Data Visualization Designer II (Hybrid) - Provost Office

Washington University in St. Louis

5d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Institutional Effectiveness (IE) team in the Office of the Provost is committed to providing the highest quality university information and support for decision-making, planning, improvement, and reporting needs of our university partners. We are looking for a design professional skilled in telling stories with data who also possesses a strong commitment to collaboration, equity, and excellence. This person is intellectually curious and possesses a commitment to ethically unlocking the value of data. The Data Visualization Designer II will develop a variety of data visualization products, in particular interactive dashboards, along with a suite of other products (e.g., briefs, presentations, and website content). You will work with the IE team and campus interest holders to translate complex datasets into clear and compelling visual stories. The designer will support our analytic team to find the relevant stories and lead the design of the data visualizations to communicate insights. The designer will ensure the IE team translates WashU’s data in meaningful ways that support our many audiences (e.g., academics, senior leaders, board members, staff, the public) to better understand our work. This professional is a committed storyteller, searching for the narrative thread that weaves through complex data sets and will influence how we present information to a broad set of audiences. This position will also play a key role in defining the IE brand, build a set of visualization and design standards, and support IE team members in this work.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or combination of education and/or experience may substitute for minimum education.
• Relevant Experience (4 Years)
• Data Visualization
• Data Visualization Tools
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Excel Macros
• Pivot Tables
• Site Integration

Nice To Haves

• Ability to analyze, summarize, and communicate the message in sophisticated data sets including from academic, financial, operational, or other business sources quickly and effectively.
• Skilled in cleaning, standardizing, filtering, and transforming data to create datasets ready to be analyzed and displayed graphically.
• Knowledgeable in web content management systems (e.g., WordPress).
• Familiarity navigating large data sets/working in a data warehouse environment.
• Excellent critical thinking, data manipulation and analytical skills.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality, handle sensitive data, and a commitment to data security.
• Ability to write SQL queries to retrieve information from a database.
• Experience developing style guides and brand requirements.
• Experience in validating designs through focus groups, usability testing, and A/B testing, leveraging qualitative and quantitative feedback in the creative process.
• Skilled ability to translate academic findings into accessible and engaging designs, dashboards, illustrations, or formatted briefs.
• Experience with implementing accessibility standards, including color contrast, text size, screen reader accessibility, alt text, and others.
• Excellent communication (oral and written), interpersonal skills, and highly organized.
• Strong attention to detail with experience copy-editing a variety of products
• Knowledge of UX/UI design principles and best practices for understanding user needs and creating user-friendly interfaces.
• Strong critical and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to execute tactically, and navigate ambiguity.
• Experience in conducting ideation sessions with project stakeholders and users, translating complex ideas into visualizations even at a rough early stage.
• Confident communicator, able to express your ideas and convey complicated concepts simply.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Excellent attention to detail and time management with an advanced ability to prioritize multiple tasks to plan work to meet deadlines.
• Growth-oriented mindset with a strong desire to learn and stay current on best practices and emerging capabilities to visualize and communicate data.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Software Suite and project management software (e.g., Clickup)
• Digital Design, Including The Use Of Design Programs (Indesign, Illustrator, Canva) (4 Years)
• Data Source Identification And Analysis, Data Extracts, Manipulation, And Compilation (2 Years)
• Dashboard Design And Development Using Business Intelligence Tools For Decision-Making (2 Years)
• A/B Testing
• Accessibility Standards
• Business Intelligence Tools
• Confidential Data Handling
• Copy Editing
• Datasets
• Digital Designs
• IT Translations
• Oral Communications
• Project Management Software (PMS)
• Qualitative Research
• Quantitative Research
• SQL Query Writing
• Tableau (Software)
• Technical Designs
• Usability Testing
• User Experience (UX)
• User Interfaces (UI)
• Web Content Management System (WCMS)
• WordPress

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute data transformation and dissemination strategy.
• Lead the creation of IE’s dissemination products, including interactive dashboards, presentation decks, pdf reports, and one-pagers, in collaboration with the IE team.
• Use a suite of design and visualization software including Tableau, Excel, PowerPoint, Canva, Illustrator, InDesign.
• Ensure all external products are accessible according to industry standards (WCAG 2.1) for acceptable color contrast, font size, etc., while adhering to the WashU and IE brand guides.
• Carry design projects from start to finish, owning the feedback loop of discovery, ideation, evaluation, and review, to support our effort to make our content more engaging and insightful.
• Conduct quality assurance and review of all data visualizations and website integrations to ensure accuracy, usability, and adherence to branding and style guidelines.
• Conduct simple descriptive analysis as needed for visuals.
• Engage interest holders to understand their needs and inform your data storytelling. Collaborate with them throughout all phases of the process.
• Develop and maintain the brand identity and style guide of the IE team that aligns with the brand guidelines of WashU in St. Louis.
• Train and support the IE team to implement our IE style guide and brand.
• Develop materials (e.g., templates, guides) to build our team’s capacity to execute on this brand independently. Includes design consultation, periodic check-ins, and final review of products. This includes adherence to accessibility standards and research-based visualization best practices.
• Maintain the web presence across the IE portfolio, updating and unifying our presence to ensure a seamless presentation of our brand.
• Stay up to date with the latest trends and advancements in data visualization and design techniques, tools, and technologies.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Up to 22 days of vacation, 10 recognized holidays, and sick time.
• Competitive health insurance packages with priority appointments and lower copays/coinsurance.
• Take advantage of our free Metro transit U-Pass for eligible employees.
• WashU provides eligible employees with a defined contribution (403(b)) Retirement Savings Plan, which combines employee contributions and university contributions starting at 7%.
• Wellness challenges, annual health screenings, mental health resources, mindfulness programs and courses, employee assistance program (EAP), financial resources, access to dietitians, and more!
• We offer 4 weeks of caregiver leave to bond with your new child. Family care resources are also available for your continued childcare needs. Need adult care? We’ve got you covered.
• WashU covers the cost of tuition for you and your family, including dependent undergraduate-level college tuition up to 100% at WashU and 40% elsewhere after seven years with us.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level