ABOUT MELD STUDIOS

Meld Studios is a friendly, values-driven design studio with a team of ~30 people spread across NSW, VIC, ACT and WA. We partner with organisations and the people they serve to navigate complexity and change, contributing to equitable, sustainable and just futures.

You can read about some of our award-winning projects here: meldstudios.com.au/about-2/public-recognition-of-our-work.

We are committed to creating a diverse, culturally and psychologically safe workplace. We have a Diversity & Belonging Commitment we are dedicated to; we have a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) we are dedicated to; and as part of our renovation work we are developing a Meld Culture Code that will embed our values and advocacy in action.

We encourage applications from people who could bring diverse perspectives and lived experience to our team, bringing more diversity of thought and experience to our ways of thinking and working in addition to the core capabilities that we're after.

We encourage applications from people who:

• Are from all sorts of professional and cultural backgrounds
• Identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
• Identify as LGBTIQA+
• Are impacted by some form of disability, yourself or as a carer
• Are new to Australia (and have a work visa)
• Are multilingual, and/or do not speak English as a first language
• Are returning to work after a period of unemployment
• Do not have formal qualifications while having applicable previous experience.

WHY WE NEED THIS ROLE

We know from 12 years in the market that March to June/July is a peak time for projects, so we actively nurture a Meld Associate Network to scale our team up during this time.

We’re looking for more Senior Service Designers to join this network.

We have 2-3 positions available in March so we’re looking for several people with availability from then.

These positions will be fixed-term contracts for the duration of a specific project. Current projects are around 10 weeks.

We are not hiring for permanent positions at the moment.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Our expectations for Senior Service Designers are mapped out in our Skills Matrix (hubs.ly/Q014xtp_0). Please submit a marked up version of this matrix as part of your application, showing where your capability and experience lands. We use this to determine day rates, as we pay a standard rate for each level of capability.

This is our ‘mid level’ practitioner role, between Designer and Principal Designer level. In summary:

• Designers are learning and building hands-on service design experience through projects
• Seniors have mastered the core skills of service design and are now confident leading, or are building confidence leading, most aspects of a service design project
• Principal Designers are confident in shaping complex programs of work, navigating difficult relationships & situations, and leading all aspects of a service design project.

Core skills and responsibilities for Senior Service Designers include:

• Coordinate day-to-day client interaction and team momentum
• Ensure we have a great team kick off, and keep checking in throughout
• Plan and conduct qualitative research (discovery and testing)
• Analyse and synthesise findings into key insights
• Prepare and co-present client presentations
• Design and co-facilitate workshops (online and in person) to generate and evolve ideas into concepts that can be communicated & tested
• Excellent verbal and written communication. Competent visual communication. Visual design skills are a bonus, but not essential.
• Bring everyone on the journey
• Ensure we deliver the right level of value to the client, in a way that is sustainable for Meldster wellbeing and business viability.

On most occasions you’ll work with a team of 2-4 other Meldsters and/or Meld Associates, as we know more value comes from people working together. Sometimes we require Seniors to work directly with the client team with a little support from a Meld Principal Designer — let’s discuss if this is an acceptable option for you.

Based on the range projects coming up, experience in one or more of the following areas is required:

• Environmental outcomes: emissions, energy usage and efficiency
• Built environment; e.g. infrastructure, construction, architecture, property management
• State and federal government ways of working
• Working inside large scale commercial organisations with multi-channel services that need renovation or wholesale change
• Engagement with vulnerable cohorts and remote communities
• Research and co-design to inform digital tools, CX strategy, and organisational transformation.

In your application, please mention the areas that you have experience in.

ABOUT YOU

This role would be great for someone who:

• Has many service design projects under their belt
• Has lead research, workshops, analysis and synthesis, and/or client presentations
• Can self-direct, multi-task, collaborate when needed, work alone when needed and meet deadlines
• Is a great listener, communicator and problem solver
• Has a growth mindset and ‘can do’ attitude
• Brings energy and positivity to team culture
• Can build rapport, and repair it when damaged.

HOURS

Flexibility for this role to be 4-5 days per week, depending on the project. Core hours are 9am and 5pm AEST (unless the client and majority of the Meld team is based in a different time zone, e.g. WA). That said, we do support flexible working so let's discuss.

CONTRACT TYPE

Fixed-term contracts based on project duration. Starting March 2022. Current projects are ~10 weeks. We are not hiring for permanent positions at the moment.

LOCATION

We support hybrid ways of working so you can be anywhere in Australia.

Currently, our biggest team and physical studio is in Sydney. However, we are growing our Canberra, Perth and Melbourne teams so you can join Meldsters for in-person working in any of these locations.

PAY

Our current Senior Service Designer rates range from $700 - $900 per day, including superannuation which we are obliged to pay on your behalf. We will use our Skills Matrix to determine your day rate, as we pay a standard rate for each level of capability.

EQUIPMENT

You provide your own computer and home office set up. We can provide additional equipment at our studio, and will provide access to all software. We use Apple computers, Google Suite, Slack, Miro, Figma, and Zoom. Please let us know if any of this is a barrier to you applying for this role.

WORK CLOSELY WITH

You’ll work with a range of Meldsters, to be determined based on the project. You can see our permanent team here: www.meldstudios.com.au/about. We also have ~6 other Associates currently on board. In addition to working with your project team, we also have a Monday morning check in (practical), Friday arvo check out (fun), fortnightly lunch & learns, and local team events that we encourage you to be part of.

How to Apply

Please submit a marked up version of our Skills Matrix as part of your application, showing where your capability and experience lands. We use this to determine day rates, as we pay a standard rate for each level of capability. You can download our Skills Matrix from here: hubs.ly/Q014xtp_0

Also highlight your areas of experience based on that second list under Responsibilities.

For questions, ask via the Apply Now button or email [email protected], using the subject line: Senior Service Designer - Remote / Work from Home enquiry via EthicalJobs.