This post will expire on 30 June 2023

Expected start date: 6 July 2023

Background

We are looking for a highly motivated and creative User-Experience and Human-Centered Design Expert as a Consultant to support our growing team in developing the HCD portfolio and in supporting the growing demand for HCD-related support in digital innovation projects.

We practice human-centered design as we believe that a deep understanding of human needs and context enables the creation of more human-centered solutions. We aim to be a leading force in leading research and design activities that integrate human perspectives and empathy in the digital innovation process. We are currently building a motivated and dynamic team to be at the forefront of bringing human-centered design in our organization. We practice human-centered design, as we address needs, context, and impact beyond those who directly use our digital solutions.

This position is a shared position between the Research Lever of Digital Inclusion of the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT and the Digital and Data.

The position will provide a strategic contribution to the One CGIAR initiative on Digital Innovation. The Digital Innovation initiative accelerates the transformation towards sustainable and inclusive agrifood systems by generating research-based evidence and innovative digital solutions. It is one of 32 initiatives of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future, dedicated to transforming food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis.

Digital and Data is one of the Service Units of the CGIAR Systems Organization. Digital and Data builds solutions for impact and integrated management to deliver digital enablement to Business, Science, Partnerships, and Innovations. The Unit is pushing the human-centric development of digital innovations for internal and external users and stakeholders. Bringing value to these groups through a thorough user experience and human-centered design focus will be a critical success in the future. The position will be co-supervised between the HCD-Lead in the Digital Innovation Initiative and the Global Service Director in Digital and Data; the split will be 50/50 between the two units.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the HCD team at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and D&D in the development of the service offer; this includes conducting user research through interviews, developing, and testing the service offer, support proactively implementing of the HCD service offer within the organization
• Support use cases and projects during the design cycle:
  • Plan and conduct user research, including interviews, surveys, card sorting, and usability testing to understand user needs, behaviors, and attitudes
  • Analyze and put into context user research results, e.g, define and refine user personas, develop user journeys
  • Ideate, design, prototype, and test solutions together with the product development team
  • Usability testing, heuristic evaluation
  • Present and discuss designs/prototypes with the team and stakeholders
  • Suggest improvements to platform design for developers and scientists to meet users’ expectations
  • Communicate and engage with the whole product development to make sure user needs are considered throughout the design process
• Lead or support (TBD) the design of an organization-wide survey to understand UX/HCD maturity, relevance, awareness, openness, etc.
• Collaborate on the continuous improvement of the HCD portfolio within the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, OneCG Digital Initiative, and Digital and Data; this includes the adaptation of existing or the development of new tools for our portfolio
• Support the DI and D&D product teams in applying human-centric design principles throughout their development process through expert advisory services, facilitation of workshops and training, or direct project support
• Collaborate with the HCD team in positioning Design Thinking and HCD within the organization, broadening the network, and in identifying new opportunities for funding and collaboration; this includes presentations in seminars and workshops, proactive networking
• Collaborate with the HCD in documenting, publishing, and communicating the results of our work, in scientific and non-scientific outlets

Requirements

• Proven record/experience in User Experience Design, User Interface Design or Human-Centered Design,
• MSc in any relevant discipline (UX/UI Design, Social Science, Anthropology, Psychology, HCI, etc.)
• Design Thinking, user-centric mindset
• Experience with prototyping, visual communication and UI design
• Candidate has experience in conducting testing of advanced prototypes or already deployed digital products
• Experience in facilitating participatory workshops
• Strong awareness of gender and digital inclusion and experience in considering this in the design process
• Experienced in using common digital application user for UX/UI design, for example mural, figma, adobe XD
• Used to work in multidisciplinary and multicultural fusion and agile product management teams, open to work remotely or in a hybrid format with colleagues,
• Working experience in the global south
• Strong collaboration and communication skills
• Empathy and curiosity for continuous learning
• Independent and proactive working attitude
• English fluently, other language of one of the Alliances partner countries (French and/or Spanish) is a strong plus
• Interest in shaping how UX Design is contributing within the team and the organization
• Affinity to digital agriculture
• Experience in or strong interest in agricultural research for development in the global south

The following skills would be an added benefit:

• Working experience in an international, not-for profit organization
• A good understanding of research processes, quantitative data analysis, digital development process

Benefits

CGIAR is committed to fair, safe, and inclusive workplaces. We believe that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to excellence, and is critical for our mission. We offer a multi-cultural, multi-colour, multi-generational, and multi-disciplinary, collegial working environment, with a competitive salary, excellent benefits, and flexible working arrangements. We are consciously creating an inclusive organization that reflects our global character and our commitment to gender equity. We, therefore, encourage applicants from all cultures, races, ethnicities, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientations, and gender identities.