Career Opportunity

Senior Design Researcher, Digital Services (9976/1054)

Recruitment: RTF0120553-01118728

Published: April 07, 2022

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About:

The San Francisco Digital Services team works across City departments to build user-centered digital services. Its mission is to make it easy for all residents to access the City’s 967 services online, from any device.

Over the past five years, the team has grown and now supports a range of digital services, including sf.gov, the City’s new website. This site has been at the forefront of the City’s Covid-19 response and will replace more than 100 separate websites. Built with Accessibility and Equity as core design principles, it provides a consistent user-centered experience for all San Franciscans.

Digital Services is at an exciting moment of change. Having established credibility and a track record of delivery, the team must now turn its attention to scaling. The team must scale its impact by empowering other departments to build services themselves, using platforms provided by Digital Services.

Digital Services should become the source of standards, platforms, and microservices that allow the City to make services for residents accessible online. This will be achieved through training, support, standardization, shared platforms, and Citywide policies. Digital Services will make its platforms the easiest, fastest, most accessible, and most cost-effective way to build services. It will work with departments to ensure that platforms meet not only the needs of San Franciscans but make staff’s lives easier as well.

Commitment to Equity

We believe that the act of researching and designing is never neutral, and that service access is a social justice issue. To make equitable services, we must engage with the wide range of people who rely on the San Francisco government, which involves conducting research in multiple languages, as well as engaging with community groups throughout the city. As a result, we’re looking for candidates who are passionate about evidence-based decision-making, who are dedicated to ethical and inclusive design, who are effective communicators and collaborators, and who are committed to the in-depth work required to drive lasting change within a large organization and complex service environment.

Appointment Type: Permanent Exempt (PEX), this position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer.

Role description

As a Senior Design Researcher, you will lead research that shapes SF.gov and the future of digital service delivery, while also building research capacity to enable Digital Services to become a hub of research excellence for the City and County of San Francisco.

Support and direct research for SF.gov

• You will conduct research on how to better deliver services to the public through SF.gov, to make sure that the website is supporting the public’s needs and intents.
• You will also conduct organizational research on the experiences of City staff, to improve their ability to deliver city services.
• You will balance rigor and pragmatism, as you help city staff and decision makers understand the experience of the public.
• You will ruthlessly prioritize, as you identify appropriate research strategies and areas of research that the team should focus on.
• You will ensure your research is inclusive and includes the voices of a diverse range of constituents and city staff.

Communicate with and influence stakeholders

• You will communicate public and staff needs to product teams, department partners, and City leaders through storytelling and by bringing stakeholders along.
• You will ensure that research findings drive impact, by making actionable short- and long-term recommendations.
• You will partner with product, design, and engineering teams to define strategy and priorities, and shape roadmaps.
• You will plan and lead research projects with cross-functional teams, by working closely with the Research Coordinator, Service Designers, UX Designers, and Content Strategists. 
• You will conduct regular shareouts with Digital Services and department partners.

Build capacity and shape research practice

• You will not just include cross-functional team members in the research process, but also empower them to conduct their own research.  You will advise, guide, and teach stakeholders, as you help them identify the right questions, frame and reframe problems, and choose the most effective and equitable research methods.
• You will work with the research coordinator to improve and streamline Digital Services’ research operations, by ensuring that we have the best research tools available, developing team resources like protocols and screener questions, and shaping participant recruitment strategy.

How to qualify

1.  Possession of an associate degree in human-computer interaction, sociology, psychology, digital design, or a closely related field from an accredited college or university OR its equivalent in terms of total course credits/units; AND

2.  Five (5) years of professional experience in digital design research, user research, or similar qualitative research role.

Substitution: Additional experience as described above may be substituted for the required degree on a year-for-year basis (up to a maximum of two (2) years). One (1) year is equivalent to thirty (30) semester units/ forty-five (45) quarter units with a minimum of 10 semester / 15 quarter units.

Desirable Qualifications

• Expertise in qualitative methods, specifically in-depth interviews, usability, concept testing, usability benchmarking.
• Literate in quantitative research methods like surveys, and familiar with web analytics/metrics.
• Experience planning & leading all phases of research: planning, targeting, recruitment, research, synthesis, communication.
• Experience using technology to facilitate remote research while maintaining participant  privacy and data security.
• Experience incorporating internal stakeholders into the research process, through activities like co-creation and synthesis.
• Experience working with diverse audiences and vulnerable populations.
• Experience with participatory methods and co-creation.
• Experience assessing the viability of technology tools for research and research planning.
• Experience teaching & sharing research methods.
• Exceptional verbal & written communication skills, with the ability to influence and  communicate findings cross-functionally.
• A demonstrated commitment to public service or civic technology.
• Experience with consumer-facing web and mobile applications/interfaces.
• Bilingual or multilingual in English and Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, or Filipino

Important: Your application must include a cover letter that explains why you are applying for this job, and how your experience makes you a good fit for this role. To upload these items, please attach using the "additional attachments" function.

Guidance for Applying:  Applicants must include all relevant job experience in the online application.

Verification: Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point in the application and/or departmental selection process. Written verification (proof) of qualifying experience must verify that the applicant meets the minimum qualifications stated on the announcement. Written verification must be submitted on employer’s official letterhead, specifying name of employee, dates of employment, types of employment (part-time/full-time), job title(s), description of duties performed, and the verification must be signed by the employer. City employees will receive credit for the duties of the class to which they are appointed. Credit for experience obtained outside of the employee’s class will be allowed only if recorded in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Service Commission Rules. Experience claimed in self-employment must be supported by documents verifying income, earnings, business license and experience comparable to the minimum qualifications of the position. Copies of income tax papers or other documents listing occupations and total earnings must be submitted. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at http://sfdhr.org/index.aspx?page=456.

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco. 

What else should I know?

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

Compensation:  $129,376 - $162,734 annually

Applicants are encouraged to apply immediately as this recruitment may close at any time, but not before April 18, 2022.

Late or incomplete submissions will not be considered. Mailed, hand delivered or faxed documents/applications will not be accepted.

In line with the Official Public Health Order to slow the spread of COVID-19, “shelter-in-place” has been issued for all San Francisco residents that is expected to be in effect until further notice. As a result, Department of Human Resources (DHR)’s office (located at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103) is currently closed to the general public. If you have any questions, please feel free to email the Human Resources Analyst listed on this announcement.

Note:  While we are currently remote due to Covid-19, you are expected to attend in-person meetings throughout the City on a regular basis.

Applications will be screened for relevant qualifying experience. Additional screening mechanisms may be implemented in order to determine candidates’ qualifications. Only those applicants who most closely meet the needs of the Agency will be invited to participate in the selection process. Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement to the interview. Qualified applicants with disabilities requiring reasonable accommodation in the selection process must contact the Agency by phone at (415) 554-6000 or, if hearing impaired at (415) 554-6015 (TTY).

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment.  For details on how it is applicable to your employment, please click here.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.