Senior Strategist
San Francisco
Full-time
You are a creative designer with a passion for user-centered design processes and highly effective visual communication skills.
We are a multi-disciplinary team of strategists and designers with a global reputation for improving the experience of cities, transit systems, airports, and destinations. With a growing client base in San Francisco and Los Angeles, this role provides scope to contribute to many high-profile and innovative projects.
We foster a dynamic and collaborative environment, where curiosity and originality are encouraged.
We are in the early stages of establishing a permanent presence in Los Angeles having developed opportunities over recent years. This provides a great opportunity for an experienced and ambitious candidate to help shape an exciting new project at LAX. You will be working with a highly experienced design team with exceptional creative, academic, technical, and operational expertise.
About the role
We are seeking a dedicated, and self-motivated Senior Strategist with 5+ years of industry experience to join our team in San Francisco.
In particular, we would like to meet candidates who have experience in design strategy, transformational change, service innovation, user research, facilitation, or customer experience (CX).
Working closely with our U.S. team in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well as our UK Directors, you will become an important point of contact for new and existing clients. Your experience and skills will help build our strategic design capabilities and support a growing team of designers, providing context and insights, informing working processes, and supporting the delivery of high-quality user-centered design outputs.
A willingness to travel is desirable as projects are based in California and across the U.S.
Key responsibilities
Provide a dedicated point of contact for U.S. clients engaging us on process mapping and service innovation projects.
Research and analyze the context of a project brief or new business opportunities
Work with clients to understand objectives and priorities
Identity potential creative strategies in responding to client briefs and project challenges
Provide the design team with a broader understanding of a project’s context – enhancing awareness of relevant history, policies, stakeholders, strategies, reports, and project constraints or opportunities
Research key project themes and synthesize findings and insights
Lead creative brainstorming sessions with project teams, using research and insights to stimulate ideation and service innovation
Work with Project Leads to inform and shape creative directions—provide design thinking methodologies, frameworks, and tools to support the design process
Develop and communicate strategic recommendations clearly and concisely
What we are looking for
Degree level qualification/s in Design, Change Management, Design Management, Design Thinking, Design Strategy, Customer Experience or other related field
Ideally 5+ years professional experience
Demonstrable experience in providing strategic insight and direction
Strong understanding of user-centered design principles and techniques
Strong research and analytical skills
A creative, strategic, and pragmatic thinker, capable of generating insight, conducting research, developing narratives, evolving ideas, developing service concepts, and engaging effectively with the wider team
A highly empathetic and sensitive person—fostering rapport, trust, openness, and inclusivity, whilst providing robust insight and guidance
A confident communicator with strong spoken, written, and presentation communication skills
A self-motivated team player who can work efficiently remotely or in a studio
Proficient with Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft365
Ambitious about achieving a high standard and impact of the work
What we can offer you
A competitive salary with opportunities for progression
20 days annual leave, plus public holidays
Private health cover
401(k) plan
Flexible working culture
A dynamic and collaborative environment, where curiosity and originality are encouraged and rewarded
Access to ongoing professional development
Casual smart dress is business as usual
Apple laptop
Other responsibilities
Seek opportunities to advance the creative potential of projects
Provide strategic advice and guidance on the design process and narrative development throughout a project
Plan and facilitate qualitative and quantitative user research activities to generate insights and opportunities
Plan and facilitate workshops with clients, partners, and stakeholders
Develop process mapping to visualize current and future systems, practices or interaction flows
Develop personas and journey mapping to capture and assess qualities of the ‘current state experiences’, key touchpoints, and moments
Leverage user research, data analysis, and creative techniques to facilitate ideation of ‘future state experiences’
Stay up to date with industry trends, best practices, design methodologies, and emerging technologies that may inform project development
Develop techniques to encourage greater empathy, inclusivity, and equity in our design practices
To apply
Please email a Cover Letter, Resumé, reference details, current and/or expectations of starting salary/package, and your portfolio to info@cityid.com with ‘Senior Strategist, San Francisco, (your name)’ as the subject.
Salary will be tailored to reflect your level of experience. Please note, for this role we can only consider candidates who are authorized to work in the U.S.
City ID is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to ensuring all employees and qualified applicants for employment are provided with equal opportunities without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. If you are interested but unsure if you have what we are looking for please contact us.