Senior Design Operations Program Manager

Blink is the user experience firm for the world’s leading companies. We use evidence-driven design to create products that people use, love and remember. With studios in Boston, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle, Blink brings two decades of experience to research, design, and strategy for clients such as Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, NASA, Starbucks, and USAA.

This opportunity is a part of Blink's Embedded practice which supports long-term opportunities with some of Blink’s largest client partners.

Duration: On-going

Location: Hybrid from Atlanta, GA

• We seek a Senior Design Operations Program Manager with extensive knowledge in user experience program management and a strong background in driving large product initiatives forward. This role is responsible for the strategy, planning and delivery of programs and processes to amplify user experience research and product design value across the Digital organization.

• The ideal candidate will play an integral role inspiring better Digital customer experiences, ranging from consumer to business markets. You must possess excellent skills for end-to-end cross-functional communication and understanding, be proactive in mitigating risks and resolving road blocks, drive progress towards goals and objectives, and provide peer coaching support to other design operations program managers.

• The Senior Design Operations Program Manager will be play a critical role in managing complexity and navigating ambiguity across cross-functional teams, to continuously bring product design and innovation to the forefront.

• Continuously examine, experiment, and measure improvements to operational model and processes (e.g. automating tasks, improving workflows, developing repeatable methodologies), working closely with the Design Operations team and leadership to balance competing priorities to effectively and efficiently deliver impact.
• Possess a proven track record of partnering across a wide array of internal business groups, external marketing agencies, executive stakeholders and execution partners. 
• Collaborate with Research, Data Analysis, Product and Marketing to provide strategic thinking on long-term roadmaps and scope, effectively and persuasively communicating user experience recommendations.
• Partner with business and product partners to establish key performance indicators to track progress and build on improvements to strategic customer initiatives. 
• Strong capacity for leading change, dealing with ambiguity and proactively recommending creative solutions versus waiting for direction from others. Require minimal to no supervision.
• Define, implement, and document the end-to-end process from road mapping, intake, delivery, design review and approvals to release. 
• Oversee and manage project status and health, mitigating risks, removing barriers efficiently and effectively to support team, and escalating when necessary.
• Assess changes in scope and impact to budget and timeline, communicating effectively with both internal and external partners.
• Provide status reports and timelines to cross-functional leadership teams and drive clear action towards goals and objectives. 
• Lead and oversee high priority programs and strategic initiatives with a focus on unblocking barriers and gaining clarity in ambiguity and fast-paced environment.
• Define and measure impact of program both quantitively and qualitatively.
• Facilitate collaboration and continuous improvement: Lead RACI exercises with cross-functional partners during initiation of new projects; post mortem retrospectives to foster understanding among varying disciplines and determine action items for improvement.
• Direct and delegate to both agencies and internal individual contributors with clear expectations.
• Evaluate & implement the industry’s best tools with other DPM’s, researchers, designers, and cross-functional partners to solve our growing need to collaborate globally.
• Proactively seek to turn ambiguous opportunities into tangible initiatives and structured projects. 
• Highly organized with strong writing, influencing skills and impeccable attention to detail.   

• Bachelor’s degree
• 5-7 years of experience design project or program management experience across digital ecosystems, including but not limited to eComm, Apps, Web and Design language systems. 
• A proven track record of partnering across a wide array of internal business groups, external marketing agencies, executive stakeholders and execution partners. 
• Ability to delegate tasks across multiple projects and work streams (resource management, capacity tracking, resource planning, etc.)
• Experience with communication, workflow and creative asset management systems – such as Asana, Workfront, Jira, Sketch, Figma, Slack and similar tools. 
• Strong written and oral communication skills. Confidence developing and presenting materials to stakeholders - including Director and VP-level senior leadership. 
• Experience managing project and scrum teams in Agile environments. 

Blink is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, veteran status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status or disability.

Salary : $135,000 - $148,000