Senior Business Design, Manager

Essentials Responsibilities: 

How this role fits into the great work we do. 

We at Wovenware are transforming to meet a fast-changing world.  Today we are known for our ability to engineer highly complex software solutions and to take data and deliver artificial intelligence and machine learning impact.  These things are what of client challenges.  But we are working hard to be part of the why where we help clients understand the problem, not just given them solutions.  Design is the critical paradigm of this kind of problem solving.  It helps us take the abstract, poorly defined, complex challenge and find the key insights and ideas that lead to more rich solutions and lasting impact. 

We are building a design practice to bring the mindsets of design thinking and human-centric design as well as the practices, methods, and skills of service design, agile and lean to help us deliver better, more usable, and more human software and technology.  We call our approach Bravely Human, and our practice will be housed within our Design + Experience Lab. 

We want our approach to design to balance both user needs as well as those of stakeholder - from client employees who must use what we create, to CIOs who must manage it and CEOs who depend upon it.  Business designers along with service designers, user experience and interaction designers and visual designers will be the core of this practice and will reshape how we do business, think about problems, and make impact.   

What you can expect to be doing. 

On Projects -  

• Solve and reframe problems collaboratively using a design mindset. 

• Work with technology, project, and data focused teammates to shift traditional project requirements into user-centric outcomes. 

• Participate in and often lead design research including stakeholder and user interviews and summarize the findings in ways that an entire team can understand and empathize with. 

• Guide teammates and, at times, even clients through facilitated exercises that help them discover needs, identify opportunities, reframe problems, and generate ideas that meet both user and business needs.  You will lead brainstorming’s. 

• Guide teams to create new digital-driven experiences across industries that drive customer engagement and reduced cost to deliver services. 

• Co-lead or solo-lead the process of defining what goes into deliverables like journey maps, user-personas, service blueprints and session recaps most of which will be finalized with your guidance by visual designers. 

• Define and guide the process of prototyping with a bias towards helping teams learn and pivot quickly. 

• Apply business analysis tools and methods like trend analysis, comparative and competitive analysis, business model canvas and product roadmaps in a design driven way. 

• Speaking up in internal and external meetings to assure the perspective of users, customers, employees and business stakeholders and not lost in a technology project. 

• Help develop sessions that we facilitate clients' thoughts to help them do better thinking about subjects like how they will onboard employees to new technology, for example. 

• Provide coaching to your multidisciplinary project team in how to approach challenges from a design perspective and see technology as a service so that they become more comfortable with thinking about both user and business needs. 

As part of the design practice -  

• Help to create and deliver trainings, content, collateral, and experiences that help everyone at Wovenware understand design thinking and how to work in a design driven way. 

• Facilitates sessions using design methods and tools in support of Project Management and Human Resource efforts to engage teams, align efforts, solve problems, clarify expectations, and reinforce empathy for users.  This includes everything from ice breakers and team buildings to project prioritization sessions. (Thou shall facilitate better conversations and meetings) 

• Co-lead with the Design Director or independently leads internal employee experience effort initiatives using design thinking/service design.  These are design thinking projects for Wovenware as well as great practice in design for project managers, project coordinators, UX/UI. 

• Assist in the creation of materials, messages, strategy that help us explain to internal and external audiences the power of design so that we build enthusiastic collaborators and eager clients.  

• Serve as the project coordinator around the design practice’s activities, outreach and other efforts that may arise as we grow, morph and scale.  

Requirements: 

• Must be a U.S. citizen.

• Bachelor’s degree is preferred in Business Administration, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field. 

• More then 1+ years of experience related field 

• Excellent Interpersonal and Communication Skills. 

• Deep Comprehension of Software, Java, and Database. 

• Ability to travel within Puerto Rico and occasionally foreign. 

• OPTIONAL; Agile, SRUM master and PMP Certification 

Minimum Skills: 

• Computer Expert. 

• Creative and innovative. 

• Openly communicates to the team in an enthusiastic and motivated manner. 

• Positive ‘can do’ attitude. 

• Cold Calling Experience 

• Highly self- motivated and results- driven. 

• Negotiation Skills 

• Excellent Presentation Skills 

• Must be able to adapt themselves to the changing demands of the project and the team. 

• Outstanding communications skills both oral and written (English and Spanish) 

• Excellent organizational skills, able to set priorities, and responsive to customer requests.  

• Ability and willingness to work multiple projects simultaneously. 

• Availability to work in the offices of our clients and Wovenware Offices. 

Competencies 

Skills that will make you successful. 

We know that there are few people who start off as a business designer.  After all, it is a new and emerging role.  But here are some of the skills - both from the business side and design side that you will tap into and develop. 

• Solid business acumen means you understand how business work, you can navigate around a spreadsheet and talk the language of business. 

• Boardroom polish means you are just confident enough to speak up to people who are much more senior to you - including clients - and present yourself well in more formal settings. 

• Communications makes you good at making things clear to others around you.  You know how to adjust how you are saying something depending on who you are talking to and can help them feel comfortable they understand what you are asking of them. 

• Storytelling is like communications but goes a stepfather in it is your ability to take complex business and technology ideas and turn them into narratives that invites everyone to engage with the decision.  You can use visualizations and analogies to make abstract things more concrete. 

• Empathy.  Well, after all you are a designer, and you use your imagination and humanity to put yourself in the shoes of others so that we all make better choices.  And then you help others have that empathy too. 

• Facilitator and mentor.  You guide better conversations by using exercises that are so much better than a SWOT analysis and can help others understand new ways of working.  You do not mind standing at the front of the room and engaging people in thinking. 

• Curiosity drives your willingness to questions who things the way are they are.  You dig a bit deeper and challenge the problem as it is given to you.  ‘Why’ is one of your top 5 words. 

• Adaptability helps you stay ahead of constantly changing conditions.  Things can change fast but that does not phase you.  

• A bias towards action is what kicks in when we are not sure what the right answer is or the next thing to do.  It means you do not get stuck but roll up your sleeves and do something that provides clarity like do a prototype. 

• Design Thinking is an emerging superpower for you, and you can approach a problem with a mix of curiosity, exploration, creativity & experimentation using tools & methods from design. 

• System Perspective. We know that a solution does not work in isolation but are dependent on an ecosystem from policies & economic interest. We can balance these competing forces to craft more holistic solutions. 

Physical & Safety Requirements

Primarily sedentary with some walking, standing, and carrying of light objects. Adequately lighted and area where normal precautions for use of office equipment must be observed.

This is a standard 40-hour workweek job that may require additional and flexible hours as necessary to complete project deadlines on time.

Compensation:
Compensation is commensurate with experience level. The Senior Business Designer, Manager Iposition will be an integral part of our team and will have a competitive combination of base salary, Performance Bonus, 401K, Medical Insurance 85%-50% contribution, Sick Leave, and Personal Time Off.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity and taking Affirmative Action to recruit women, minorities, protected veterans, and people with disabilities, WOVENWARE is committed to a diverse workforce.