VP, Design & UX Research

About us:

Chief is changing the face of leadership. Our mission: build the most powerful network focused on connecting and supporting women leaders. Our members are VP and C-level executives across every industry who are leading their companies today and building a more equitable tomorrow. Chief was recently recognized as one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies of 2021, and you can read more about us in Forbes or watch us on the Today Show.

Launched in early 2019, Chief is a Series B stage start-up backed by General Catalyst, Inspired Capital, Primary Ventures, CapitalG, and other top-tier investors. The Chief network includes 12,000+ members from across the United States. We are headquartered in New York City with additional Flagship spaces in Los Angeles, Chicago, and, soon, San Francisco.

We are tech-powered. Our members make meaningful connections, engage in compelling discussions, and view our unique content through our digital platform. Our Product and Technology teams are building the future of that platform, with data and insights at its heart.

About the Role:  

As our UX design & research scale, we're looking for an experienced design & research leader to build out a world class team. Member experience is at the heart of what we do, delivered through our platform. It requires the ability to understand what drives our members backed by user studies and data, and then shape that into intuitive designs for desktop, touch, and mobile. You’ll be a foundational member on the Product & Tech leadership team, working together with your partners in product management, engineering, data, and other disciplines to define the strategy, operations, and communications that guide the team to build great products addressing our member needs. We need this person to be able to juggle the responsibility of growing & developing a team, while also being hands-on with design. Hiring, coaching, and maturing our processes are key parts of the role.

What you’ll do: 

• Define & execute strategies to deliver the best member experiences. 
• Build & lead a team of Product Designers, Visual Designers, Content Designers and UX Researchers that consistently delivers cutting edge products and is well-balanced across a range of relevant skill sets. 
• Foster an innovative design culture grounded in collaboration. 
• Partner with Product Management, Engineering, Data, and other cross-functional stakeholders to build alignment on priorities leading to product design and execution.
• Shape the product roadmap, both short term and long-term.
• Design and scale the organization and equip the team for success in their goals. 
• Champion fast iteration, deep user research, and broad experimentation.

What you’ve done and enjoy doing:

• Extensive experience in end-to-end product, interaction, and visual design with a high appreciation for craft. 
• Proven experience successfully leading and managing multi-disciplinary design teams. Manager of managers preferred.  
• Be comfortable guiding teams, freelancers, and agencies, but should be willing to roll up their sleeves and go deep into the details with the team. 
• Excellent communication, presentation, and storytelling skills.
• Strong product intuition, showcasing deep user empathy in everything you do.  
• Ability to bring forward quantitative and qualitative data into the design process. 
• Proven track record in building collaborative partnerships across multi-disciplinary teams. 
• In-depth knowledge of human-centered design practices, research methodologies, and design tools
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, iterative, semi-structured environment. 

Why You'll Want to Work Here:

• Competitive salary and equity
• Flexible vacation policy and 4.5 day work weeks
• 20 weeks of paid gender neutral parental leave
• Full medical, dental, and vision packages, 401(k)
• Opportunity to work for a startup focused on driving real change for women in business
• Opportunity to create and attend inspiring experiences and events with leaders of the industry
• Access to our ongoing virtual Chief member exclusive content, including workshops, thought leadership, and iconic speakers
• Wellness, Work from home and Learning Stipends