Lead UX Designer

Chicago, IL, United States

The National Restaurant Association and National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation are proud to be part of a highly respected industry, providing hospitality, opportunity, and quality of life. Much like the industry we represent, we have a dynamic, diverse, and inclusive culture, grounded in trust, hospitality, collaboration, and innovation. These are the core values that inspire our work, and what we are looking for in a Lead UX Designer.

As Lead UX Designer, you will partner with our teams in delivering user experiences that meet our customer’s needs and satisfy demanding business objectives. Involved in all stages of design from ideation and concepting, to execution and implementation, you will collaborate with business stakeholders, vendors, and other cross-functional teams to define and deliver responsively designed experiences across e-commerce, learning management, user registration and product marketing.

Ideal candidates bring a minimum of four years of experience in a Lead UX Design role, with a proven understanding of web-based development, and working across a variety of environments, including Waterfall and Agile/Scrum. Must be able to thoughtfully engage at all levels of the process from wireframes and interface specifications to strategy. Agency experience is a plus, as is prior visual design experience that allows you to translate wireframes into production-ready comps and assets.

You will thrive in this role if you are a resourceful self-starter, with a solutions and collaborative driven mindset. Must have the ability to influence teams, possess highly effective communication skills and excellent attention to detail.

This is a full-time Chicago based position, requiring three days in office, Monday – Wednesday. To be considered for this opportunity, please include a link to your online portfolio or any interactive applications you've designed. If your portfolio is password-protected, please share the password so we can consider it.

The work you will do in this role will allow us to re-imagine customer experiences that drive measurable business impact. We look forward to hearing from you!

We are proud to offer our team members comprehensive benefits, designed to support their financial, professional, and personal well-being. In addition to outstanding healthcare coverage (medical, dental and vision), competitive salaries, generous vacation and leave time, we offer a matching 401(k) plan, a unique collection of corporate discounts and memberships, as well as programs to support career and skills development, including coaching, learning and tuition assistance, and so much more.

Responsibilities

Drive the UX/UI function, define, and execute best practices for tools, templates, and processes the UX/UI team will use, i.e., stakeholder research activities, visual designs, user flows, persona development, etc.

Translate business strategy into user experiences.

Collaborate with marketing, technology, product and platform partners to define user interface requirements.

Develop static and interactive prototypes for demonstration and evaluation of concepts to business owners or for testing with end-users.

Maintain all UX/IA Templates, documentation, assets, personas, design mockups, user flows, navigational maps, and experience documentation for assigned projects.

Provide leadership and guidance on the projects, providing guidance and direction for more junior team members.

Work with design and technology vendors when needed.

Understand current and emerging digital/UX related technologies.

Create and maintain comprehensive style guides to be used by internal and vendor teams. Ensure adherence to designs and style guides by reviewing delivered software prior to production release.

Analyze and implement user feedback, by tracking relevant metrics and supporting development teams’ solution implementation.

Participate in sprint-based activities such as grooming sessions, planning and reviews.

Presenting and defend design concepts.

Lead brainstorming sessions at varying levels of the organization.

Meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Work on special initiatives and other duties as required, helping to promote the department’s success.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Web Design, Graphic Design or related field required. Master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Learning Sciences, Product Design or Business Administration a plus.

Minimum 4 years in a professional Lead UX Design role.

Expert in responsive design methods and workflows.

In depth experience and knowledge of design tools including Figma, Sketch, Axure, InVision, Balsamiq.

Understanding of front-end languages: HTML5, CSS3 Javascript.

Familiarity with CMS-based web solutions.

Experience working with multi-brand organizations.

Familiarity with SEO best practices and ADA accessibility standards (508 compliance).

Restaurant or hospitality industry experience a plus.

Creative thinking with a problem-solving mindset and strong analytical skills.

Comfortable presenting and defending design concepts.

Strong organizational, time management and priority-setting skills.

Demonstrated business and stakeholder relationship building experience.

Ability to communicate clearly, concisely, and persuasively.

Proven interpersonal, relationship-building and diplomacy skills.

Reliable, self-motivated, and focused on high quality delivery of work products; willing to accept risk with responsibility.

Flexible and resilient; adaptable to change oriented environment.

Computer proficiency across MS Office including Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint applications; ability to learn additional software as required.

Ability to travel quarterly or as needed.

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin, age, disability status, genetic information and testing, family, and medical leave, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We strongly encourage women, people of color, people with disabilities and veterans to apply for our job openings. This commitment supports our policy of developing and capitalizing on the abilities of all our team members, as well as selecting, developing, and promoting those who are best qualified.

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