Consultant - UX & Product Strategy

Summary

WRI seeks to award an open-ended contract to creative, entrepreneurial UX & Product Strategist(s) to advise and deliver UX and product strategy projects for the Product Studio and WRI’s Data Lab. This role involves applying design thinking and human-centred methodologies to global sustainability challenges. Reporting to Data Lab’s Head of Product Design, the consultant will remotely support teams in developing new software products that aid WRI’s programmes worldwide.

Program Overview

The Data Lab exists to inspire and fuel data innovation, product development, and technical infrastructure for World Resources Institute (WRI) and our community. We help our partners use advances in data and technology to improve lives, protect nature, and ensure just transitions. The Data Lab is composed of WRI’s core Engineering, Product, and Data teams. The Data Lab supports a wider network of quantitative researchers, data scientists, and product managers embedded across the organization.

In 2022, the Data Lab founded the Product Studio to help researchers and program teams design and scale new products. Backed by the Data Lab's Product Team, the Studio gives teams the technical and strategy expertise they need to understand their users and market, develop product designs, and build and test rapid prototypes. With our support, teams can build products that support decisions that matter, enable accountability, and drive the conversation.

Scope of Work and Deliverables/Outputs:

The consultant(s) will support upcoming cohorts of the Product Studio and contribute to strategic design initiatives within the Data Lab. Responsibilities include:

Best Practices & Standards

• Support the development and refinement of WRI’s UX/UI design system
• Ensure consistency and usability across WRI digital products
• Advise WRI programmatic teams (e.g. researchers and subject matter experts on Water, Forests, Energy, Cities) on product development best practices
• Effectively communicate the value of rapid prototyping, user research, design and product planning to non-technical audiences and advise on best practices

User Research & Needs Assessment

• In collaboration with Data Lab's User Research Lead, develop and apply best-practice user research methodologies
• Understand user jobs-to-be-done, their needs, and challenges
• Translate user insights into design opportunities
• Conduct user journey mapping, create user job maps, and develop other assets to align stakeholders on what to build and how it connects to user research findings.

Product & Design Strategy

• Advise teams using the Studio’s innovation framework, helping define product vision and strategic direction.
• Develop and implement strategies for go-to-market and scaling of WRI’s data products
• Support WRI’s programmatic teams in aligning technology projects with WRI’s results framework to achieve programmatic goals

Rapid Prototyping & UX/UI Design

• Design wireframes and front-end prototypes to test product ideas with real users
• Collaborate with software developers to build working prototypes or MVPs
• Apply UX/UI design expertise to enhance user interactions and experience across WRI applications

Product Planning

• Support in defining long-term sustainability and maintenance plans for WRI data products.
• Assist with fundraising documents and strategic planning
• The consultant will collaborate closely with software development projects, facilitate design workshops, and promote co-creation, design thinking, agile practices, and user research.

Consultant Qualifications:

• Deep desire to change the world for the better and a believer that technology, data and good design are essential tools in achieving this.
• Significant demonstrable experience (and possibly a relevant degree) in one or more of the following areas: design, design research, service design, interaction design, user experience, human factors, product management.
• Experience in designing and carrying out generative and evaluative research, including ethnographic study, contextual inquiry, observation, and usability testing.
• Experience leading product teams and software development projects is preferable.
• You can comfortably express yourself and your ideas using Miro, Figma, or other design software.
• Strong sketching and visual communication skills
• Strong facilitation skills required
• Understanding of sustainable product design beyond environmental considerations
• You have a good grounding in design theory, are keen to learn more, as well as create new methodologies.
• You are self-driven, organised and able to motivate others.

Evaluation and Selection

Applications will be assessed based on:

• Alignment with WRI’s stated requirements
• Relevant expertise and experience
• Cost-effectiveness
• Sustainability considerations – WRI values sustainability and all other factors being equal, will favour a proposal to more sustainably perform the work.

The consultant offering the best overall value will be selected. Price and non-price factors will be weighted equally.

Compliance Requirements: WRI receives funding from a variety of sources, including governments and other non-governmental organizations. In addition to WRI’s standard contract terms, certain funder conditions may apply.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit your resume, cover letter and portfolio through the WRI Careers portal by February 21st, 2025.

WRI Overview:

World Resources Institute(WRI) is an independent, nonprofit global research organization that turns big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity and human well-being. We are working to address seven critical challenges that the world must overcome this decade in order to secure a sustainable future for people and the planet: climate change, energy, food, forests, water, sustainable cities, and the ocean.

We are passionate. We value our diversity of interests, skills and backgrounds. We have a flexible work environment. And we share a common goal to catalyze change that will improve the lives of people. Our shared ideals are at the core of our approach. They include integrity, innovation, urgency, independence and respect.

The foundation of our work is delivering high-quality research, data, maps and analysis to solve the world’s greatest environment and international development challenges, and improve people’s lives. We work with leaders in government, business and civil society to drive ambitious action and create change on the ground. Equally important, we bring together partners to develop breakthrough ideas and scale-up solutions for far-reaching, enduring impact.

WRI is committed to advancing gender and social equity for human well-being in our mission and applies this principle to our organizational and programmatic practices. We are committed to providing equal opportunities in employment, we embrace all diversity and encourage women, gender diverse communities, persons with disabilities, Afro-descendants, and Indigenous people to apply. Recognizing our strong commitment to gender equality, WRI has also been awarded EDGE certification.