Imperative Recruiting is a 3rd party recruiting agency working on behalf of DC Design:

DC Design redesigns America’s social systems like our criminal justice, foster care, healthcare, education, and housing systems to work better for everyone, especially low-income people of color. We’re looking for a Strategy & Design Consultant (Contractor), which is a social impact strategic consultant who uses Design Thinking.

The Strategy & Design Consultant (Contractor) will play a pivotal role by working with our internal team to more effectively support our client projects, working to bring a human-centered design lens to challenging social issues. Depending on the project, they may work directly with clients, managing client relationships and end-to-end projects, or with other members of the consulting team to redesign products, services, and systems.

If working directly with clients, this team member will consult on how to better design for the communities clients are serving. They will plan and lead design thinking workshops, develop strategic planning processes and guide clients through them, conduct and synthesize long-form empathy interviews with the people our clients are serving, and draft and present recommendations to clients. All aspects of this role will be on a per project basis.

The ideal candidate for this freelance position as a Strategy and Design Consultant will have the following relevant mindsets/experience/skills:

• experience designing and conducting design research

• ability to orchestrate and execute community-centered work

• a demonstrated human-centered problem solver, able to leverage these mindsets to solve real-world problems

• can work well independently and in a collaborative, team-based environment

• experience managing projects both for yourself and for internal and cross-organizational teams

• a strong writer - your writing is concise, grammatically correct, and compelling without the need for excessive review

• are responsible, punctual, detail-oriented, and you meet deadlines

• experience working alongside communities of color

• excels in a remote work environment, with the ability to work independently in an off-site environment with minimal supervision

Some nice-to-have mindsets/experience/skills are:

• You have experience designing and conducting design research.

• You have a deep understanding of the human-centered design / design thinking process and feel comfortable explaining its nuances.

• You ideally have experience teaching design thinking.

• You are a demonstrated human-centered problem solver, able to leverage these mindsets to solve real-world problems.

• You have experience in a client service role, especially as a consultant.

• You can work well independently and in a collaborative, team-based environment.

• You have experience as a project manager, tracking, delegating, managing and successfully completing multiple tasks that may present conflicting deadlines and prioritization.

• You can manage projects both for yourself and for internal and cross-organizational teams.

• You are a strong writer, and your writing is concise, grammatically correct, and compelling without the need for excessive review.

• You are responsible, punctual, detail-oriented, and you meet deadlines.

• You have experience working on behalf of communities of color.

• You excel in a remote work environment, with the ability to work independently in an off-site environment with minimal supervision.

Depending on the project, the Strategy and Design Consultant could be responsible for any of the following (with support from DC Design):

• Strategic planning

• Impact evaluation

• Community-centered reseach

• Service design

• Directing App design work

• Social impact curriculum design

• Teaching human-centered design

• End-to-end completion of work needed for client portfolios, including operational tasks

• Managing multiple projects

• Contributing directly, or helping lead, one of DC Design’s internal business pillars

Finally, the ideal candidate for the Design Strategy Design position has a passion for social impact. Maybe it’s a particular cause, or maybe it's the people you've met and grown up with. Either way, we want to know where your passion comes from and why this work matters to you on a personal level. We work with communities of color, especially Black communities, as well as other communities who have historically been excluded economically and socially.. For each member of our team we ask, what lived experience do you have that can contribute to our understanding of America's most challenging issues? What drives you to do this work? And how are you hoping to make a difference in your life?

If you have the above experience and are looking for a unique part-time freelance opportunity to add to your portfolio and want to stay connected with DC Design to collaborate on future social impact projects!

We acknowledge that imposter syndrome often prevents many qualified candidates from applying, especially women and people of color. DC Design is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes everyone to our team. If you think this is an exciting opportunity and meet any of the qualifications listed above, we want to hear from you. Should you need reasonable accommodations at any point in the application or interview process, please let us know.

Pay structure is hourly dependent on project and experience.