Duties & Responsibilities:

The Center on Society and Health is an academic research center that studies the health implications of social factors—such as education, income, neighborhood and community environmental conditions, and public policies. The Lead User Experience (UX) Designer will lead the Center’s efforts to translate public health research into accessible, actionable formats for policymakers and change agents. This role works
closely with researchers and other partners to transform public health insights into intuitive visualizations, compelling narratives, accessible data dashboards, and other audience-centered products.

Job Duties

Lead design strategy for the Center on Society and Health:

• Integrating public health’s evidence-based, systems-oriented perspective with human-centered design principles
• Providing expert guidance across the project lifecycle on UX strategy, content strategy, interaction design, accessibility, visual design, technical implementation, and service design
• Developing creative briefs in collaboration with researchers and project partners

Supervise and mentor a multidisciplinary team, including a visual designer, web developer, and project manager

Align UX research and design methods with project goals, timelines, and scope across all phases of work

Lead content strategy and serve as primary content writer for digital products and deliverables

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum of five years of experience in communication or design fields (e.g., visual identity, editorial design, infographics, typography)
• Strong foundation in human-centered design principles and methods
• Demonstrated experience leading or managing a design team
• Experience as a content writer for digital products
• Excellent organizational, time management, and project prioritization skills
• Ability to collaborate effectively with project managers and stakeholders to define and maintain project scope and timelines
• Experience facilitating meetings, workshops, or co-design sessions with diverse stakeholders, including community members, researchers, and funders
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to present complex ideas in clear, engaging, and accessible ways
• Ability to regularly work in person in our Richmond VA office
• Commitment to fostering an inclusive, collaborative team environment
• Demonstrated ability to work in and foster an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from all backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience applying UX design principles in an academic public health setting
• Knowledge of how social determinants of health contribute to health disparities
• Experience proactively identifying potential opportunities for collaboration in an academic setting

Salary Range: $90,000 - $110,000

Benefits: All full-time university staff are eligible for VCU’s robust benefits package that includes comprehensive health benefits, paid annual and holiday leave, generous tuition benefits, retirement planning and savings options, tax-deferred annuity and cash match programs, employee discounts, well-being resources, abundant opportunities for career development and advancement, and more.

FLSA Exemption Status: Exempt

Restricted Position: Yes

ORP Eligible: Yes

Flexible Work Arrangement: Hybrid

University Job Title: 91391 - Open

This is a restricted position with no set end date and continued employment is dependent upon project need, availability of funding, and performance.