Director of Design – Strategy & Growth
| Company | Nava |
|---|---|
| Location | Washington, USA, Pennsylvania, USA, Oregon, USA, California, USA, Washington, DC, USA, Texas, USA, Jackson Township, NJ, USA, Florida, USA, Nevada, USA, South Carolina, USA, Georgia, USA, Arizona, USA, Tennessee, USA, Virginia, USA, Minnesota, USA, Colorado, USA, Rhode Island, USA, Utah, USA, New York, NY, USA, Maryland, USA, Wisconsin, USA, Maine, USA, Massachusetts, USA, North Carolina, USA, Oklahoma, USA, Missouri, USA, Louisiana, USA, Michigan, USA, Illinois, USA, Alabama, USA |
| Salary | $165000 – $175000 |
| Type | Full-Time |
| Degrees | |
| Experience Level | Senior, Expert or higher |
Requirements
- A skilled practitioner with deep experience in creative, strategic, technical, managerial, and operational aspects of human-centered design at scale
- A proven leader who has experience managing complexity, developing strategy, and conducting long-term planning
- In-depth experience cultivating strong relationships with external stakeholders and partners
- 10+ years of experience as a human-centered design practitioner
- 5+ years of direct people management experience and team
- Experience with fast-growing companies, with a bonus for experience within government contracting or professional service firms
- An adaptive, empathetic, collaborative leadership mindset
- Excellent organizational skills and effective presentation skills
- Excellent written and verbal communication
Responsibilities
- Actively contribute to Nava’s decisions on which new work to pursue
- Contribute directly to business development through activities such as proposal development, solutioning, reviews, tech challenges, or market research presentations
- Identify and facilitate the assignment of subject matter experts (SMEs) and key personnel (KP) for business development proposals
- Translate Delivery Org insights into growth strategies and reusable assets for business development
- Identify, develop, and scale new Delivery capabilities in the Design Org
- Serve as a strategic partner by influencing and shaping Nava’s approach to growth
- Foster a collaborative and delivery-focused design culture, promoting a high standard of design excellence and user-centered thinking
- Lead capabilities-focused professional development opportunities across the Design Org
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product management, engineering, and business development, to ensure design is strategic in all phases of company growth
- Stay up-to-date with design trends, industry standards, and emerging technologies to drive innovation
- Develop internal and external communications to position Nava as an innovator in the civic tech space
- Manage a team of up to eight direct reports across multiple projects
- Act as a sounding board for design team members at Nava, coaching them through challenges, helping to review and structure their work, and providing coverage when necessary
- Serve as an escalation point for direct reports and their teams
- Meet regularly with senior/principal designers and Design Managers, using that time for identifying coaching and training opportunities, removing blockers, and managing team operations
- Identify opportunities for collaboration or escalation with other organizations/departments at Nava
- Contributing and being accountable to quarterly and yearly goals and metrics for the Design Org
- Ensure staff consistently hit billable hours targets
- Other duties as required
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience managing the business dynamics in a professional services firm (billable hours, contract portfolios, client services skills)
- Experience and bias toward a “company-builder” frame of mind
- Track record of introducing and expanding agile transformation and pursuing best practices in design management with clients and stakeholders