Design Apprenticeship Period: 9 months, from September/October 2013 Salary: 18K We are the innovation unit for public services. As a not-for-profit social enterprise we're committed to using the power of innovation to solve social challenges. We have a strong track record of supporting leaders and organisations delivering public services to see and do things differently. They come to us with a problem and we empower them to achieve radically different solutions that offer better outcomes for lower costs. We are interested in recruiting a design trainee to help us to produce design solutions to communicate client messages with high visual impact but also to support our service design work. Service design skills and strong visual communications will be required for the duration of the internship, to support the development of services and products such as publications, models, presentations etc. As a design trainee, you will mainly be supporting the Innovation Unit s design team on a number of internal tasks and external projects. While we will aim at involving you at all stages of the projects you will be contributing to, there are times where ad-hoc tasks will also be required by various members of the team. You will be linemanaged by a member of the design team. Your duties will include: Service Design and research Workshop planning and co-facilitation Contributing to qualitative research through interviews, observation and workshop facilitation Desk based research and analysis Recruitment of research participants Participating in ideas generation activities at different stages of a project Providing logistical support to projects, events and meetings, which may include notetaking, booking and liaising with external suppliers, such as venues and printers, and managing materials and publications Communications Design: Supporting the design and production of print or multimedia materials for use in workshops and qualitative research activities (softwares used include Adobe CS, PowerPoint and other MS Office programmes, video and sound editing programmes, such as Premiere and After Effects)
Designing presentations and materials for visits and meetings with clients, or for internal purposes Supporting the service design team in developing its own communications strategy, including designing a portfolio of service design projects and writing or editing content for our website Specialist skills set: Design trainees will be supported to further develop their existing specialist skills sets. In particular we would be looking to support trainees to develop one of the following areas of expertise: Film and photography Web and digital Engagement and participation Supporting the team in producing high quality photographs, short films or animations for internal purposes and for clients. Some of the skills necessary to this include: Filming, editing and producing motion graphics Interviewing and documentary-like filming techniques Constructing narratives and storyboarding Photography Providing advice and support to project teams, clients and the communications team on website development and online tools. Skills and experiences necessary would include: Website design and software development Web literacy with a wide range of online tools and platforms for innovative practice Helping to design and facilitate engagement with particular groups, such as children and young people, people with disabilities or professional communities of practice. Skills and experiences that would be necessary include: Engagement planning Group facilitation and psychodynamics Teaching and coaching Performance Learning: Communicating with the rest of the team about your own learning objectives, and providing regular updates about your progress with your line manager throughout the traineeship Attending talks and events related to service design and social innovation Contributing content to our blog and tweeting regularly To make sure that your line-manager and the rest of the team can support you as best as they can, you will also be expected to: Manage and update an individual outlook diary Give effective feedback on workload and capacity
Person Specification Qualifications 1. Design degree (graphic, product, or equivalent professional qualification) Essential Desirabl e Experience 2. Experience working in design, producing materials in a range of formats to suit audience needs, either in a company or freelance 3. Flair for working creatively, improvising and breaking moulds within corporate identity guidelines. 4. Ability to communicate clearly and present design concepts to stakeholders 5. In-depth knowledge of pre-press and print production. 6. Interest and experience of working creatively in public, civic or social spheres Specific technical/professional skills & experience 7. High standard portfolio, showing wide-ranging creative solutions and attention to detail. 8. Proven ability (through portfolio and/or qualification) using Adobe CS (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere, AE) 9. Good knowledge of Microsoft Office. 10. Exceptional creative abilities (typographical/page layout). 11. Knowledge of web design and development and broad fluency with online tools and platforms 12. Free hand illustration skills. 13. Animation. 14. Photography. 15. Video filming and editing.
Specific managerial skills 16. Ability to work to tight deadlines and keep within budgets. 17. Ability to work creatively in a busy environment on several projects simultaneously. 18. Briefing, commissioning and managing freelance designers, photographers and printers. 19. Strong organisational skills. General 20. An interesting in social innovation 21. Responsible, pro-active and motivated. 22. Meticulous, with attention to details. 23. Good administrative and communication skills. 24. Good time management skills. 25. Ability to cope under pressure. 26. Cheerful and enthusiastic. 27. Good team player. To apply please send your CV, portfolio, covering letter and one of the following: A one minute video or animation about innovation in the context of a public service or social issue A visual description (a one-pager or a few slides) that demonstrate your thought process in tackling a social design challenge. We are less concerned about the quality of your ideas, and more in the processes and activities that you would undertake to move from problem to solution. Please send these to: Fan Sissoko fan.sissoko@innovationunit.org Innovation Unit - CAN Mezzanine
49-51 East Road London N1 6AH