills
• Have experience in developing creative strategies, interventions and communicating this effectively with a client and team (Have also confidence in presenting in front of large audiences)
• Have experience in facilitating workshops (Design Thinking, HCD, co-creations, stakeholder alignments)
• Possess experience in writing proposals and working on business development
• Be a tech savvy and possess skills in using Canva, Slack, Google Workplace, Asana and other design and project management software
• High proficiency in English (listening, reading, writing and speaking)