Design Associate, bizzNEST

 Temporary, Part-time: 15-20 hours per week
Pay Rate: $17.00/hour, non-exempt

Benefits: Professional Development and Career Coaching, CA Sick Time Off

Organization size: 50+ employees

Reports to: Design Lead

Location(s): Watsonville or Stockton. This position is not eligible to work remotely.

Age requirements: Associate positions are reserved for young adults ages 18 - 24 years of age.

*The job offer will be contingent upon the successful completion and passing of a background check.

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW:

Digital NEST is an innovative workforce development center that has welcomed thousands of youth from working-class, farmworker communities to develop the technical and professional skills they need to achieve their dreams. It is an exciting time for the NEST. We are focused on growth and expansion to five communities across The Monterey Bay (MBR) and San Joaquin Valley (SJVR) Regions in Northern California. Digital NEST has Centers in the heart of Watsonville, Salinas, Gilroy, Modesto and Stockton.

JOB OVERVIEW:
bizzNEST is the creative agency of Digital NEST. bizzNEST offers a paid, 1-year Career accelerator  program that provides real world professional training. Through this program, Associates hone and develop their technical and professional skills, gain real professional experience by working with clients, build professional level portfolios and resumes, and become competitively qualified for entry-level, career-focused employment.

bizzNEST is looking for a motivated Associate who can assist with our UX/UI and web design projects. They will work on creating visually appealing and functional websites and a variety of other projects for web and print applications, using Adobe Suite, WordPress, and Figma. These projects include user research, persona development, journey mapping, wireframes, site structure/ navigation, light website development, visual design (typography, graphics, imagery) and branding. They will be designing for external clients as well as working within the organization as an in-house designer.  They will collaborate across-functional teams for projects, as needed . 
As part of this position's workflow, Associates will leverage AI tools to support ideation, generate design variations, assist with content creation, and accelerate prototyping.  AI is used as a tool to enhance efficiency and creativity, while maintaining strong design fundamentals and user-centered thinking.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

UX/UI and Web Design (45%):

• Research user needs and develop personas and journey maps to inform design.
• Create information architecture and sitemaps.
• Use AI tools to rapidly generate design concepts, wireframes, and visual directions
• Iterate quickly on user feedback by leveraging AI for layout exploration, content generation, and variations
• Create website concepts with wireframes and mockups.
• Present designs and provide feedback for others during critique sessions.
• Develop, customize, and maintain WordPress websites, themes, and plugins.
• Ensure websites are responsive and mobile-friendly.
• Implement changes to the work based on client, staff, and colleague feedback.
• Design and develop websites using Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe Xd, and WordPress.
• Continue to learn and implement the elements and principles of art & design.\

Graphic Design (25%):

• Create assets that define the visual style of a project deliverable, including imagery, typography and color palettes.   
• Follow brand guidelines for project consistency.
• Present designs and provide feedback for others during critique sessions.
• Continue to learn and implement the elements and principles of art & design.
• Implement changes based on client, staff, and colleague feedback.
• Follow and implement design specifications such as production guidelines and web file types and dimensions.

Other (30%):

• Interact and communicate with clients (with support).
• Attend meetings and participate in critiques.
• Attend client meetings.
• Collaborate with staff members from other departments, as necessary.
• Participate in applicable certification programs and courses. 
• Log work and progress on project management (PM) software such as Asana and customer relationship management (CRM) software such as Salesforce, if necessary.
• Manage time effectively and meet project deadlines.
• Communicate regularly and across-teams through email, chat and in-person.
• Participate in the Mentorship Program and professional development activities. 

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education:

• High school graduate or currently majoring in the fields of UI/UX or Web Design, Visual / Graphic Communications, Communication Design, Computer Science, Digital Art  or related fields. Self-taught individuals are welcome if they can demonstrate their knowledge and proficiency in UI/UX and web design.

Technical Skills / Experience:

• Some experience working with the Adobe Creative Suite and Figma.
• Experience with WordPress, Squarespace, or other CMS and website builders is a plus.
• Background in art, photography, or other creative disciplines is a plus. 

Professional Skills:

• Demonstrates self-awareness of one’s strengths, biases, and growth areas, and can apply self awareness in their work.
• Take the initiative to learn, and independently seek resources for personal and professional growth. 
• Demonstrates strong organizational and time management skills, including the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines, and maintain attention to detail and quality work.
• Strong collaboration and teamwork skills. Uses empathy and communication to build positive working relationships with colleagues.
• Effective oral, written, and non-verbal communication skills. Employs active listening, is open to receiving feedback, and can communicate ideas in a clear and organized manner. 
• Strong critical thinking skills. Must be able to critically analyze their work, and assess their work from the client’s perspective.
• Strong problem solving skills. Identifies problems, and reviews related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Demonstrates adaptability to new working environments, processes, tasks and systems.
• Demonstrates leadership capacity and is eager to grow as a leader in their work and community.
• Demonstrates creativity and curiosity to develop new approaches to communicating ideas to clients.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Passion for the mission of Digital NEST and belief in upholding organization’s core values.
• Understanding of and sensitivity to issues of culture/ethnicity/race, gender, sexual identity, class/SES and immigration status. 
• Ability to be an ally to people of color, women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer, questioning and intersex individuals and their allies (LGBTQIA).
• Ability to meet the minimum amount of hours required. 
• In-person participation at one of the Digital NEST sites.
• Ability to  to perform essential job functions (such as extended time at a computer).

We understand that no candidate is perfectly qualified for any job. Experience comes in different forms; many skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. Even more important than your resume is a clear demonstration of dedication, impact, and the ability to thrive in a fluid and collaborative environment. We want you to learn new things in this role and encourage you to apply if your experience is close to what we’re looking for. We also know that diversity of background and thought makes for better problem-solving and more creative thinking, so we're dedicated to adding new perspectives to the team. We look forward to hearing from you.

Digital NEST, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Digital NEST is committed to an inclusive experience for all applicants and will endeavor to make reasonable accommodations in the interview process, to the known physical or mental limitations of qualified employees with disabilities unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of our business.  

Please refer to our career page for more information on how to apply for reasonable accommodations.