Senior Design Strategist job in Portland or Washington, DC

For nearly a decade, Context Partners has helped brands and philanthropies worldwide achieve something far more powerful with their audience than they ever could alone. We develop insights, strategies, and engagement experiences that drive ambitious outcomes in audience loyalty, product/service adoption, social impact, and influence.

Senior Design Strategists play a central role on our project teams to deliver the highest-quality client value. They hold deep expertise in social behavior, research methods, and design principles and are committed to the highest standards of quality for every solution they develop for clients. Our Senior Design Strategists are inspired by what brings people together to solve real problems, and are able to translate insights into action and progress to tangible goals.

YOU

You are an entrepreneurial design thinker/creative problem solver who is energized by big, hairy problems. You are not intimidated by complexity, rather you can’t help but want to make sense of it. You know how to hustle, you have grit, you are quick on your feet. Your natural curiosity enables you to expertly explore, engage or design compelling experiences for our clients' communities.

You thrive in ambiguity, but know how to slice through chaos and quickly identify priorities and action steps. You are a flexible thinker and can go from analytical thinking, to creative solution finding, to “rapid fire” problem-solving, depending on the situation. You are proactive, collaborative and deadline-oriented. You can work independently as well as in a team environment.

Whether you are fascinated by ethnography, social behavior, community culture , or their intersection with design, you can expertly lead people toward shared understanding and solutions in any setting. You are analytical, able to synthesize a lot information quickly, and have a high level of attention to detail.

You are an excellent communicator and thought partner. You know how to uncover the realities and aspirations of a community or audience and align them to client and project goals. You have experience working with people from all backgrounds and feel at home in a complex corporate setting as well as the nonprofit world. You are at ease collaborating with staff and clients at all levels. You are an intuitive listener, great at connecting with individuals and capable of stepping back and understanding the community as a whole.

If this sounds like you we would love to hear from you!

THE ROLE
Responsibilities Include:

• Take full accountability and responsibility for contracted work streams and your areas of expertise
• Design and lead project research and discovery in the context of audience engagement, innovation, social impact, or organizational change, utilizing ethnographic and other qualitative research methods including interviews, observation, diary studies and prototyping
• Apply those methods at different stages of the design process, including inspiring early design exploration, informing the initial opportunity, collecting formative feedback to support design iteration, and piloting the end product.
• Craft solutions that leverage the relational dynamics available in a system to achieve the client's goal
• Play a hands-on role in turning insights into tangible experiences or other designed outcomes by conveying stories that bring insights to life in emotionally compelling ways (i.e. employing video, audio or other experiential formats rather than just decks and reports)
• Translate academic research and industry practice into practical tools our team can adopt inside project work, growing organizational expertise along the way
• Drive team and client focus by zeroing in on the ripest opportunities for engagement to reach the shared goals.
• Ground expertise and recommendations in the method and mindset of our practice, referencing the method and mindset as guides more than checklists
• Develop others in the course of the work
• Advise and instruct teams to continually improve the quality of the client experience and project outputs

Requirements include demonstrated, deep expertise in one or more of the skill specializations of priority value to Context Partners, including:

• Digital listening
• Engagement tools and capabilities
• Qualitative research methods
• Engagement calls-to-action and campaigns
• Engagement performance metrics
• Platform and membership models
• Communications and storytelling
• Service design
• Visual communication

Additional requirements include:

• Bachelor’s degree, Masters preferred
• 5-7 years working as a consultant, including 2-3 years leading small teams
• Have a proven track record of successfully creating client value, and consistently and independently producing exemplary project results
• Ability to effectively, creatively, and professionally communicate/present your work
• Experience leading complex consulting projects
• Highly adept at synthesizing information
• Professionalism/ability to build client trust as an expert
• Excellent critical thinking skills and judgement
• Good sense of humor

US
At Context Partners, we work tirelessly with leaders who are ready to tackle a bold new vision for their organization or their sector. Our team brings diverse perspectives acquired through their personal and professional experience, cultural upbringing, passion projects and educational background. Our common thread? A commitment to convert great ideas into action so we can continually deliver compelling value to our clients, one another, and the world at large.

Our team unplugs twice each year for in-person, offsite retreats. We take this time to strengthen our team relationships, play together and dig into compelling topics that help us do our best work each and every day. As a certified B Corporation, we strive to offer an emotionally healthy, intellectually satisfying and financially supportive work environment that encourages a broad point of view.

Teammates at Context Partners are bright, witty and flexible. We leave our egos at the door in order to hone our craft and serve our clients. We genuinely enjoy each other’s company and we push each other to be our best selves professionally. We’re proud to be a certified B Corporation. Plus, we love dogs.

How to Apply

Upload your resume and cover letter at the link provided. In your cover letter, include a statement in 350 words or less explaining why you are uniquely qualified for this position.

Context Partners strives to build a team that reflects the diversity of our community. We encourage applications from traditionally underrepresented groups such as women, visible minorities, people identifying as LGBTI, veterans, and people with disabilities.