User Experience Strategist

Depending on the qualifications, interests and desires of the successful candidate, and at the discretion of the hiring authority, they may be hired into a University Staff or continuing status track academic professional position (equivalent to a tenure track position). This may be at an Assistant, Associate, or Full rank, and as continuing-eligible or with continuing status. A continuing status track position provides incumbents membership in the General Faculty of the University of Arizona along with all accompanying rights and privileges granted by the University and the Arizona Board of Regents. Retention and promotion on the continuing-eligible track are earned through achievement of a record of excellence in position effectiveness, scholarship, and service. If the successful candidate is not eligible or interested to be hired into a continuing status track position, the position will be a University Staff position.

Outstanding UA benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; UA/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; state and optional retirement plans; access to UA recreation and cultural activities; and more!

The University of Arizona has been recognized for our innovative work-life programs.

CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES

Management, Leadership, and Strategy

• Lead and support the work of the UX team, including User Experience Designer (website product manager), Web Content Strategist, student employees, and interns.
• Manage and participate in strategic projects that impact the user experience, including projects related to the digital and physical experience.
• Consult with library leadership on prioritization, strategic planning, and communication strategies for Libraries’-wide, UX-related initiatives.
• Ensure that user-centered insights are integrated into organizational strategy.
• Provide resources to staff across the Libraries and campus who want to improve the user experience (e.g. trainings, templates, guidelines, recruitment support, competitive analysis).
• Continually improve upon the tools, workflows, and practices used for UX design and research practices library-wide.
• Support campus UX initiatives, connecting campus partners on UX-related projects and facilitating access to UX expertise campus-wide.
• Support the Libraries and UA with their diversity and inclusiveness strategic initiatives designed to create an inclusive and anti-racist environment for all faculty, staff, and students.
• Other duties as assigned.

Oversight of User Research and Qualitative Assessment

• Supervise user research efforts, employing such qualitative assessment tools as user interviews, surveys, and usability testing to gather feedback on current and new library products and services.
• Work with analytics and assessment librarian and Cabinet, or individual department heads, to recommend, prioritize, and implement improvements to library services and products based on user research findings.
• With the analytics and assessment librarian, build and sustain a research repository for managing and accessing past user research data, improving user-centered, data-informed decision making and reduced redundancies library-wide.

Consultation

• Consult with departments to identify knowledge gaps that can be addressed by user research, design appropriate research methodology employing user research tools, and provide recommendations to improve the user experience of their products and services.
• Work with Marketing Communications to inform content and design efforts, including branding, messaging, and workflows.
• Serve on the Web Strategy Group and other cross-departmental groups where UX expertise is required.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Knowledge of UX research and design principles, including designing and conducting UX research methodologies, such as user interviews and usability testing.
• Knowledge of design thinking practices and principles, including building empathy, designing human-centered systems, accessibility standards, and iterating on solutions.
• Knowledge of ResearchOps and DesignOps practices to scale impact and improve efficiency of UX processes, such as research repositories, participant pools, and playbooks.
• Knowledge of web communications best practices, and analytics tools such as Google Analytics and Siteimprove.
• Knowledge of library tools, such as Primo/Alma, LibGuides, LibChat, LibAnswers, and LibInsight.
• Proficiency in prototyping tools such as Figma and Adobe XD.
• Proficiency in collaborative document management tools such as Notion, Box, and Google Drive.
• Awareness of the role of academic libraries in supporting student success, research productivity, and community engagement.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Ability to work in a highly collaborative and inclusive environment, one that values and leverages the benefits of diverse perspectives.
• Strong demonstration of Our Values: Collaboration, Continuous Learning, Diversity, Innovation, and Integrity.

Qualifications for University Staff Position

• Master's degree
• 3 years of related work experience

Qualifications for Continuing Status Track Appointment:

• Alternately, if brought in under the continuing status track, must have a Master’s degree in library/information science from an ALA-accredited institution or an advanced degree in a relevant field.
• If brought in under the continuing status track, must show evidence of the ability to achieve continuing status (equivalent to tenure), including contributing to the information/library profession and to fulfilling the responsibilities of a library faculty member through service and scholarship.

• Advanced degree in user experience, human-computer interaction, design, psychology, anthropology, communications, library and information sciences, or related field.
• Experience leading or supervising cross-functional teams of UX practitioners.
• Experience synthesizing and communicating research findings to a broad audience, including making recommendations based on evidence, and advocating for change.
• Experience consulting, training, and delivering workshops.