Service Designer

SALARY: $60,000- $63,798/annually; hours: Monday- Friday 8am-5pm

SUMMARY: The Service Designer is a position in the City of South Bend on the diversly skilled Digital Team. The Digital Team is responsible for website management and governance, digital communications, product management and development, and other digital services. The Solution Designer will be on the frontlines of digital innovation across city teams. They will leverage service and human-centered design frameworks to develop solutions for program leads residents. You’re the right fit for the Solutions Designer role if:

· You are unafraid of complexity and can zoom in and out from organizational and individual perspectives

· You believe in relationship-building and understand that cultivating relationships with your end users and teammates makes your job more effective

· You love variety and like the idea of working on a lot of projects and serving a lot of clients at the same time.

· You are a lifelong learner and want to dedicate your time to learning new platforms, tools, city processes.

· You have a resilient and fail-fast mindset, and you don’t mind pivoting as project needs change

· You love working with lots of different types of collaborators – technical and nontechnical – and can play a key translation role between these stakeholders.

The Solutions Designer is in the City’s Department of Innovation and Technology (I&T) and reports to the Director of Digital Services. I&T is an award-winning, nationally recognized government technology team. This role will help the Department and the City’s vision for a welcoming, user-friendly city. Candidates that thrive in this Department have a good attitude, enjoy solving problems, a customer service mindset, and a love of learning. Learn more about the Department here:

As a leader and employee of the City of South Bend, you are called upon to serve in a manner that supports Our Core Values: Excellence, Accountability, Innovation, Inclusion, and Empowerment as you carry out our primary employee expectations: Champion Values & Organizational Pride, Champion Operational Excellence, Make Sound Decisions, Embrace Coaching and Accountability, Communicate with Excellence, Value Diverse People and Perspectives, Embrace Personal Development, Exhibit a Positive Attitude and Own Your Health, Wellness & Safety

SUPERVISION EXERCISED: None.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: This list represents the types of duties required by the position. Other duties may be assigned as reasonably expected.

· Collaborate with developers and product managers to strengthen the digital posture and strategy of the City

· Manages the 'listening' first phase of all requests and projects ensuring that the technical requirements are clearly communicated with stakeholders in a simple/effective way

· Develop user research and civic testing with residents, non-profits, and community stakeholders in the building out and development of new digital products

· Develops proofs-of-concept (prototypes, user journeys, mock-ups, etc.) to validate the feasibility of potential solutions/applications

· Identifies or responds to opportunities to optimize business process automation with low/no code solutions or other digital interventions

· Manage relationships with department clients professionally, staying on top of operational headaches, needs, and goals to support effective service delivery and design

· Cultivate digital literacy across the organization by training departmental clients in Microsoft applications, workflow automation, form creation, etc.

· Support department stakeholders by identifying opportunities for improvement to city processes and services through training, improved documentation, etc.

· Pull in the appropriate subject matter experts from I&T or elsewhere in the city government as needed to support effective service and solution design

· Help refine the City’s low code stack, running point on test driving new products that can help complement the City’s existing tools to support improved service delivery

QUALIFICATIONS: To perform in this position successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty in a satisfactory manner. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE: We are looking for someone with at least a bachelor’s degree, preferably with a business or technology-related focus and 2+ years of service design, product management or business analytics experience to fill this role. Experience needed:

· 1-3 years of experience in user-experience research and service design frameworks

· 1-3 years of experience practicing iterative design with tools like Figma, Miro, or other prototype/wireframe tools

· Strong understanding of agile design and development methodologies

· 1-3 years of experience automating business processes with low/no code solutions such as turnkey SaaS or Microsoft power platform

· Ability to analyze business processes, map processes, identify improvements, and document technical requirements.

· Understands the importance of making government content and services inclusive, accessible and environmentally sustainable

· Ability to manage multiple assignments simultaneously.

· Shows initiative and ability to function autonomously on routine tasks.

· Comfort with ambiguity, embracing change, and adjusting priorities as needs dictate.

· Ability to effectively communicate to various audiences through oral and written communication, including regularly drafting written materials.

· Strong organizational skills, including strong attention to detail.

· Strong interpersonal and customer service skills

· Curious with a desire to learn and grow on the job.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES PREFERRED

· Proficiency in Figma, Adobe XD, Miro, or other prototype and wireframe tools

· Proficiency in Power Platform (SharePoint, Power Automate, Power Apps) preferred

· Experience with tools like Zapier, Monday.com, Jotform, Airtable preferred

· Experience with or knowledge of human-centered design concepts and ux research testing strongly preferred

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS: Valid Driver’s License.

EQUIPMENT: Desktop computer or laptop, telephone, fax, copy machine, scanner.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit and walk and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to walk; use hands to fingers, handle or feel objects, tools or controls; and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required in this job include vision and the ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: Work is performed in an office setting with moderate inside temperatures. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate in the office. Entire office is smoke free. This position is based in South Bend, Indiana. This position is eligible for hybrid work in the Department of Innovation & Technology, as long as engagement with city teams and work performance remains high.

REQUIRED: Pre-employment drug screen, Background check

Equal Employment Opportunity