[Sigia-l] 2-Jobs: Director and Associate Director of Product Design (UX)-NYC

[Laura Hunter]

My client in NYC is one of the premier sources of international news and
information.  They are currently in the process of finalizing their move
(over 4 years in the making) from a wire service to an internet based
business and are in need of a strong Director of Product Design  and an
Associate Director of Product Design to drive the direction and execution of
their corporate sites, working with marketing, development, the various
business units and News as it relates to the user experience. 

 

The Director position requires vision, knowledge, self-confidence and drive
to move into a fairly broad, strategic position that would require someone
to embrace a global news brand, rationalize disparate existing Web sites,
plan and implement new ones, drive brand and design standards and balance
often conflicting demands from business owners, developers and online news
editors.  The Associate director position will be a critical support
position to the Director.  Previous experience in online news and media is
an extremely strong need (related verticals considered).

 

Having a passion about branding and UX design and an online appreciation of
trends in online news is of course pivotal in this role.

 

Bringing product design front and center and moving my client to its
rightful place as the front door to access all international news and
information products and services is the this position in a nutshell. At the
same time, these positions need to bring design, usability and performance
standards to their Web site creation and support.  The Director will build a
capability from the ground up in this exciting and globally important role.


 

The Director position could be based in either DC or New York. If the
position is based in DC, the director will need to make regular appearances
in NY; Cranbury, NJ (where two of their key development teams call home),
and San Francisco (another key development team is based there.) Occasional
trips to London (large facility and base of their global television unit)
also would be required. If the position is based in DC, the Associate
Director would need to be based in NY.

 

I have included both descriptions below.  Compensation, benefits and bonuses
are extremely competitive($150-200,000 plus bonus)!  For consideration,
please email a resume and work samples to
<mailto:laura.hunter at vividresources.com> laura.hunter at vividresources.com.
Should you have any questions, please feel to call 559-684-1070.

 

Director of Product Design

Position Summary

The Director of Product Design will be responsible for developing and
driving the vision for the user experience of

My clients multimedia news and information products. He/she will guide the
development and implementation of user

experience standards across their products. The director will lead and
manage members of the Product Design

team. He/she will also vet and oversee the work of design agencies
contracted by my client. This position reports

to the Sr. Vice President of Technology.

Specifically, the Director of Product Design will:

. Act as the user experience thought leader, develop/drive the vision for
the user experience of my clients

products, and set goals for the Product Design team that support this
vision.

. Hire, manage, train and develop members of the Product Design team.

. Lead the establishment and maintenance of design/usability standards and
styles in the form of a Pattern

Library.

. Participate in vetting of outside agencies for project work.

. Manage the design work of consultants and agencies to ensure that it meets
with design/usability

standards.

. Manage the budget for the Product Design group.

. Collaborate with Corporate Communications to ensure that products support
the overall brand.

. Collaborate with Project Management and Development leads to integrate the
user-centered design

process into the development process.

. Collaborate with Product Managers to ensure that the user experience
supports the overall business

goals of a product.

Qualifications/Experience

. 8+ years of experience working in user experience, information
architecture, and/or graphic design for

Web sites and/or applications. Minimum of 4 years in a leadership position.
Experience working with

news/content sites, as well as a mix of client-side and in-house experience
preferred.

. Proven experience vetting, managing, and developing successful
partnerships with design agencies.

. Proven experience managing design teams with skills in user research,
information architecture, graphic

design, and user interface coding.

. Strong management and leadership skills with the ability to motivate and
develop individuals' skill sets.

. Superior understanding and extensive experience with all aspects of user
interface design including

research, information architecture, interface design, visual design,
interface coding, and user testing.

. Excellent communication and organizational skills including the ability to
articulate the importance of user

experience design.

. Ability to solve problems in a team environment.

. Bachelor's degree in design, computer science, human factors or a related
field is required; Master's

preferred.

 

Associate Director of Product Design

 

Position Summary

The Associate Director of Product Design is responsible for overseeing the
design of the front-end user

experience for my clients products, and ensuring that they are
user-friendly, support business objectives, as well as

reduce time to market. He/She will also manage the day-to-day activities of
members of the Product Design team

and the establishment and maintenance of the Product Design Pattern Library.
This position reports to the

Director of Product Design.

Specifically, the Associate Director of Product Design will:

. Manage the day-to-day activities of the Product Design team members.

. Establish, document, and maintain design/usability standards and style in
the form of a pattern library.

. Lead user experience engagements on inter-departmental projects.

. Lead initiatives to understand users of clients products.

. Mentor user experience designers, graphic designers, and user interface
developers on the Product

Design team.

Qualifications/Experience

. At least 6 years of experience as an information architect, interaction
designer, or experience designer (or

similar role). Minimum of 2 years in a leadership position. Experience
working with news/content sites, as well

as a mix of client-side and in-house experience preferred.

. Extensive experience in user interface design and user-centered design
processes. Fluency in best

practices for web-based information architecture and design.

. Experience leading user experience projects and teams with skills in user
research, information

architecture, graphic design, and user interface coding.

. Familiarity with technical issues around web development and ability to
work constructively with

development teams.

. Excellent presentation, communication, and interpersonal skills.

. Demonstrated ability to work on collaborative teams.

. Proficiency in a variety of tools including Microsoft Visio, Adobe
Photoshop, Image Ready, and Illustrator.

. Bachelor's degree or higher in design, computer science, human factors, or
a related field is required;

Master's preferred.

. Demonstrated ability to produce user-centered design solutions as
evidenced by a portfolio or samples of

work.

 

Thank you,

Laura

Laura Hunter

Vivid Resources

office-559-684-1070

cell-559-303-9018

fax-559-684-0820

laura.hunter at vividresources.com

www.vividresources.com