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Advisor, Design Thinking

Employer
AARP
Location
Washington, DC
Closing date
May 6, 2021

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Job Details

Business Unit Description

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million that helps people turn their goals and dreams into 'Real Possibilities' by changing the way America defines aging. With staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP works to strengthen communities and promote the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare security, financial security and personal fulfillment. AARP also advocates for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the world's largest circulation magazine, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin.
Summary

Under the direction of the Director of Design Thinking, the Senior Innovation Design Thinker will use human-centered design (also referred to as design research or design thinking) research methodology to probe, assess and evaluate behaviors of targeted groups of people and then translate that knowledge into meaningful information and system designs to inform concepts and improve products. This individual will also be performing a variety of image tasks to support these concepts including but not limited to building and designing layouts, mechanicals, templates, and brand extensions, optimizing images for web and physical platforms.

The incumbent will identify underlying cultural constructs and their expressions for specific groups of people, and identify the authentic connections within the ecosystem and help create breakthrough ideas.

This individual will be responsible for bringing concepts to life through art. As a strategic problem solver and innovation expert with deep design fluency, this role will involve supporting teams in the development of early stage concepts and through approval. This role will also work closely with external designers to develop higher fidelity prototypes for beta and in-market testing and validation.
Responsibilities
  • Cultivate deep understanding of 50+ consumers/members through human center design including assessing needs, identifying pain points/barriers, ideating value proposition and solutions
  • Build and design layouts, mechanicals, templates, and brand extensions
  • Image optimizing, retouching, manipulation, color correction
  • Structure, and conduct in-person and remote usability evaluations according to targeted metrics
  • Clearly communicate research findings with a strategic voice, with prioritized recommendations and potential design solutions to developers, designers, and project sponsors through visually compelling presentations and documents
  • Support teams utilizing human centered design principles as they develop innovations to move their ideas forward leading to tangible solutions
  • Help teams tell the right "story" through visual elements to conceptualize their ideas in communicating them to stakeholders and potential customers
  • Help teams design and develop early prototypes (e.g., basic wire framing) or 2d renderings of products in order to help teams better conceptualize their solutions
  • Aid in synthesizing data on 50+ consumers from various sources to garner key insights, identify opportunities and recommend direction to project sponsors
  • Contribute to concept generation, iteration and concept development
  • Participate and lead rapid prototyping as part of design sprint process
Requirements

A bachelor's degree in design, engineering, IT. business or relevant field of study required.

Must possess a high level of attention to detail, creative problem solving and strategic thinking.

Technical knowledge of the following programs required: Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator) PowerPoint

Basic notions of HTML5

Basic video editing (Final Cut Pro)

A minimum of 5+ years of relevant, design, innovation and operations experience required with a minimum of 2+ years' experience in design thinking.

Ability to demonstrate organizational skills and possess a clear understanding of the convergent and divergent phases of an innovating process to be able to inspire and support innovation teams and startups in a meaningful way.

This role requires a strong passion for innovation, a high level of comfort navigating ambiguous and unregimented opportunities and attention to detail. This individual is highly personable, empathetic, inquisitive, and analytical and uses these skills to inspire others, consult and guide individuals utilizing innovation tools and manage the resources needed in the innovation lab.

This role requires a fusion of design skills with creative problem solving. Individuals must have demonstrated the ability to manage design projects within the practice and application of innovation and agile learning methodologies. Proven track record of developing designs for idea pilots for results-oriented validation. This individual must have superb verbal and visual communication skills in order to help teams bring their ideas to life.

Benefits Offered

AARP offers competitive benefits with a 401K, 100% company funded pension plan, health, dental, vision and life insurance, STD/LTD, paid vacation and sick, and other benefits.

At AARP, the health and well-being of our candidates, employees, and members is a top priority. As a result of the COVID pandemic, all interviews will be held virtually and all non-essential employees will continue to work remotely until further notice. AARP has established social distancing policies to ensure the safety of our essential employees.
Equal Employment Opportunity

AARP is an equal opportunity employer committed to hiring a diverse workforce and sustaining an inclusive culture. AARP does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, color, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, mental or physical disability, genetic information, veteran status, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

Company

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, social welfare organization with a membership of nearly 38 million. Our aim is to disrupt preconceived notions about aging, turn goals and dreams into Real Possibilities, strengthen communities and fight for the issues that matter most to people 50-plus and their families; such as health care, employment security and retirement planning.

Company info
Website
Location
601 E. St. NW
Washington
DC
20049
US

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