Innovation Specialist

UNITED WAY OF METROPOLITAN DALLAS INC•Dallas, TX

About The Position

United Way of Metropolitan Dallas is a social change organization that unites the community to create access and opportunity for all North Texans to thrive. We bring together passionate change-makers alongside corporate, civic and nonprofit partners to drive lasting change and equity in education, income and health—the building blocks of opportunity. And for nearly 100 years, North Texans who share this passion have joined with us to LIVE UNITED. The Innovation Specialist will play a pivotal role in helping nonprofit organizations deepen their impact through the application of human-centered design and user research. As a key member of the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas (UWMD) Social Innovation and Design team, this individual will partner with nonprofits at various stages of innovation—from early idea development to redesigning legacy programs. The Design / UX Researcher will lead qualitative and mixed-method research efforts, surface actionable insights, and co-design programmatic interventions with nonprofit leaders. Projects will be sourced through the Innovation Studio, the Data Capacity Building Initiative, the Social Innovation Accelerator, and the broader Community Impact grants portfolio. The individual will lead the core discovery and design research efforts while collaborating with a flexible mix of talent to deliver high-impact outcomes. These collaborators may include pro bono corporate innovation professionals, graduate design students from SMU’s MADI program, and contracted freelance designers or researchers. While another team member will secure these resources, the Innovation Specialist will be responsible for leading the research process and flexibly integrating contributors into project workflows based on their expertise and availability. This role is ideal for a research professional who is passionate about social impact and applying design thinking in complex, resource-constrained environments.

Requirements

Mission-Focused: Passion for creating real social change that leads to improving lives in our community.
Relationship-Oriented: Able to communicate effectively to develop, grow and sustain productive relationships that advance the mission and support of UWMD.
Results-Driven: Dedicated to delivering on measurable goals; creating, resourcing, scaling, and leveraging strategies and innovations for broad impact. Responsible for measured revenue contribution from existing and new corporate partners.
Meets Highest Ethical Standards: Stewards strong trusting relationships through actions, behaviors, and decisions on behalf of program participants and our donors. Must be transparent and align with organizational goals.
Values a Culture of Collaboration, Inclusion, and Engagement: Committed to participating in cross-functional organization activities that contribute to UWMD’s goal of building and sustaining a high-performance organization and advancing a culture of collaboration and inclusion across the organization.
Deep expertise in human-centered design and qualitative research methods
Strong facilitation skills, especially in co-design, ideation, and prototyping with diverse stakeholders
Excellent storytelling and synthesis skills to communicate research insights and implications
Comfort working with and translating quantitative data in collaboration with analysts
Ability to navigate ambiguity and balance rigor with scrappy execution in low-resource environments
Cultural humility and commitment to equity-centered design practices
1–3+ years of experience conducting design research in nonprofit, public sector, or mission-driven environments
Experience working directly with community-based organizations, ideally in areas related to health, education, or economic mobility
Track record of delivering insights that led to meaningful program or service improvements
Bachelor’s degree in design, social sciences, public policy, or a related field required

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or equivalent training in human-centered design, UX research, or community psychology preferred

Responsibilities

Lead and conduct qualitative research including interviews, journey mapping, and contextual inquiry with program staff, end users, and stakeholders in nonprofit settings.
Facilitate co-design workshops to collaboratively develop, test, and refine program innovations that reflect community needs and insights.
Work closely with nonprofit leaders and program teams to scope and execute design research engagements that align with organizational goals and constraints.
Partner with data analysts and nonprofit teams in the Data Capacity Building Initiative to translate findings into insight-driven design opportunities.
Build design research capacity within partner organizations through coaching, training, and development of tools and templates.
Supports innovation initiatives across the organization including the Innovation Studio, Social Innovation Accelerator, and Community Impact grantees.
Synthesize and communicate research insights clearly to both internal and external audiences using compelling visuals, reports, and presentations.