Overview

This position is designated as being part of OPEIU (Office Professional Employees International Union, Local 1010), the union that we voluntarily recognized in fall 2021. We are currently still in negotiations for our first CBA (collective bargaining agreement). Once that is signed, there will be union dues or fees associated with this position. The amount of the dues or fees will be set by the union, and we do not yet know what that amount will be. 

Code for America believes government can work for the people, by the people, in the digital age, and that government at all levels can and should work well for all people. For more than a decade, we’ve worked to show that with the mindful use of technology, we can break down barriers, meet community needs, and find real solutions.

Our employees and active community of volunteers build and transform government and community tools and services, making them so good they inspire change. We merge the best parts of technology, nonprofit, and government to help support the people who need it most. With a focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and deep empathy for partners in government and community organizations and the people that our partners serve, we’re building a movement of motivated change agents driven by meaningful results and lasting impact. At Code for America, you contribute to exciting work while learning and developing in a supportive and flexible environment. Our compensation and benefits are holistic and thoughtfully curated to represent our employees and our mission. Help us drive real generational change that lasts.

We are seeking a Senior Service Designer to join our Design Team. As part of the Design Team at Code for America, you will help transform how government services are delivered. Your work will demonstrate that design can create the conditions for generational, systemic change and help millions of people in need.

About the Role:

The Service Design Team operates with the following principles:

  • Work with community
  • Serve everyone with respect
  • Change the system
  • Start today

Read more about our design principles here.

Our service designers work on small and highly collaborative multidisciplinary teams to evaluate government services, prototype design interventions, facilitate workshops and co-design sessions, create actionable resources, and teach government how to apply human centered design to their programs and services.

In this role you will be a part of our Opportunity Accelerator (OA) program – a program that works with local governments to strengthen the wellbeing of individuals and foster thriving communities by improving economic mobility and promoting racial equity. This work is done in coalition with four additional organizations containing complementary expertise in supporting local governments. You should be comfortable leading, scoping, and planning design work on multiple projects as well as guiding your internal team on work prioritization based on desired outcomes & service designer capacity.

You’ll help provide clarity in an ambiguous space, working with many organizations and local governments. Your primary impact in this role will focus on helping the OA coach government stakeholders through a human-centered design process that prioritizes codesign with impacted populations, community based organizations, and service providers. This role will not be product-focused, but instead involves thinking strategically about systems change and how to impact longer-term equitable population-level outcomes by collaborating with partners to build connections with local governments across each jurisdiction.

The Senior Service Designer will report to a Design Manager or the VP of Design.

In this position you will:

  • Facilitate change behavior: Advise government partners by advocating for a long-term vision and taking small, tangible steps toward that vision.
  • Scope & plan service design work: Based on your program team’s desired outcomes, identify the appropriate activities, estimate capacity, and visualize and track progress.
  • Locate and define problems: Identify the right questions, frame and reframe problems through an equity-centered approach, and drive clarity at all stages of a project.
  • Visualize complexity: Create compelling journey maps, frameworks, and diagrams that inspire systemic improvements.
  • Prototype and implement holistic services: Prototype and test different approaches that balance user needs, technology limitations, financial constraints, and policy realities.
  • Build connections across silos: Convene and coach internal teams and external stakeholder and community groups through the human-centered design process.

About you: 

  • At least 4 years of service design experience or related design experience in product, user experience, or human-centered design;
  • A portfolio of service design work that outlines your design process, deliverables, and impact – we understand that formal portfolios may privilege some applicants over others. We’re open to receiving any examples of work you have, even if it is not a formal portfolio;
  • Experience facilitating and running workshops and alignment sessions;
  • Familiarity working within or alongside iterative software development practices;
  • Demonstrated ability to design, test, implement, and measure multi-channel experiences that include a digital product delivery;
  • Willingness to travel for research and client workshops (up to 40% of the time);
  • We strongly encourage individuals impacted by the criminal justice system (individuals with criminal records, family members of individuals with criminal records, etc.) or who have participated in social safety net programs (SNAP, welfare, WIC, Medicaid, etc.) to apply.

What you’ll get: 

Salary:

Code for America’s salary bands are transparent internally as a part of our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are happy to extend this transparency during the recruitment process. As a part of our equitable hiring practices, we aim to target the midpoint of the 2nd quartile of the range for all new hires.

The targets for this role are dependent on the market/geographic location. The targets for this role range from ($111,648 – $136,675).

Benefits and perks: 

  • Values:
    • Leadership and teammates who value Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity (DE&I)
    • A collaborative, cross-functional, hardworking and fun environment
  • Medical & Retirement:
    • Full benefits package with 100% coverage towards select medical, dental and vision plans and contributes 80% of the cost towards dependent and family coverage
    • 401k plan with matching funds up to 3%
  • Professional development:
    • Bi annual 360 review process alongside compensation reviews
    • $1000 annual (per calendar year) stipend towards professional development
    • A manager and org-wide structure that supports and enables professional development
  • Flexible Time:
    • Unlimited Paid Time Off policy
    • Flexible working hours- we aim to hold all internal meetings between 10 AM – 3 PM PT
  • Employee enablement support:
    • $200 stipend in first paycheck for remote environment setup
    • Additional equipment reimbursement of up to $500 for remote enablement
    • Cell phone and/or internet reimbursement  of up to $50 per month

Equal Employment Opportunity: 

Code for America values a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace and strongly encourages women, people of color, LGBTQ+ folks, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, and veterans to apply. Code for America is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, citizenship status, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, medical condition or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws.

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