justUXjobs

Background:
GreatSchools is a national nonprofit that inspires and guides parents to be effective champions of their children’s education at home and in their communities. Our work combines the reach of digital media with the power of in-person coaching and community building to help parents get the skills they need to guide their children to education success. Our flagship website, GreatSchools.org, is the country’s leading source of information on school performance. With listings of 200,000 public and private schools serving students from preschool through high school and more than 900,000 parent ratings and reviews, GreatSchools has emerged as the go-to guide for parents aiming to make a smart school choice. One-third of K-12 families use GreatSchools each year to compare school options and performance.

Position Summary:
GreatSchools has an immediate contract position available for an experienced Senior UI Designer to produce high quality user interfaces for web and mobile properties. The UI Designer will be responsible for interaction design, information architecture, wireframes, and mock ups for GreatSchools.org web properties. Qualified candidate will work independently and with experienced team members, under the supervision of the Director of UX.

This contract opportunity is available now and will begin as a 6 to 9 month engagement, with the possibility of extension. This position is located in our San Francisco office. Local candidates only. No agencies please.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Apply user-centered design practices to create intuitive, delightful and compelling experiences.
• Translate business requirements into sketches, concepts, wireframes, story boards, task flows, clickable prototypes, interface guidelines / specifications, and design standards for GreatSchools.org web products.
• Collaborate with Product, Marketing, UX and Engineering teams on projects to produce optimal designs.
• Provide UI design support for web and mobile products based on UX, Product, Marketing, Technical, and Sales specifications.
• Collaborate with Engineering on design specifications that synchronize with technical implementation specifications.

Requirements:

• Minimum of 4 years’ experience designing user interfaces for consumer-facing web sites
• Deep understanding of requirements gathering using personas, use cases, usability standards, card sorting, heuristic evaluations, web analytics and usability testing
• Solid understanding of web page optimization standards and best practices
• Expert proficiency in the latest versions of UI design software, including, but not limited to Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Fireworks, and Omnigraffle
• Familiarity with HTML,Javascript, AJAX, Flash & CSS is a plus
• Deadline-focused, flexible and able to respond to direction changes with ease
• Thrives in a fast-paced environment
• Excellent organizational skills
• Strong communication and presentation skills are a must
• Solid understanding of print production process is a plus
• Experience working in an agile development process is a plus
• Experience designing mobile web sites is a plus
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Information Sciences, Human Factors, UI Design, Graphic Design, Digital Media Design or equivalent
• Detailed portfolio demonstrating solid design sensibility required
• A passion for the GreatSchools mission, to help parents get a great education for their kids

Compensation:
This is a contract position. GreatSchools offers competitive rates commensurate with experience.

How to Apply:
Please email a cover letter, including desired hourly pay range and earliest possible start date, along with your résumé and online portfolio to: jobs+uidesigner@greatschools.org, with “Senior UI Designer” in the subject line. Your cover letter should include reasons why you want to work for GreatSchools. Résumés without cover letters will not be considered. Applicants must be fully committed to project duration without interruption. No agencies or phone calls please.

For more information about GreatSchools, please visit our website at www.greatschools.org.

GreatSchools is an equal opportunity employer and encourages diversity in our workplace.