Senior Design Program Manager Ii

Everyone is welcome at Handshake. We know diverse teams build better products and we are committed to creating an inclusive culture built on a foundation of respect for all individuals. We strongly encourage candidates from non-traditional backgrounds, historically marginalized or underrepresented groups to apply.

Design at Handshake

At Handshake we create opportunities for all students and recent graduates to have equal access to meaningful jobs and internships, and we believe design plays a crucial role in the pursuit of this mission. Under the umbrella of our Chief Design Officer, we are a unified team of product designers, content designers, user experience researchers, brand designers, and design ops folks, all working collaboratively to help students, employers, and career centers.

We take a student-first approach to how we design and build products, and we strive to deeply understand our users and their true goals. We believe that great products and experiences are made great by the combination of how they work and how they look. One without the other is not enough, and while we're not perfect, we strive to excel in both and are committed to going the extra mile.

Great products are built by teams — and teams are built by people who communicate and collaborate well. A culture of openness, honesty, and the ability to provide and receive constructive feedback is important to us.

We also believe that great teams are inclusive. Being surrounded by a diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives brings out the best in everyone, and leads to higher quality products and experiences.

Your impact

We’re looking for an individual to join our growing Design Operations team. Reporting to the Director of Design Operations, you’ll play a key role in creating, evolving, and managing the programs we use to build, grow, and scale the Design org at Handshake.

Your Work Will Have Impact Across Three Pillars

A Senior Design Program Manager recognizes that how a design team functions is just as important as what a design team makes.

• Business operations — run point on the processes and activities that support the day-to-day operations of the team, from resourcing/staffing projects, to OKR planning and reporting, including managing relationships with internal stakeholders as well as outside agencies, vendors, and contractors.
• People operations — effectively communicate with the team through our Slack channels, in meetings, and other touch points, and play a key role in maintaining documentation that ensures fair and equal evaluation across teams and managers.
• Creative operations — help us implement the perfect process for how ideas become reality and how Design impacts the projects it works on, as well as ensuring Design leadership has the right level of visibility on projects as they go through key milestones.

In short: Handshake and the Design org are scaling rapidly, and we’re looking for someone to help us roll-out & project manage strategic programs and initiatives effectively and efficiently, while maintaining a high quality of output across the team.

Your role

• Prepare communications and presentations for internal audiences, such as all-hands meetings and status updates, to ensure cross-functional alignment.
• Participate in monthly & quarterly business reviews and recurring planning processes for the Design org and the initiatives that we support.
• Own internal administrative functions specific to the Design team such as contractor & new hire onboarding tasks; bring consistency to team celebrations and rituals; and help to plan team offsites.
• Work with Design leadership on the roll-out of strategic initiatives pertaining to organizational design, talent development, resourcing strategies, and process improvement that will help us scale and operate effectively.
• Project manage select design/design-related projects as determined by the leadership team.
• Partner with Design, Product, and Marketing leads to develop project plans, set goals for the team, track progress, allocate resources, and improve overall efficiency and impact.
• This is an individual contributor role on the Design Ops team that will be responsible for the co-creation and day-to-day implementation of foundational documentation and process. While a lot of your work will be strategic, this is not a strategy-only role. An action-oriented, roll-up-your-sleeves attitude is a must!

Your Experience

• Strong analytical skills and the ability to establish and maintain project and program tools (such as JIRA, Google Sheets, Figma workspaces, and the like).
• Exceptionally organized. High-level thinker, but also detail-oriented when executing on projects. Experience planning and leading strategic initiatives and overseeing project controls.
• A good listener with excellent written and verbal communication skills, who has the ability to represent complex concepts to stakeholders outside of the Design team and hold them accountable for their part. Experienced in communicating across multiple teams and departments, with individuals at all levels of the organization.
• A minimum of six years of experience in a similar role at a high-volume and deadline-driven design firm, agency, or product company.
• Familiarity with UX Research operations preferred, but not required
• Experience with Brand design production and stakeholder management is necessary for this role

Compensation Range

• $138,000-$165,000

For cash compensation, we set standard ranges for all U.S.-based roles based on function, level, and geographic location, benchmarked against similar stage growth companies. In order to be compliant with local legislation, as well as to provide greater transparency to candidates, we share salary ranges on all job postings regardless of desired hiring location. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors, including geographic location as well as candidate experience and expertise, and may vary from the amounts listed above.

About Us

Handshake is the #1 place to launch a career with no connections, experience, or luck required. The platform connects up-and-coming talent with 750,000+ employers - from Fortune 500 companies like Google, Nike, and Target to thousands of public school districts, healthcare systems, and nonprofits. In 2022 we announced our $200M Series F funding round. This Series F fundraise and valuation of $3.5B will fuel Handshake’s next phase of growth and propel our mission to help more people start, restart, and jumpstart their careers.

When it comes to our workforce strategy, we’ve thought deeply about how work-life should look here at Handshake. With our Hub-Based Remote Working strategy, employees can enjoy the flexibility of remote work, whilst ensuring collaboration and team experiences in a shared space remains possible. Handshake is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Denver, New York, London, and Berlin and teammates working globally.

Check out our careers site to find a hub near you!

What we offer

Benefits below apply to employees in full-time positions.

At Handshake, we'll give you the tools to feel healthy, happy and secure.

• 🍼 16 Weeks of paid parental leave for birth giving parents & 10 weeks of paid parental leave for non-birth giving parents.
• 💝 Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision policies including LGTBQ+ Coverage. We also provide resources for Mental Health Assistance, Employee Assistance Programs and counseling support.
• 💰 Equity and ownership in a fast-growing company.
• 💻 Handshake offers $500/£360 home office stipend for you to spend during your first 3 months to create a productive and comfortable workspace at home.
• 📚 Generous learning & development opportunities and an annual $2,000/£1,500 stipend for you to grow your skills and career.

(US Handshakers)

• 🏝 All full-time US-based Handshakers are eligible for our flexible time off policy to get out and see the world. In addition, we offer 8 standardized holidays, and 2 additional days of flexible holiday time off. Lastly, we have a Winter #ShakeBreak, a one-week period of Collective Time Off.
• 🏦 401k Match: Handshake offers a dollar-for-dollar match on 1% of deferred salary, up to a maximum of $1,200 per year.

(UK Handshakers)

• 🏝 Up to 25 days of vacation to encourage people to reset, recharge, and refresh, in addition to 8 bank holidays throughout the year.
• 🏦 Pension Scheme: Handshake will provide you with a workplace pension, where you will make contributions based on 5% of your salary. Handshake will pay the equivalent of 3% towards your pension plan, subject to qualifying earnings limits.

For roles based in Berlin, Poland, and Romania: Please ask your recruiter about region specific benefits.

Looking for more? Explore our mission, values and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.