Director of Product Design - Volunteer

Role Overview

The Director of Product Design will define and lead the organization’s product design vision, execution, and quality across all digital products. This role combines strategic design leadership with hands-on collaboration, ensuring every experience is user-centered, accessible, visually consistent, and easy to use.

Key Responsibilities

Design Leadership

• Define and drive the organization’s product design vision and standards.
• Establish design principles, guidelines, and best practices.
• Build and maintain a scalable design system.
• Foster a user-centered design culture across the organization.
• Shape design direction that aligns with user needs, organizational goals, and product goals.

User Experience

• Lead UX research initiatives, including user interviews, surveys, and usability testing.
• Translate user insights into clear, intuitive, and effective design solutions.
• Create seamless user journeys, flows, and information architecture.
• Ensure accessibility and inclusive design standards are incorporated throughout the design process.

Visual Design & Interaction Design

• Create high-quality visual designs that are consistent, engaging, and aligned with the organization’s brand.
• Design intuitive interfaces, interactions, and responsive layouts.
• Develop wireframes, prototypes, and mockups to communicate design ideas effectively.
• Ensure clarity, hierarchy, and usability across all screens and touchpoints.

Team Leadership

• Mentor and coach product designers.
• Conduct design reviews and provide constructive feedback.
• Support designers’ professional growth and encourage collaboration within the team.
• Help recruit and onboard volunteer or full-time designers as needed.

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Work closely with developers, researchers, and stakeholders.
• Facilitate design workshops, brainstorming sessions, and feedback discussions.
• Communicate design decisions clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Collaborate to ensure design quality is maintained through implementation.

Quality & Delivery

• Ensure high-quality product experiences across all digital products.
• Review designs before development handoff.
• Continuously improve design workflows, documentation, and collaboration processes.
• Maintain consistency across all user-facing experiences.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in Product Design, UX/UI Design, or a related field.
• 3+ years of experience leading design teams.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating end-to-end product design work.
• Expertise in Figma and modern design tools.
• Deep understanding of UX research, interaction design, visual design, and design systems.
• Experience collaborating with developers and cross-functional teams.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Passion for social impact and nonprofit work.

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of accessibility standards (WCAG).
• Experience designing for mobile, web, and responsive interfaces.
• Familiarity with user testing and iterative design processes.

Skills

• UX Research
• UI Design
• Interaction Design
• Design Systems
• Information Architecture
• Wireframing & Prototyping
• Figma
• Design Thinking
• Visual Design
• Leadership & Mentorship
• Stakeholder Management
• Cross-functional Collaboration
• Accessibility (WCAG)
• User Testing
• Responsive Design