Digital Content Specialist

Job Description

Description

OPEN DATE: June 20, 2025

CLOSING DATE: July 5, 2025

POSITION TYPE: Trust Fund

APPOINTMENT TYPE: Indefinite

SCHEDULE: Full Time

DUTY LOCATION: Washington, DC

Position sensitivity and risk: Non-Sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Open to all qualified applicants

What are Trust Fund Positions?

Trust Fund positions are unique to the Smithsonian. They are paid for from a variety of sources, including the Smithsonian endowment, revenue from our business activities, donations, grants and contracts. Trust employees are not part of the civil service, nor does trust fund employment lead to Federal status. The salary ranges for trust positions are generally the same as for federal positions and in many cases trust and federal employees work side by side. Trust employees have their own benefit program, which may include Health, Dental & Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Transit/Commuter Benefits, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Annual and Sick Leave, Family Friendly Leave, 403b Retirement Plan, Discounts for Smithsonian Memberships, Museum Stores and Restaurants, Credit Union, Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (Child Care), Flexible Spending Account (Health & Dependent Care).

Conditions of Employment

Pass Pre-employment Background Check and Subsequent Background Investigation for position designated.

Complete a Probationary Period.

Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer.

The position is open to all candidates eligible to work in the United States. Proof of eligibility to work in U.S. is not required to apply.

Applicants must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

OVERVIEW

The IT Specialist (Digital Product Designer) is responsible for leading the design and production of user-centered digital products for the organization’s websites, digital applications, and associated digital initiatives. The position combines technical and product design and implementation skills, including product management, digital experience design, visual interface design, and interactive application development, with a knowledge of user-experience best practices to create engaging and highly usable digital experiences.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Digital Product Design

Manages digital product design and development to fulfill a variety of audience engagement strategies and goals, ensuring products perform according to requirements and comply with Smithsonian and industry standards and best practices.

Coordinates cross-functional teams working with a variety of stakeholders internal and external to Smithsonian to facilitate the completion of digital products from start to finish.

Conducts research and discovery, verifying product requirements, coordinating product reviews and iterative enhancements, quality assurance and performance testing, and final preparation and launch of new products.

Coordinates digital user experience (UX) research to inform the design and improvement of digital products.

Applies quantitative and qualitative research techniques and data analysis to gather insights about user needs and preferences around digital products and websites.

Incorporates an understanding of audience motivation and behaviors into product design through the creation of audience segments, profiles, user journeys, or other techniques.

Employs user-centered practices to determine optimum content layout and design for a given digital audience.

Develops or collaborates on the development and testing of creative briefs, information architectures, storyboards, wireframes, and prototypes.

Verifies KPIs and metrics to identify goals that signal enhancements to user satisfaction, ensuring stakeholders have qualitative user data and data-informed recommendations to create digital products that are intuitive, accessible, and user-friendly.

Technical Competence

Utilizes HTML, CSS, JavaScript, databases, APIs, and related tools and languages to support the production and maintenance of complex, interactive web and mobile applications.

Engages in user-centered digital product development, including information architectures, search engine optimization and findability, and developing data-informed product management roadmaps.

Uses design software to create and refine user interfaces for database-driven applications, coordinating content and media development, and overseeing the deployment of fully functional web solutions using content management system software.

Uses software scanning tools and heuristic measures to ensure the security and accessibility of all digital products conforms with organizational policies and standards.

Maintains technical familiarity with emerging technologies in a complex and rapidly changing field.

Prepares documentation and training materials, including style guides and overall design patterns, for reference and maintenance of user-interface and visual identity of websites and digital products.

Produces original designs, or enforces application of designs produced by vendors, including graphics, information design, and navigation, to establish consistency and a coherent and effective result.

Product Management

Facilitates and continuously refines an integrated digital product development process to ensure the right product is delivered to the right audience.

Proactively monitors and addresses digital product performance, identifying design and maintenance needs and coordinating with teams to ensure continuous operation.

Collaborates with teammates and stakeholders to develop technical and communications strategies to sustain the product in the short and long term.

Works with the team to set and meet product quality standards. Communicates data-driven measures to understand product performance and return on investment.

Produces, coordinates, and evaluates resources for web, mobile, intranet, and other information access and engagement projects and advises on optimal strategies and tactics for achieving digital engagement goals.

Identifies opportunities for new web and digital initiatives and services, setting product roadmaps, documenting technical infrastructure and systems, communicating will stakeholders both across the organization and externally, and managing the lifecycle of selected digital products from conception to retirement.

Support projects and initiatives that facilitate the development lifecycle, including conceptualizing new digital services, designing user interfaces, coordinating content and media development, testing applications, overseeing deployment of fully functional web solutions, and making recommendations on responsible sunsetting or migration of existing assets.

Recognizes areas of work that can be sourced out to vendors and works with Smithsonian offices to facilitate procurement of services requiring the incumbent to serve as a Contracting Officer’s Representative.

Contributes to efforts in managing the allocation of financial resources related to procurement, contracting, and managing the budget for services directed at information technology.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Education (if positive education is required) and Experience: Example: To qualify for this position, applicants must possess a bachelor’s degree (B.A.) from an accredited four-year college or university and/or 3-5 years of related experience (described below); or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Knowledge, in the appropriate application of information technology resources to plan, strategize, test, and deploy various digital products and technologies.

Knowledge, of user-experience and visual design methods and best practices in order to combine visual design, content, layout, and interactivity to create highly usable experiences for target audiences on a variety of platforms.

Knowledge, of user-centered digital product design and management processes and best practices with demonstrated ability to coordinate and implement digital products from start to finish.

Knowledge, of discovery and user-experience research techniques to guide product design and validate goals, requirements, and KPIs.

Knowledge, in techniques to efficiently evaluate, test, and measure the performance of digital products in achieving intended goals for the visitor experience.

Knowledge, of digital analytics, quality assurance, and evaluation tools and techniques to prototype or measure effectiveness and usability of digital product designs and make iterative improvements.

Skill, creating professional user-interfaces and ensuring accessibility and performance of digital products to present a clear and consistent user-experience.

Skill, creating roadmaps, wireframes, and describing the user journey to plan digital products and guide implementation and refinement.

Ability, to effectively and efficiently apply sound and concise time management principles to be agile, proactive and meet deadlines while juggling competing demands.

Ability, to develop and present written informational products and communicate product plans and designs, train staff in processes and best practices, communicate technical concepts, and advocate for the visitor (user) experience.

Ability, to effectively coordinate and collaborate with cross-functional teams, integrating variety of processes and inputs into digital product design and management.

Education completed outside the United States must be deemed equivalent to higher education programs of U.S. Institutions by an organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. This documentation is the responsibility of the applicant and should be included as part of your application package.

Any false statement in your application may result in rejection of your application and may also result in termination after employment begins.

Join us in "Inspiring Generations through Knowledge and Discovery."

Resumes should include a description of your paid and non-paid work experience that is related to this job; starting and ending dates of job (month and year); and average number of hours worked per week.

What To Expect Next: Once the vacancy announcement closes, a review of your resume will be compared against the qualification and experience requirements related to this job. After review of applicant resumes is complete, qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager.

Relocation expenses are not paid.

The Smithsonian Institution provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation should contact . Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. To learn more, please review the Smithsonian’s Accommodation Procedures (

The Smithsonian Institution is an Equal Opportunity Employer. To review The Smithsonian's EEO program information, please click the following:

Full-time