Senior Product Designer

Job description

ABOUT CIRCLE ECONOMY

Circle Economy is an impact organisation combining research, tools, and advice for the greater good. We were founded to create prosperity for all within the limits of our planet. With nature as our mentor, we accelerate circularity. We help businesses, cities, and nations with data-powered roadmaps for change. We are an international team of excited experts based in Amsterdam.

PURPOSE

Earth, our home, needs to be healthy, safe, and just for generations to come. We harness the world’s intelligence and collaborative drive to restore its balance. It can and must be done; we pave the way.

VISION

A circular economy meets the needs of people in harmony with nature. It designs out waste and pollution, keeps products and materials in use, and regenerates natural systems. It’s a balancing act with nature as our mentor.

MISSION

It is our mission to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. Our global economy is only 8.6% circular today, leaving a massive Circularity Gap. To avoid climate breakdown, we aim to roughly double global circularity from 8.6% to 17% by 2032 in a safe and just way. We do this by creating:

An Impact-Driven Data and Evidence Base;

• Establishing metrics for assessing circularity that embraces ecological, economical, and social indicators

• Promoting circular solutions, innovations, and initiatives that have a positive impact on ecology, economy, and society

Actionable and Practical Strategies;

• Building capacity of stakeholders towards the implementation of circular strategies

• Ensuring multi-stakeholder commitment—operational, financial, and political—towards the implementation of circular strategies

A Digital Environment to Scale Adoption;

• Standardising and digitising the scan approach into products and tools

• Facilitating access to tools and knowledge through open online platforms

OUR CULTURE

We are an international team of ambitious and highly driven (young) professionals who share the belief that the circular economy creates prosperity for all. We work in a lively and dynamic atmosphere in our open office space right in the heart of Amsterdam. At Circle Economy, we have a friendly and open team dynamic and a culture of getting things done while having fun.

ABOUT THE ROLE

An expert practitioner who specialises in their craft. They work with product managers and directors in discovering user needs and developing solutions. They own complex projects and products with minimal support. They make key decisions based on evidence, set direction and embed good practise within teams. The ideal candidate is excited to work on a greenfield

product and thrives in a dynamic, international environment. Above all, you want to leverage your skills to create a future-proof world.

• Define and continuously evolve product architecture to increase the use of core features

• Collaborate closely with UX Research, Product Management and Product Marketing to understand user and market requirements

• Interact regularly with (potential) users to establish the desired user journey and product criteria

• Prototype ideas on a continuous basis to test features and improvements with (potential) users

• Provide simplicity and structure in a complex field, using design processes (user journeys, design templates, double diamond model)

• Lead design reviews, design sprints and sketch initial design ideas

• Manage design debt

• Work in multi-disciplinary sprint teams to deliver working product increments

• Collaborate with marketing to create marketing, branding and comms assets

• Create product presentations for internal and external stakeholders

• Own the design system and ensure our documentation is effective and visible

• Support and develop product design talent in the team

• Provide assistance to software engineers when needed

Requirements

ABOUT YOU

• Passion for design; not satisfied with the status quo and always thinking of ways to improve

• Proven experience in all phases of the design process including user research, copywriting, wireframing, prototyping, visual design, interaction design, and usability testing

• An intuitive eye for customer needs beyond the obvious

• Exceptional eye for detail

• Creative insight into which elements to design from scratch, and which ones to adapt from existing designs, dashboards, or similar products

• Ability to collect and interpret both qualitative and quantitative feedback

• A well-rounded portfolio of client work, demonstrating a strong understanding of client objectives

• Ability to effectively communicate and persuade around design concepts

• Dynamic, creative personality, effective at engaging and influencing a variety of audiences

• An experienced design team lead with a servant leadership style

YOUR WORK STYLE

• An understanding of agile product development

• Proven ability to work in a fast-paced environment, while being flexible to evolving responsibilities and last-minute changes

• Self-starter (proactive and independent) with a proven ability to prioritise different assignments and tasks to meet deadlines

• Comfortable working in a collaborative environment

• Ability to think outside of the box and creatively problem-solve

• Experience in working cross-functionally across multiple stakeholders

• Excellent English written and oral communication skills to translate user problems into understandable solutions

YOUR PREFERRED BACKGROUND

• A Bachelor’s Degree is required, preferably in a related field, such as graphic design, and coursework should include manufacturing principles, psychology, sociology, finance, materials use, and organisational behaviour.

• 8+ years of relevant design experience, of which 4+ years leading product design projects

• You have a track record of shipping successful digital products

• Experience working in a fast-paced environment to iterate and ship work that balances user and business needs

• Knowledge and interest in product strategy and vision

• Fluency in modern design tools (Figma preferably) and processes with skills in facilitation, research, interaction design, and visual design

• Experience in training and/or mentoring a plus

• Solid knowledge of HTML/CSS/JS/PWA

• Experience with Strapi, Next.js, Vue.js, Solid.js and Svelte is very welcome

• Strong understanding of user-centred design principles

• Leadership skills and ability to achieve results through influence and persuasion

WHAT WE OFFER YOU

For this role, we offer a 1-year contract for 32-40 hours per week.

Salary and benefits are competitive within the not-for-profit sector and based on experience.