Salary: $80,400.00 - $124,600.00 Annually
Location : One Exchange Plaza 219 Fayetteville Street, Raleigh, NC
Job Type: Full-Time
Job Number:
Department: Office Strategy and Innovation
Opening Date: 08/12/2026
Closing Date: 9/2/2026 11:59 PM Eastern
Work Hours: Monday - Friday: 8:30 am - 5:15 pm
Hiring Range: $80,400.00 - $102,500.00

Job Description
Lead Strategy Designer. We embrace the audacious goal of serving as a model for public innovation and achieving the seemingly impossibleOur team leads the Raleigh Impact Lab, a one-of-a-kind municipal government consulting lab that applies human centered design to understand shared needs, barriers to delivery, and opportunities for improvement, with goal to design policies and services that work for people. Join our team and have the unique opportunity to catalyze public sector innovation, government transformation, and civic/public/private collaboration.
The Lead Strategy Designer will be part of a team responsible for deploying design-based innovation approaches to lead organization-wide innovation efforts and catalyze our renowned innovation ecosystem. Working closely with the Strategy & Innovation Manager, the Strategy & Innovation Officer, and other senior leadership, the Lead Strategy Designer will play a critical role in developing the Raleigh Impact Lab, designing and delivering innovation programs, building a team of internal consultants and continuous improvement leaders, and fostering public/private collaboration. We are seeking a team member with a proven background in design methodology who will bring their strong relational, creative, outside-the-box thinking, analytical, and critical thinking skills, along with their passion and persistence for excellence, to contribute to our efforts. A successful Lead Strategy Designer has a demonstrated track record working with diverse stakeholders and will thrive in analyzing underlying business challenges, identifying solutions, developing approaches, working collaboratively, building internal and external partnerships, and getting others excited about what they do. Ideally, they will also have experience in designing and delivering impactful public sector programs or services.
This position actively supports the City Strategic Plan and supports a wide range of staff across all City service areas to benefit our community of 500,000+ residents. This involves applying advanced technical expertise in strategy and innovation to provide strategic guidance, solve complex business challenges, and influence Citywide priorities, including fostering collaboration across departments and ensuring that our policies and projects align with broader objectives such as economic development, sustainability, and the quality of life of residents.
This position reports to the Strategy & Innovation Manager. This position offers teleworking for approximately 20% of the work week.

Duties and Responsibilities

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the major duties and responsibilities performed by employees in this job. Employees may be requested to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.

• Designs and delivers strategy and innovation projects for the Raleigh Impact Lab, a one-of-a-kind municipal government consulting lab that applies human centered design to conduct fieldwork and oversee City/community teams to understand shared needs, barriers to delivery, and opportunities for improvement, with goal to design policies and services that work for people
• Serves as Senior Instructor for the Raleigh Impact Lab, creating and facilitating engaging human-centered design and innovation trainings/ workshops rooted in best practices of instructional design for adult learners
• Establishes and catalyzes feasible, person-centered partnerships with internal and external stakeholders to advance City initiatives
• Manages the City's Impact Partner Grant, including public outreach, processing contracts and administering funds, and coordinating programs/training for Impact Partner Grant awardees
• Guides colleagues through a rigorous innovation process, including research, synthesis and framework development, idea generation, prototyping, and testing, that leads to actionable solutions and measurable outcomes.
• Plans, schedules, and coordinates research-driven service project activities to meet deadlines, including documenting processes, guides, project plans, and case studies
• Leads two (2) Strategic Plan Key Focus Areas, providing leadership and strategic direction that encourage active participation and help groups build consensus or make decisions collectively to advance the City's strategic priorities
• Delivers technical assistance and training to City teams, to help them design creative initiatives to enhance services, tackle city challenges, and apply approaches such as human-centered design, crowdsourcing, and behavioral science to deliver better results for residents
• Prepares reports and presentations for City leadership, staff, community stakeholders so they can make clear decisions that align with evidence and human need
• Serves as a visible participant and persuasive representative for City programs, which may involve non-traditional work hours at times
• Navigates ambiguity and challenges with creative problem-solving, a focus on generating solutions, and grace.
• Stays up to date with trends and apply emerging best practices in civic design, public innovation, and disruptive technologies
• Supervises Interns and contract employees
• Performs other duties as required

Typical Qualifications
Education and Experience:
Bachelor's Degree in Behavioral Science, Design Studies, Psychology, Business Administration, Entrepreneurship, Public Health, Public Administration, Urban Planning, or a related field; 5 to 7 years' experience in advanced teaching and facilitation for adult-learners; application of strategy, innovation, and human centered design methods, tools, and frameworks; or a related field

OR

Any equivalent combination of training and/or experience that provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities may be substituted.
Licenses or Certifications:

• Human Centered Design Certification, Strategic Design Certification, or comparable certification

Preferred Qualifications:

• Graduate Degree in related field
• Licensing and Certifications: Human Centered Design certificates, Equity Certifications, Project Management, LEAN Six Sigma or other related qualifications.
• Demonstrated understanding of and ability to communicate stories about the impact of innovation on the public sector
• A clear understanding of the types of challenges municipal governments typically faces, either through direct experience working in government or in organizations that collaborate closely with governments.
• Demonstrated experience applying qualitative research methods, including interviews, surveys, workshop development, and data analysis.
• Demonstrated experience in working with people from diverse backgrounds and a commitment to engaging with a wide range of residents, subject-matter experts, and partners.
• Demonstrated experience applying equity-centered design frameworks to past projects

Additional Information
Knowledge of:

• Design thinking frameworks and methodologies including empathy mapping, ideation, prototyping, and iterative feedback loops
• Qualitative and quantitative research management, assessment, survey design and analysis, and evaluation methodologies
• Strategic planning principles, methodologies, frameworks, and best practices to guide the development and execution of strategy
• Effectively collaborating with cross-functional teams, integrating inputs from diverse stakeholders, and aligning design efforts with strategic objectives
• Change management principles to ensure successful adoption of new designs, processes, or strategic initiatives within the organization
• High-performance organizational principles.

Skill in:

• Innovation and Creativity, including strong creative problem-solving skills and the ability to generate innovative solutions that align with the strategic goals of organization
• Inspiring and motivating innovative thinking and solutions among diverse staff
• Using and applying an intentional civic design process that includes research, ideation, and delivery with key stakeholders and community members centered in the process
• Using design-based innovation methodologies, including expertise in determining when and how to use specific approaches, frameworks, deliverables, and facilitation methods
• Applying user research techniques, including conducting qualitative and quantitative user research, such as interviews, focus groups, surveys, and usability testing to inform strategic design
• Group facilitation, training, coaching, and advocacy
• Serving as a liaison with cross-department and high-level stakeholders - maximizing the impact of programs, pushing for innovation methodologies that may be unfamiliar, and collaboratively clearing roadblocks
• Organizational transformation and program delivery experience, changing how an organization works to serve stakeholders and delivering results-oriented programs, from design to implementation to storytelling and impact measurement
• Managing collaborative projects with multiple stakeholders and non-line authority
• Advancing collaboration and interpersonal skills; ability to communicate effectively, build consensus and promote the exchange of information among project team members
• Working in and leading teams in a result-driven workplace
• Applying a lens of equity to complex projects and processes
• Strategic thinking across a complex multi-faceted organization
• Excellent content creation and writing skills

Ability to:

• Work with and thrive in a creative and outside-the-box team
• See opportunities, navigate barriers, be self-directed, and problem-solve solutions
• Champion and model the values of OSI: Think Boldly, Work Collaboratively, Empower Others, Foster Impact
• Apply a lens of impact to complex projects and processes
• Work independently, as well as collaboratively as a member of a team
• Get others excited about what they do
• Hone superior organizational skills
• Set priorities and respond quickly as priorities change
• Maintain strong organizational skills to establish constructive and effective working relationships with employees at every level of the organization
• Synthesize complex ideas and communicate them in an understandable way to others, both written and orally
• Manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet tight deadlines

ADA and Other Requirements:Work Environment and Physical Effort:
Sedentary: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally, a negligible amount of force frequently, and/or constantly having to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects, including the human body.

Work Environment:
Work is typically performed in an office or similar indoor environment.

Work Exposures:
Work in this position does not require frequent environmental exposures.
01

Please select your highest level of education completed.

• Some high school
• High school diploma (or GED)
• Some college
• Associate's degree
• Bachelor's degree
• Master's degree
• PhD or other professional degree

02

How much relevant or comparable work experience do you have in this field?

• None
• Less than 1 year
• 1 to less than 2 years
• 2 to less than 3 years
• 3 to less than 4 years
• 4 to less than 5 years
• 5 to less than 6 years
• 6 to less than 7 years
• 7 to less than 8 years
• 8 to less than 9 years
• 9 to less than 10 years
• 10 years or more

03

Have you ever been terminated or forced to resign from a position?

• Yes