Manager, Design Research

Overview

H-E-B is one of the largest, independently owned food retailers in the nation operating over 420 stores throughout Texas and Mexico, with annual sales generating over $34 billion. Described by industry experts as a daring innovator and smart competitor, H-E-B has led the way with creative new concepts, outstanding service and a commitment to diversity in our workforce, workplace and marketplace. H-E-B offers a wealth of career opportunities to our 145,000 Partners (employees), competitive compensation and benefits program and comprehensive training that lead to successful careers.

Responsibilities

About H-E-B Design 

The design team is on a mission to design and build the absolute best software and experience for our customers and H-E-B Partners while driving exceptional business results. We mix user-centric design with business savvy, focusing on two key user segments: 

H-E-B's Bold Promise is to build the greatest retailing company, and at the heart of this Bold Promise, we believe each and every person counts 

About H-E-B Design Research 

Design researchers frame our users’ needs and problems, so our whole team can be intentionally human-centric with the solutions we create. We harness the rich love H-E-B has for its customers and partners and apply sensemaking to create frameworks that align, communicate, and sustain empathy. We push our organization forward, reinforcing H-E-B's culture of learning through their doing. 

Role Description 

In this role, you will be leading a high-performing team of design research professionals dedicated to the various product teams and efforts at H-E-B. You will have the opportunity to directly impact the productivity and direction of our design teams. You will also play a key role in championing the process of user understanding that our teams need to move our products forward.  As a Design Research Manager, you will be responsible for supporting your team of design researchers, and other stakeholders within the company to identify opportunities and understand project goals and objectives. If you are interested in joining a team that is working to build delightful experiences for your community, you have come to the right place. 

We are looking for: 

• Someone who knows design research inside and out, and loves helping designers grow in their careers  
• Education (formal or otherwise) in design, UX, HCI, cognitive psychology, or a related field 
• 5 years of experience in design research with demonstrated impact 
• 1 years of experience in people management 
• Experience working with multi-disciplinary product teams and a proven understanding of how product teams work, and their needs from research throughout the product lifecycle 
• Experience managing the perspectives and input of multiple stakeholders and facilitating alignment  
• Accustomed to organizing and facilitating design workshops and design thinking methods to establish the direction of department projects and efforts  
• Demonstrated care for diversity, equity, and inclusion as it pertains to building teams, conducting user research, and creating digital products for all  
• Excellent interpersonal and presentation skills — equally at ease speaking with teams or executives across the organization, educating about design research and advocating for design as a whole 
• Experience working in the grocery, retail, or supply chain sector, with an angle on service design – is a plus.  
• Bilingual — especially Spanish fluency — is a plus 

Design Researchers at H-E-B: 

• Conducts studies ranging from foundational to evaluative to drive product strategy and direction 
• Partner with data science designers and product managers to appropriately assess and optimize the performance of new and existing features (using usability findings, customer feedback, site metrics, etc.) 
• Create and evolve templates and best practices to elevate the crat of the design research discipline 
• Proactively identify and outline tasks and timelines associated with involving research within the broader product lifecycle 
• Leads teams in identifying the appropriate customer or partners to engage with to achieve research goals and outcomes, as well as the best methodologies to elicit rich user understanding 
• Develop summaries and presentations of research findings, sharing these findings, as well as design recommendations, with the product teams and stakeholders  
• Serve as sense-makers and facilitators within the design organization, often pulling previous and industry research to serve as a starting point for teams and organizing and facilitating workshops to gain stakeholder input and alignment 

In addition, as a manager you will: 

• Manage design researchers and individual contributors to support initiatives, methods, processes, and operations, and the continued scaling of the research team and their craft. 
• Make independent employment-related and business decisions, including product- and department-related strategies, hiring, promoting, disciplining, discharging, rewarding, or resolving partner-related matters. 
• Provide thought leadership on areas of research craft through education and identifying areas of improvement for the team or individuals. 
• Allocates, prioritizes, and manages design research resources; implements team structures, budgets, and resources. 
• Manages process and people, leveraging and enabling the teams’ different skills, including documenting and refining usability findings, feedback, site metrics, as well as creating and maintaining data collection and analysis. 
• Serves as design research point of contact for stakeholders and other design and product leaders. 
• Navigates the organizational ecosystems; applies understanding of systems-level implications of design and research decisions. 
• Collaborates with design teams, product managers, engineers, data scientists, and other stakeholders in an agile, sprint-based environment. 

Key Competencies: 

• Ability to lead prioritization and provide focus for the team  
• Passion for team dynamics and camaraderie  
• Ability to grow and mentor talent 
• Responsibly and effectively advocate for your researchers, as well as users; imparting design leadership that fosters a shared understanding of the intersection between design, content, business, and technology needs. 
• The ability to listen to multiple perspectives and identify root causes of problems or pain points  
• Experience navigating an ambiguous ask, facilitating alignment workshops or sessions, and breaking approaches down into concrete steps to follow  
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and shift focus between projects / tasks 

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