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Requisition ID:  118687

Civic Designer, Los Angeles

The Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University (the Center) seeks a Civic Designer, Los Angeles to support key efforts under the City of Los Angeles Deputy Mayor, Office of Strategic Partnerships.


The Civic Designer will play a central role in deploying design-based innovation approaches to support the city’s efforts to accelerate transformative city policy, infrastructure, and innovation efforts that generate lasting benefits for all Angelenos, while fostering civic pride, inclusive public-private collaboration, and long-term urban resilience to advance Los Angeles unprecedented recovery from the January 2025 wildfires and hosting of three consecutive global sporting events—2026 FIFA World Cup, 2027 Super Bowl, and 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games.


The ideal candidate will have a strong background in design methodology and the ability to use and apply intentional design processes that includes research, ideation, and delivery with key stakeholders, including community members, centered in the process. Ideally, they will also have experience in designing and delivering impactful public sector programs or services. The Civic Designer is an employee of Johns Hopkins University and based in Los Angeles City Hall. The Civic Designer will report to the Civic Strategist.


The first of its kind in the world, the Center aims to advance the field of public sector innovation by marrying cutting-edge practice with world-class research to transform the culture of government, deliver exceptional results for residents, and inspire trust in public service.


Specific Duties & Responsibilities

  • Guide impact delivery team colleagues, together with collaborators in government and in the community, through a rigorous process, including research, synthesis and framework development, idea generation, prototyping, and testing.
  • Design, plan, and deliver qualitative “design” research.
  • Make research findings relevant and impactful through a variety of formats such as slide decks, stories, videos, experiences, exhibits, and design artifacts like journey maps, service blueprints, and personas.
  • Employ user research best practices to create a seamless experience for city leaders, and collaborators in government and in the community.
  • Develop templates, tools, and methods that government can use to improve service and program delivery.
  • Create visual frameworks – like journey maps, service blueprints, and ecosystem maps – that help clarify complex challenges in human behaviors, relationships, workflow, and processes.
  • Engage and collaborate deeply with local community organizations dedicated to civic activation and community benefit.  
  • Plan and execute co-creation workshops with stakeholders to generate the most viable solutions for the given problem.
  • Stay up to date with trends in civic design and public innovation and develop materials spreading best practices and cutting-edge research
  • Prepare reports, summaries, presentations, visuals, recommendations, and other work products.
  • Present work products to city leaders, community members, BCPI staff, and other partners.
  • Support the team and other city government colleagues in agile ways of working, including a high proficiency in using tools like Slack, Figma, Miro, Google Workspace, and work management software like Asana.


Special Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

  • Ability to apply a civic design process that includes research, ideation, and delivery with key stakeholders and community members centered in the process.
  • Knowledge of design-based innovation methodologies, including expertise in determining when and how to use specific approaches, frameworks, deliverables, and facilitation methods.
  • Superior organizational skills and ability to set priorities and respond quickly as priorities change.
  • Strong interpersonal skills with an ability to build good relationships with peers and to interact with varied stakeholders.
  • Ability to deliver high quality work in a dynamic, political environment.
  • Strong ability to incorporate design research and qualitative research into a mixed methods approach to produce insights.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills and ability to collect and synthesize information and provide summary reports.
  • Excellent content creation and writing skills.
  • Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet tight deadlines.
  • Ability to work both cooperatively within a team and independently.


Minimum Qualifications
  • Bachelor’s Degree in related discipline.
  • Five years of design experience, including instructional, strategic, business, and product design, or related experience.
  • Additional education may substitute for required experience and additional related experience may substitute for required education beyond HS Diploma/Graduation Equivalent, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.


Preferred Qualifications
  • Graduate Degree in Instructional Design, Instructional Technology, Education, Applied Anthropology, Demography, Ethnography, User Experience Design or Research, Program Design or related field.
  • Experience conducting user research and translating results into actionable insights.
  • A clear understanding of the types of challenges municipal governments typically face, either through direct experience working in government or in organizations that collaborate closely with governments.
  • Experience working with community, government, non-profit, or private sector leaders.
  • A customer service orientation and interest in and commitment to building solid relationships with colleagues and partners within government and in the community.
  • Demonstrated experience in working with people from varied backgrounds and a commitment to engaging with a wide range of residents, subject-matter experts, and partners.
  • A history of using service design and/or product design to scale initiatives or strategies, particularly in large organizations.

 

 

Classified Title: i-Team Civic Designer 
Job Posting Title (Working Title): Civic Designer, Los Angeles   
Role/Level/Range: ATP/04/PD  
Starting Salary Range: $62,900 - $110,100 Annually (Commensurate w/exp.) 
Employee group: Full Time 
Schedule: Monday - Friday 9am-5pm 
FLSA Status: Exempt 
Location: JHU-California  
Department name: Ctrs for Govt Excellence & Public Innova   
Personnel area: Academic and Business Centers 

 

 

Total Rewards
The referenced base salary range represents the low and high end of Johns Hopkins University’s salary range for this position. Not all candidates will be eligible for the upper end of the salary range. Exact salary will ultimately depend on multiple factors, which may include the successful candidate's geographic location, skills, work experience, market conditions, education/training and other qualifications. Johns Hopkins offers a total rewards package that supports our employees' health, life, career and retirement. More information can be found here: https://hr.jhu.edu/benefits-worklife/.

Education and Experience Equivalency
Please refer to the job description above to see which forms of equivalency are permitted for this position. If permitted, equivalencies will follow these guidelines: JHU Equivalency Formula: 30 undergraduate degree credits (semester hours) or 18 graduate degree credits may substitute for one year of experience. Additional related experience may substitute for required education on the same basis. For jobs where equivalency is permitted, up to two years of non-related college course work may be applied towards the total minimum education/experience required for the respective job.

Applicants Completing Studies
Applicants who do not meet the posted requirements but are completing their final academic semester/quarter will be considered eligible for employment and may be asked to provide additional information confirming their academic completion date.

Background Checks
The successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background check. Johns Hopkins is committed to hiring individuals with a justice-involved background, consistent with applicable policies and current practice. A prior criminal history does not automatically preclude candidates from employment at Johns Hopkins University. In accordance with applicable law, the university will review, on an individual basis, the date of a candidate's conviction, the nature of the conviction and how the conviction relates to an essential job-related qualification or function.

Diversity and Inclusion
The Johns Hopkins University values diversity, equity and inclusion and advances these through our key strategic framework, the JHU Roadmap on Diversity and Inclusion.

Equal Opportunity Employer
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

EEO is the Law
https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights6.12ScreenRdr.pdf

Accommodation Information
If you are interested in applying for employment with The Johns Hopkins University and require special assistance or accommodation during any part of the pre-employment process, please contact the Talent Acquisition Office at jhurecruitment@jhu.edu. For TTY users, call via Maryland Relay or dial 711. For more information about workplace accommodations or accessibility at Johns Hopkins University, please visit https://accessibility.jhu.edu/.

Vaccine Requirements
Johns Hopkins University strongly encourages, but no longer requires, at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccine does not apply to positions located in the State of Florida. We still require all faculty, staff, and students to receive the seasonal flu vaccine. Exceptions to the COVID and flu vaccine requirements may be provided to individuals for religious beliefs or medical reasons. Requests for an exception must be submitted to the JHU vaccination registry. This change does not apply to the School of Medicine (SOM). SOM hires must be fully vaccinated with an FDA COVID-19 vaccination and provide proof of vaccination status. For additional information, applicants for SOM positions should visit https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/ and all other JHU applicants should visit https://covidinfo.jhu.edu/health-safety/covid-vaccination-information/.

The following additional provisions may apply, depending upon campus. Your recruiter will advise accordingly.
The pre-employment physical for positions in clinical areas, laboratories, working with research subjects, or involving community contact requires documentation of immune status against Rubella (German measles), Rubeola (Measles), Mumps, Varicella (chickenpox), Hepatitis B and documentation of having received the Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccination. This may include documentation of having two (2) MMR vaccines; two (2) Varicella vaccines; or antibody status to these diseases from laboratory testing. Blood tests for immunities to these diseases are ordinarily included in the pre-employment physical exam except for those employees who provide results of blood tests or immunization documentation from their own health care providers. Any vaccinations required for these diseases will be given at no cost in our Occupational Health office.
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