Associate Director of Product Design

City of New York•New York City, NY

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Campaign Finance Board (CFB) is a nonpartisan, independent city agency dedicated to making local democracy more open, transparent, and equitable by empowering New Yorkers' participation in elections. Our mission is achieved through initiatives like NYC Votes, which provides election information and voting assistance, the citywide Voter Guide, a public matching funds program to support candidates, and by increasing transparency in campaign finance. The Strategy, Products, and Innovation division is a new division focused on strategic planning, policy work, and the agency's product roadmap for future elections and existing systems. Within this division, the Product Strategy vertical will develop the tech modernization roadmap, prioritize tech projects, and align them with the agency's strategic goals. This vertical plans to build new teams for product management and user experience/service design, alongside reorganizing existing PMO functions. The Associate Director of Product Design is a senior leadership role within the Strategy, Products, and Innovation division. This position is responsible for driving user-centered design across digital products and public-facing services, translating high-level design vision into actionable product experiences that enhance service delivery, accessibility, and public trust. The role involves embedding human-centered design practices into cross-functional teams, ensuring policy requirements are met with intuitive, equitable, and accessible digital solutions. The Associate Director will balance strategic oversight with hands-on design, mentoring designers and collaborating with product and engineering leadership. Success is measured by usability, accessibility, adoption, clarity, and public value, rather than revenue or growth metrics. This position requires NYC residency within 90 days of employment and a minimum of one day per week in the CFB Manhattan office.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in product design, UX/UI, or service design.
5+ years of experience designing complex digital services that serve broad and diverse user populations.
5+ years of experience working with cross-functional teams in agile or iterative environments.
Strong portfolio demonstrating systems thinking, accessibility awareness, and end-to-end product ownership.
Knowledge of accessibility standards (WCAG, Section 508) and inclusive design best practices.
Strong facilitation and communication skills, especially in environments involving policy or regulatory complexity.
Candidates for this role must include a portfolio of their work when applying for this position.
Comprehensive understanding of human-centered design, including user research, interaction design, usability testing, and service design.
Deep knowledge of accessibility standards such as WCAG, Section 508, and ADA considerations.
Familiarity with digital product development lifecycles, specifically agile and iterative delivery practices.
Expertise in design systems, component libraries, and scalable interface patterns.
Understanding of frontend implementation, including responsive design and interaction behaviors.
Solid grounding in inclusive and equity-centered design principles.
Understanding of data-informed design and the use of usability metrics.
Ability to simplify complex processes and policy-driven workflows through high-quality design.
Proficiency in planning and conducting user research and translating findings into actionable improvements.
Skill in defining and tracking design quality metrics, such as usability scores, task completion rates, and accessibility audit pass rates.
Strong skills in leading workshops, stakeholder alignment sessions, and design critiques.
Skill in facilitating co-design sessions with end users, specifically those from underserved or historically excluded communities.
Demonstrated ability to navigate and find "middle ground" when policy-driven requirements conflict with user experience.
Mastery of modern design tools, specifically Figma or comparable platforms.
Strong written and verbal skills, with the ability to present design rationale to non-technical stakeholders.
Proven ability to work across cross-functional teams, including product, engineering, policy, and communications.
Effective mentorship and people management skills, with a focus on developing staff for career growth.
Ability to give and receive constructive feedback professionally.
Strong attention to detail while maintaining a senior-level perspective.
Deep commitment to public service, transparency, and equitable access to government services.
Proven commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, including the leadership of a diverse staff.
Exhibits high levels of passion and energy for the agency’s mission and the work at hand.
A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college including or supplemented by at least twelve-semester credits (or the equivalent of twelve-semester credits) in accounting, auditing, business or public administration, computer science, economics, finance, statistics, graphic design, personnel or human resources administration, user experience design, or a closely related area of study and one year of satisfactory full-time experience in accounting, auditing (including compliance or investigative auditing), business or public administration, business analysis, computer science, database administration, economics, finance, fiscal or economic management or research, statistics, graphic design, personnel or human resources administration, user experience design, or a closely related field; or A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent and five years of experience as described in “1” above; or Education and/or experience equivalent to “1” above.

Nice To Haves

3+ years of managing people.
Previous work in government, civic, or political tech.
Experience building a product design team from scratch.
Experience modernizing legacy products.
Knowledge of content design and plain language principles, particularly as they apply to policy-heavy, civic-facing services.

Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end product design efforts for key digital services and platforms.
Translate policy, operational, and regulatory requirements into simple, intuitive user experiences.
Ensure consistent application of design standards, accessibility requirements, and inclusive design principles.
Oversee user flows, interaction models, wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity design outputs.
Champion user research practices including interviews, usability testing, journey mapping, and accessibility testing.
Ensure all digital products meet accessibility standards (Section 508, WCAG).
Embed inclusive design practices that account for language access, digital literacy, disability access, and device constraints.
Promote scalable, modular design practices across products.
Serve as an advocate for human-centered design within the agency, helping non-design teams understand and adopt iterative, user-focused workflows.
Mentor and coach mid-level and senior designers, providing feedback and growth opportunities while supporting hiring efforts to build a diverse, high-performing design team.
Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and mission-driven team culture.