Design Strategist
iDE, Cambodia
Job Description
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for a Design Strategist (Ideally based in Asia) with international work experience to join a team of enthusiastic designers, researchers and changemakers from around the world. Ideally, you are someone that is a rock star managing innovation projects, conducting field research, building strategic designs, prototyping and testing activities and isn’t afraid to make a difference.
The current twelve-person team at the iDE Innovation Lab, located in different countries, have all been working together for a number of years, so this is a rare opportunity to join a well-established team working on a broad range of projects in Asia and Africa with a social innovation focus.
Who will you be working for?
You will be working with the non-profit iDE Innovation Lab with a mission to champion an integrated approach to innovation that drives lasting impact for iDE’s multi-sectoral programs.
The iDE Innovation Lab also functions as a strategy and innovation consultancy working in-focus areas of water, sanitation amp; hygiene, climate change (clean energy, conservation), agriculture, and maternal health amp; nutrition. Over the years we have worked with a portfolio of international development organizations such as Care International, Hellen Keller, USAID, UNICEF, World Bank Group, Plant and Food Research, Save the Children, and SNV.
We are on the mission of driving lasting, impactful change through a market systems approach and human-centred design methodologies, so we are looking for a world-class expert in design and innovation to join our multidisciplinary and multicultural team to solve development challenges.
iDE Innovation Lab is a part of iDE. iDE is a non-government organization dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs to end poverty. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, our global work within agriculture, sanitation, and gender equality, iDE stands out in the international development sector because we don’t simply hand out money or supplies. Instead, we believe in powering small-scale entrepreneurs and building robust market ecosystems that are financially competitive, resilient to changing climates, and inclusive of marginalized people. Given access to simple technology, market links and microfinance, iDE has demonstrated that entrepreneurs can lift themselves out of poverty and become change agents in their communities. Founded in 1982, and with operations in 10 developing countries, iDE has made an impact in the lives of more than 35 million people, providing access to markets, boosting incomes and improving wellbeing. By listening to every stakeholderproducers, suppliers, retailers and customersiDE designs programs that overcome critical bottlenecks and develop lasting solutions. We employ over 1,200 staff globally, 96 percent of whom are nationals or field based. Our 2021 budget of $28.1 million includes funding from nearly 40 institutional donors, including USAID, SIDA, GAC, Unicef, DFAT, MFAT, EU, and SDC.
What you will be doing:
- Managing multiple online and in-person end-to-end social innovation projects, which includes:
- Project amp; client management, collaborating with peers throughout the process
- Building a project plan, meeting deadlines, and delegating tasks
- Conducting desk research, expert interviews, designing research plans required to solve the design problem we want to tackle
- Conducting ethnographic research in diverse contexts
- Synthesizing findings and presenting them in digestible and visual ways for the client
- Coming up with actionable ideas and strategies that are easy to operationalise for the client
- Engaging with stakeholders, leading and facilitating alignment meetings and strategy workshops
- Running fun and engaging co-creation/brainstorming workshops in the field and in the office
- Building and developing prototypes and testing loops that will inform the design of the final solution (strategy, product, digital product, businesses or services).
- Making confident and timely decisions in order to move the project forward
- Inspiring your peers within iDE to apply innovation methodologies and approaches in their programmes
- Establishing and nurturing client relationships
- Supporting proposal writing and business development efforts
Requirements
projectsa Your experience level:
- Someone with at least 4 years of experience working for an international design firm/innovation lab or design consultancy in international development
- Background (sociologist, design, product/industrial design, etc)
- Someone passionate about empathetic design
- Someone driven by making meaningful solutions to solve complex development problems.
- Experi