Senior UX Researcher

WHO WE ARE:

ActBlue is a nonprofit that builds tech and infrastructure for Democratic campaigns, progressive-aligned causes, and people trying to make an impact in order to fuel long-term, people-powered change. If you’ve ever given online to a Democrat or progressive organization, chances are you’ve used our powerful online fundraising platform.

We put power in the hands of small-dollar donors and help thousands of groups — from presidential candidates to environmental organizations — build grassroots movements. We envision a democracy where everyone looking to make progressive people-powered change can easily and effectively deploy their resources, energy, and creativity to shape our country and futures. Each and every one of us, from the political activists to the tech innovators to the customer service pros, is fully committed to our mission.

THE OPPORTUNITY: 

As a Senior UX Researcher II, you will lead end-to-end qualitative and quantitative studies across teams to inform UX and Product decisions. This will include designing, conducting, and leading studies as well as delivering actionable insights to the organization. You will work with agency and in concert with our Design, Product Management, Engineering, and Internal teams to ensure our products and services are built with a user-first approach, with a continual  focus on delivering value and seamless experiences to our users. 

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

• Lead planning and strategy for research projects identified by cross-functional teams as well as proactively identify the need for UX research across product spaces. Prioritize, scope, and conduct high-impact research projects that involve stakeholders across teams and that are aligned with and support Product strategy and roadmaps.

• Independently design UX research studies, determining appropriate methodologies for individual studies. Lead the analysis and delivery of studies to provide actionable insights and identify areas of opportunity for the organization. 

• Independently craft reports and share findings with audiences at every level of the organization.  Evangelize what you learn, acting as an advocate for our users as well as for the efficacy of our products and services.

• Actively advocate to implement industry best practices and pull from personal experience to improve the standard of work of the Research team.

• Be a key participant in Design team crits, providing designers with constructive feedback and research-based insights and guidance. Employ a variety of communication styles to support effective collaboration.

• Mentor and possibly manage 1-2 junior researchers.

• Act as an advocate for our user-centered design culture, ensuring we lead with research insights when we define and design products.

• Actively maintain a research roadmap for individual projects, including projects belonging to  researchers you might manage, while ensuring input and visibility across the organization. Actively participate in scoping discussions to bring alignment, focus, and clarity to the work, and proactively raise trade-off and reprioritization conversations when needed. 

WHAT YOU BRING:

• Experience leading projects that guide complex products and product features from conception to launch. 

• Experience leading research projects across teams and with different levels and types of stakeholders throughout an organization. Demonstrated ability to effectively manage different needs and requirements across teams.

• Experience applying a broad spectrum of qualitative and quantitative UX research methodologies, frameworks, and best practices (such as surveys, user interviews, usability testing, JTBD, field studies, etc.) with a demonstrated ability to flex between guerilla and formal methods as needed. 

• Experience using mixed method studies as well as data analysis to uncover user insights. 

• Ability to manage a research budget. Experience determining tooling that balances team and budget needs.

• Effective written and verbal communication skills with a demonstrated ability to deliver unbiased, actionable insights across different levels of the organization. 

• Ability to effectively communicate and collaborate across stakeholder groups to manage timelines and expectations. Skill with building strong relationships across the organization and approaching conflict with curiosity. 

• Dedication to fostering a collaborative and inclusive work environment and not just welcoming, but centering and amplifying, backgrounds and points of view that differ from yours.

• Experience mentoring and/or managing junior research