Director of User Experience and Web Design

POSITION OBJECTIVE

The Director of User Experience and Web Design leads the implementation of user-centered digital experiences for Case Western Reserve University’s web presence. This leadership role is pivotal in shaping a cohesive, accessible, and engaging user journey across all university websites, with a primary focus on ensuring that digital touchpoints reflect the institution's brand, support enrollment efforts, and enhance institutional storytelling. Reporting to the Assistant Vice President Web and Enrollment Marketing, the director will oversee a team of approximately four UX and website marketing professionals.

The incumbent will foster a collaborative and data-informed culture that prioritizes audience needs, continuous improvement, and innovation. By mentoring team members and aligning UX efforts with broader institutional goals, the director will ensure that the university's digital platforms evolve in step with user expectations and advancements. In this cross-functional role, the director will work closely with internal stakeholders to define project goals, gather input, and translate user needs into compelling digital solutions.

The director will also partner with development teams to execute projects that require specialized expertise or advanced functionality within the university's content management system. Working closely with the assistant vice president, the director will define, create, and oversee the university's comprehensive web design system, ensuring visual consistency, brand alignment, and the integration of user behavior insights. This role leads the creation of visually compelling, accessible, and responsive designs that advance the university’s top strategic priorities and engage key audiences across digital platforms.

As part of this work, the director will implement a website measurement plan to track performance, evaluate user engagement, and inform ongoing design and content improvements.

• Lead the execution of cohesive, intuitive, and accessible digital experiences that reflect Case Western Reserve University’s brand and strategic priorities. Champion a user-centered approach to the university's digital presence, ensuring all websites effectively support the needs of prospective and current students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other key audiences. Collaborate with campus partners and vendors to align user experience goals with institutional messaging, enrollment strategies, and academic communications.
  
  (25%)
• Lead a program of ongoing user research and usability testing to inform design decisions and digital strategy such as task analysis, surveys, stakeholder interviews, user journey mapping, card sorting, and A/B testing. Analyze behavioral data, heatmaps, and analytics to evaluate design effectiveness and guide continuous improvement. Collaborate with web development and content strategy teams to iterate based on insights. (15%)
• Under the direction of the assistant vice president, define, create and oversee the university's web design system, including components and design tokens ensuring visual consistency and integrating user behavior insights. Lead the creation of visually compelling designs that support the university's top strategic priorities ensuring digital experiences are accessible, responsive, and aligned with university brand standards. Develop targeted designs for top-tier strategic initiatives, such as the top-level of the university's website, that drive measurable engagement across key audiences.
  
  Oversee the production of wireframes, mockups, prototypes, and final UI designs. Oversee the university's web design system with reusable components, ensuring visual consistency and integrating user behavior insights. (25%)
• Work with directors and leaders to execute a website measurement plan, ensuring it aligns with institutional priorities and user needs identifying meaningful metrics, establish benchmarks, and implement processes for ongoing performance monitoring across the Case Western Reserve website. Track, analyze, and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) related to user engagement, accessibility compliance and user satisfaction. (10%)
• Supervise and mentor three to four UX/web team members and provide leadership that promotes staff development, innovation, and a collaborative, user-first culture. Align SEO efforts with broader UX and content goals, and ensure timely, high-quality deliverables. (15%)
• Lead governance efforts to ensure consistency, accessibility and usability across university websites. Oversee training programs and documentation for the Drupal content management system (CMS), and digital accessibility tools like Siteimprove. Develop scalable support models to empower campus web editors and maintain high-quality, user-focused websites. (10%)

Perform other duties as assigned. (