Who are we?

ThinkPlace is a global strategic design consultancy, working with leaders to create new and better futures – vibrant communities, strong economies, sustainable environments, and trusted institutions. ThinkPlace is a dynamic, diverse team of designers from eight different countries speaking over 15 languages. We draw on a broad range of methodologies including human-centered design and design thinking, behavioral insights and social psychology, and linguistic anthropology and ethnography to deeply understand human behavior. We do this to ensure our design solutions are sure to meet local needs and are contextually appropriate while being highly scalable. ThinkPlace is embarking on a project in Ethiopia, and we require mid-level Designers to support the project execution activities including Human-centered Design (HCD) Capacity building, Behavioral research and design. We are looking to hire a Strategic designers full-time in our Ethiopia studio to meet this demand.

Who are we looking for?

• You are proficient in human-centered design and UX research and have confidence in your consulting abilities to manage clients and lead small teams.

• You can work directly with clients (alongside sub-workstream leads) to define a clear direction and address core problems in their organizations and teams, including solving intractable organizational issues and building design capability.  

• You can design behavior change interventions that use our deep understanding of what drives people to action to create interventions that result in real changed behavior.  

• You can undertake and lead fieldwork, often in rural areas. Fieldwork can include design research, designing and prototyping new products/services, supporting strategic design activities. 

• You can redesign business models, processes, capabilities, and structures that create value for our clients.  

• You can coach and develop others in project management and create ‘learning-by-doing’ culture through teamwork and giving opportunities for growth and skills transfer to ensure continuity and sustainability.

• You can contribute to the culture and growth of the Studio, including the development of methodology, and improvement to our own processes and practices by leading and contributing to internal projects.

• You can monitor project performance and set deadlines and evaluate project performance.

• You can contribute to the growth of the organization by ensuring the stunning execution of current work and embracing a culture of excellence in all the deliverables.

What will you be doing?

For the project in Ethiopia, you will work closely with sub-workstream leads to:

• Prepare and plan for immersive research activities including designing innovative research methods, lines of inquiry, field plan design.

• Prepare and plan for prototyping activities including; building prototypes, developing testing and monitoring, and evaluation plans.  

• Lead behavioral and user research initiatives and constantly be involved with the teams and communities to design the best experiences possible for our users.

• Analyze, and communicate research results to key stakeholders.

• Generate tactical and strategic insights and actionable recommendations from the research conducted.

• Prepare HCD training materials, an online self-paced learning platform, and deliver a series of in-person training sessions.

• Document and prepare reports after the delivery of key project activities.

• Participate in weekly and monthly planning and reporting meetings.

• Co-ordinate the preparation of monthly reports 

Other Details

This will be a full-time role, based in Addis Abba, Ethiopia. Salary is negotiable. The start date for this role is somewhat flexible, but we expect the role to begin no later than April 1, 2023

Job Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• Degree in user experience, human centered design, human-computer interaction, sociology, psychology or a related field

• At least 2 years of experience in UX research or UX design roles with good understanding of typography, intuitive layouts, navigation principles and information architecture

• Excellent interpersonal abilities and communication skills

• Strong written & spoken English

• Experience using Miro or Mural (or any other design tools)

• Experience running group workshops and design thinking sessions

• Capability to work with multiple and diverse teams​

• Strong written and spoken Amharic and local Ethiopian languages

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in directly overseeing behavioral research planning, analysis, and behavioral design (building-testing-iterating prototypes)

• Experience leading small design teams, taking charge of project planning, execution, and team management

• Experience running large-scale user experience research

How to Apply

If you are interested in being considered for the Strategic Designer role at ThinkPlace, please send your CV to erika.wagner@thinkplace.com.au and copy Senior Executive Designer Akinyi Odera, akinyi.odera@thinkplace.co.ke