UX Designer at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Duties and Responsibilities

• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action.
• In 2022, the UN Environment Assembly mandated UNEP to develop a new subprogramme on Digital Transformation. The vision of the Digital Transformation subprogramme is to harness technological advancements to enhance UNEP’s capability to respond to the needs of member states in an agile manner as they undertake action to tackle the triple planetary crises of climate change, nature loss and pollution. It realizes a problem-based, user-centric approach to enable the design and development of digital products and services by pursuing three strategic intervention actions as outlined in the MTS 2022-2025.
• As part of Strategic Intervention 3, UNEP is now seeking to develop internal capacity to develop use cases on the application of environmental data at the national level. These use cases will guide UNEP to develop new digital products and services that are fit for purpose to the specific needs of member states and specific user groups. To achieve this goal, UNEP is recruiting a consultant with expertise in UX design based on human-centered design principles to identify use cases, develop user journeys and deliver click-through demos for end user validation. The consultant will report to the Chief Digital Officer and work within the Digital Transformation Team, collaborating with different stakeholders across and outside UNEP.
• Task 1: As part of the Digital Transformation Team, assess input from consultations with end users based on human-centered design processes, to validate use cases on the application of environmental data to drive specific policy decisions at the global, national or local level. Ensure that the defined use cases are feasible, viable, desirable, and sustainable for the organization and end-users. Ensure that the use cases can be effectively communicated and implemented by the organization.
• Task 2: Create a user journey for the use case based on quick profiles and journey maps that depict the needs and behavior of the target audience. Support testing and validation of the journey with a select group of potential users.
• Task 3: Support the Digital Transformation Team in performing an expert review / heuristic evaluation on existing platforms, and report on findings and recommendations
• Task 4: Design and implement a mock-up and click-through demo for the use case in an app emulator. Support conducting usability testing and heuristic evaluations to identify user pain points and areas of improvement. Validate and iterate the mock-ups based on user feedback.
• Task 5: Write a product definition for the final app based on the feedback received and final validated demo. Provide recommendations and guidelines to UNEP for the implementation and communication of the developed use cases.

Qualifications/special skills

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, interaction design, human-computer interaction (HCI), graphic design, psychology, or other related fields is required. A master's degree in related fields or advanced certifications, including Certified UX Professional (CUXP) or User Experience Design Professional (UXDP) from recognized organizations like the Nielsen Norman Group, the Interaction Design Foundation, or other industry associations is desirable.
• A minimum of twelve years of experience and proficiency in UX design principles, methodologies, and best practices is required. This includes expertise in user research, information architecture, interaction design, visual design, prototyping, and usability testing.
• Experience in supporting organizations in creating a digital vision, strategy, high level concepts, designs and prototypes based on human-centered design and a detailed understanding of end user needs and requirements is a strong asset.
• Proficiency in relevant design tools such as Sketch, Figma, Adobe XD, or other UX design software, as well as a good understanding of front-end development technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, may be required depending on the job requirements
• A senior UX designer should have a strong portfolio showcasing their previous work, demonstrating their ability to solve complex UX problems, create innovative designs, and deliver exceptional user experiences

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the consultancy, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another UN Language is desirable.