Project Lead

The Mission:

Dubai Design Lab is an action lab under the Dubai Future Foundation. We harness the power of design and creativity to position Dubai among the world’s most livable cities. We (re)design, prototype, and test policies, strategies, and systems in alignment with Dubai's vision, creating an intersection where individuals and organizations can come together to think creatively, design new ideas, and imagine a better future. By unlocking the power of collaboration and experimentation, the lab aims to drive innovation and support the city's growth and development as a leading global hub.

Overview:

As a Project Lead at Dubai Design Lab, you will be a driving force in bringing human-centered design solutions to life. Leading diverse project teams, you will oversee all aspects of the project lifecycle, from ideation and research to delivery and impact assessment. Your passion for design thinking and your ability to inspire collaboration will ensure the successful execution of projects that address real-world challenges and create positive change.

Role:

1. Project Planning & Scoping: Define clear project objectives, scope, and deliverables, ensuring alignment with client needs and strategic goals.
2. Team & Resource Management: Leverage an ecosystem of designers and creators, managing high-performing project teams, optimizing resource allocation to achieve maximum impact.
3. Budget & Financial Management: Maintain meticulous financial control, accurately forecasting, tracking, and reporting on project budgets.
4. Timeline & Milestone Management: Develop and adhere to realistic project timelines, ensuring timely completion of key milestones and deliverables.
5. Communication & Stakeholder Management: Foster transparent and proactive communication with all stakeholders, keeping them informed and engaged throughout the project lifecycle.
6. Human-Centered Design Leadership: Champion a human-centered approach to design, embedding empathy and user insights into every stage of the process.
7. Research Planning & Execution: Conduct rigorous user research, employing a diverse range of methods to gather deep insights into user needs and behaviors.
8. Synthesis & Storytelling: Synthesize research findings into compelling narratives that inspire innovative design solutions and resonate with stakeholders.
9. Network & Community Building: Cultivate a strong network of design professionals and partners, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing within the design community.
10. Regional and Governmental Understanding: Interest in government operations and identifying areas for change and improvement is favorable.

Responsibilities:

1. Project Scoping (10%): Assisting DDL leadership in scoping projects including selecting the projects, developing the project briefs and associated budgets. Identification of the required capabilities to deliver the projects.
2. Project Management and Delivery (65%): Setting up the project and research plan. Executing the project and research plan, including the delegation of responsibilities to the rest of the project team. Ensuring that the project is delivered up to the quality standards set forth by the Dubai Design Lab leadership. Ensuring proper communication with DFF and DDL leadership including other governmental stakeholders. Working as a core and productive member of the project team along all phases of the project.
3. Collaboration and Integration (15%): Work closely with designers, strategists, and other team members to create cohesive and impactful project work. Participate in workshops and collaborative sessions to foster a culture of innovation and creative problem-solving.
4. Learning and Professional Development (10%): Learn from senior designers and other team members, actively seeking feedback for growth and development. Share knowledge and learnings with the team, contributing to a culture of continuous improvement.

Expected mindsets and behaviors working with us :

1. Future-Oriented and Passionate: Produces unexpected ideas, articulates new ways of working, operates with an entrepreneurial mindset, shows commitment to shaping Dubai’s future, and is passionate about making a difference.
2. Rigor and Accountability: Prioritizes and sequences work effectively, takes responsibility for delivering own work, develops effective plans to achieve goals.
3. Mentoring and Compassion: Makes time to listen to colleagues, provides support to others, shares knowledge and skills openly, collaborates flexibly with others.
4. Questioning and Trying new things: Asks questions to understand challenges and opportunities, shows curiosity about new ideas and approaches, works comfortably in moments of uncertainty, action-oriented.
5. Adaptability and Decisiveness: Adapts to changing plans effectively, shows resilience when working under pressure, sees opportunities in challenges, evaluates problems critically.
6. Connecting and Storytelling: Uses storytelling to communicate ideas and plans, thinks carefully when planning communications, actively seeks to create new working relationships within and across teams, helps others to connect with colleagues.

Relevant Education, Experience and Mindset:

1. Project Management Expertise: Experience in leading projects from developing briefs to final share to relevant stakeholders. Development of project briefs. Managing and mitigating project risks, and ensuring adherence to project budgets.
2. Collaboration: Ability to work well in cross-functional teams to integrate research insights into the design process. Strong collaboration skills, fostering teamwork and innovation.
3. Regional and Governmental Understanding: Basic understanding of the regional/Dubai context is a plus. Interest in government operations and identifying areas for change and improvement is favorable.
4. Continuous Learning: Curiosity about emerging trends in visual communication design and technology. A commitment to lifelong learning and professional growth.
5. Communication Skills: Good visual, written, and verbal communication skills for creating engaging stories within a business context.
6. Mindset: Open-minded and innovative, with a keen interest in problem-solving and creativity. Values collaboration and diverse perspectives to drive impactful solutions. Adaptable and flexible, willing to navigate the challenges and uncertainties of complex projects.