A best-in-class city that attracts best-in-class talent, Philadelphia is an incredible place to build a career. From our thriving arts scene and rich history to our culture of passion and grit, there are countless reasons to love living and working here. With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia offers boundless opportunities to make an impact.

As an employer, the City of Philadelphia values inclusion, integrity, innovation, empowerment, and hard work above all else. We offer a vibrant work environment, comprehensive health care and benefits, and the experience you need to grow and excel. If you’re interested in working with a passionate team of people who care about the future of Philadelphia, start here.

The Office of Innovation and Technology (OIT) oversees most major technology projects for the City of Philadelphia (CoP), ensures continuity of the City's technology operations, and finds new ways to help the public interact meaningfully with technology. OIT uses technology to help City employees do their work better and helps residents get what they need from municipal government.

What We Offer:

Impact - The work you do here matters to millions.

Growth - Philadelphia is growing, why not grow with it?

Diversity & Inclusion - Find a career in a place where everyone belongs

Benefits - We care about your well being

About the project you’ll be working on:
Forms are an essential way Philadelphians interact with City government, and sometimes, they’re the only entry point into a City program or service. If a form isn’t designed and written plainly or proactively inclusive in its terminology and format, then residents are turned away from accessing assistance before they even begin the process. Even though forms are an important touchpoint for City service delivery, the quality of them varies from one office to the next. 
OIT is looking to enhance digital service delivery, minimize technical debt, close security gaps, and improve residents’ baseline interactions with City government by creating a team focused on forms. This work, funded by the Operational Transformation Fund, will take part in three parts: 
Part 1: Prototyping a forms practice in OIT (January – February 2023) The purpose of part 1 is for OIT to perform deep discovery work to better understand departments and OIT’s shared forms needs, and with that information, prototype a forms practice area within OIT and in collaboration with City departments.
Part 2: Testing and implementing digital forms standards at the City (May 2022 – January 2023) The purpose of part 2 is to gather resident and community feedback around digital forms. 

Part 3: Finalizing OIT’s Digital Forms practice (March - June 2023) The purpose of part 3 is to finalize the digital forms practice in OIT using the findings and recommendations from the usability testing and pilot evaluation. 

This work will answer the question, “How can we operationalize our digital forms practice at the City of Philadelphia, so resident interactions with forms can be more accessible, secure, and consistent across departments?”

About your position:

This position will be a part of the newly formed Digital Forms team within OIT. This team will work closely with the teams responsible for the City’s digital transformation efforts: Content Strategy, Software Engineering, and User Experience. Together, the teams have worked on projects such as phila.gov and the resource finder framework, which allow our City department partners to provide information and services to Philadelphians.
We’re looking for a seasoned user experience professional who’s committed to designing accessible and inclusive forms. In collaboration with the team, you’ll lead conversations to determine how OIT can meet the City’s need for digital forms, resulting in structure, guidelines, and implementation of the Digital Forms practice in OIT.  

Please note this position is a full-time, 15-month opportunity from April 2022 to June 2023, and that the City of Philadelphia requires all new hires to be fully vaccinated.  (See the Qualifications and Additional Information sections for other requirements.)

Essential functions
In this role, you will: 

1.    Co-lead digital forms discovery efforts
●    Facilitate requirements gathering activities with team members and stakeholders to better understand the needs of digital forms.
●    Synthesize digital form needs and requirements into documents that clearly articulate specific features.
●    Document findings and insights for future project work.

2.    Participate in the creation of assets that guide the digital forms practice
●    Collaborate with team members to determine and document processes for digital form strategy, intake, and standards.
●    Co-create instructional assets, according to digital form standards.
●    Participate in training City departments on form best practices.

3.    Manage design-related work.
●    Ensure all work is in line with City of Philadelphia’s digital content and design standards (standards.phila.gov). 
●    Collaborate with designers, developers, and content strategists to define product experiences that champion the user.
●    Clearly communicate status of work to leadership, team members, and other stakeholders.
●    Effectively navigate through ambiguity and project challenges.

Knowledge, skills, and abilities
●    Knowledge of industry and design best practices related to form design.
●    Knowledge of human-centered design, rapid prototyping, usability, and accessibility concerns.
●    Ability to design for accessibility first.
●    Ability to design for multiple screen sizes.
●    Ability to clearly express complex information through design.
●    Ability to design for consistency with standards rather than creative expression.
●    Ability to analyze user feedback and activity then iterate to enhance the user experience.
●    Ability to clearly and effectively present ideas, research findings, sketches, and other deliverables to a range of stakeholders.
●    Ability to provide and receive feedback on your own and other’s project work.

Competencies
●    Excellent communicator: Articulate jargon to general audiences (e.g., City departments and the public), explain the logic behind design decisions, craft compelling narratives about product work, write and speak clearly, and cultivate effective communication among team members.
●    Relationship-builder: Work with a variety of people and personalities, listen and ask questions to identify new design opportunities, and cultivate strong relationships to ensure seamless collaboration and continued project support.
●    Curious: Practice active listening, ask questions to get to the root of a problem, be open to receiving/giving constructive feedback, and have a sincere interest in learning new skills or growing old ones.
●    Compassionate: Turn empathy into actionable solutions that address people’s real needs with integrity.
●    Organized: Demonstrate ability to manage multiple tasks, estimate timelines, rework a project approach based on unforeseen challenges, works well under pressure, and set/meet reasonable deadlines.
●    Action-oriented: Understand opportunities, navigate barriers, be self-directed, and problem solve for solutions that enhance the UX team’s deliverables, processes, and practices.
●    Resilient: Have a sense of humor, learns from mistakes, and/or returns to work after experiencing a setback.

Required:
●    A design-related degree or relevant industry experience.
●    At least three (3) years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, professional experience in user experience design, or a related field.

Especially strong candidates will have:
●    A portfolio that demonstrates use of information synthesis and detailed design solutions.
●    A personal interest in and/or perspective on the intersection of social impact and design.
●    Proven experience showing clear understanding of the intersection between user needs, technology requirements, and business goals.
●    Extreme attention to detail with a focus on efficiency.
 

We’re interested in hiring the best possible candidate for the role. We recognize that experience, education, and qualifications can be attained in a variety of ways and that many skillsets are transferable. If you feel you’re a good fit, please don’t hesitate to apply.

Please include:
●    Resume
●    A cover letter explaining why you’re passionate about participating in the design of the City of Philadelphia’s digital forms presence. 
●    At least three samples of work relevant to the position. 

Please note: Applications will not be considered without a cover letter.

Salary Not to Exceed: $90,000

Did you know?

• We are a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program qualified employer
• 25% tuition discount program for City employees (and sometimes spouses and dependents as well) in partnership with area colleges and universities
• We offer Comprehensive health coverage for employees and their eligible dependents
• Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan
• Employees receive paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Generous retirement savings options are available

*The successful candidate must be a city of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire

Please note that effective September 1, 2021 the City of Philadelphia is requiring all new employees to present proof of vaccination against COVID-19. 

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to faqpchr @phila.gov. For more information, go to: Human Relations Website: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations/Pages/default.aspx