Experience Designer

Job Posting Location:

Claremont, CA

Job Posting Title:

Experience Designer

Job Description:

Thank you for your interest in the Rick and Susan Sontag Center for Collaborative Creativity (the Hive). The Hive is an interdisciplinary, intercollegiate creativity and innovation center for students at all seven Claremont Colleges. The Hive’s work is focused on cultivating creative capacity, collaborative skills, and enhancing the educational experience of diverse students.

We especially welcome applications from candidates belonging to groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education, including women, racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQIA people, and people with disabilities.

ABOUT POMONA COLLEGE: Located near Los Angeles, California, Pomona College is widely regarded as one of the nation's premier liberal arts colleges. Established in 1887, Pomona College is known for small classes, a challenging curriculum, close relationships between students and faculty, and a range of student research and leadership opportunities. Pomona is a member of The Claremont Colleges.

JOB PURPOSE

The Experience Designer is an entry-level position at the Hive who works to inspire creative confidence and enhance the creative capacity of students, faculty, staff, and visitors across The Claremont Colleges. Working directly with full time staff of the Hive, the Experience Designer supports the management and maintenance of the Hive space and operations, mentors junior student staff, designs and executes programming events, contributes to a culture of creativity and design, creates a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere for all guests, and promotes the Hive’s mission to the community.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

Qualities of a Successful Experience Designer

• Genuine desire to support and welcome diverse populations at the Hive with patience, good judgment, hospitality, empathy, and helpfulness
• An understanding and interest in design thinking and human-centered design
• Ability to function as a self-starter
• A team/collaborative mindset
• Reliability and commitment to following through on responsibilities
• Clear communicator with a strong attention to detail
• Desire for learning new skills
• Tolerance for ambiguity and complex situations that are often fluid

CORE OPERATIONS AND DUTIES

The Experience Designer role is hands-on, in-person, and highly collaborative. No two days are the same. You will wear many hats and share a number of responsibilities. As an Experience Designer, you will steward:

• AN INCLUSIVE ATMOSPHERE: Welcoming students, faculty, staff, and visitors to the Hive, including conducting tours, and sharing information about resources and programs.
• RELATIONSHIPS + COMMUNITY-BUILDING: Developing relationships and collaborating with students, faculty, and staff of the 7Cs to create new opportunities and programs and connect communities.
• STUDENT STAFF SUPERVISION: Create a bridge between student staff and senior staff to deliver a meaningful user experience and meet Hive goals. This includes effective mentoring and management of student employees; establishing and communicating clear expectations; coaching student staff on tasks, projects, schedules, and timekeeping.
• INSTRUCTOR SUPPORT: Assisting instructors of courses and workshops sponsored by the Hive, including workshop design, technology support, space set-up, and course materials.
• SPACE MANAGEMENT: Monitor, maintain, and improve Hive spaces including assessing equipment needs, supplies, and developing procedures and processes for effective operation.
• PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Design, lead, and execute workload for both collaborative and independent projects, including managing timelines, budgets, delegation, and task prioritization.
• FACILITATION: Facilitating activities and select workshops, which may include students, faculty, staff, and community members.
• COMMUNICATION: Effective and timely communication internally and externally, both in person and digitally.

SPECIALIZED OPERATIONS AND DUTIES

The Hive employs 3 Experience Designers who cover a variety of responsibility areas. This year we seek a candidate who can take ownership of the following:

Co-curricular programming

• Co-leading the development of the program of events each semester with Hive staff and event facilitators, including program curation, managing communications with partners, and logistical coordination.
• Designing and creating digital and physical programming calendar and event flyers for display, posting, and distribution.
• Communicate with event facilitators and Communications team to execute effective outreach.
• Lead the planning and execution of at least 2 program events per semester.

Customer Relationship Management Maintenance

• Support the ongoing maintenance of the program’s customer relationship management (CRM) system to track students, partners, alumni, and project outcomes.
• Ensure data quality through regular audits, updates, and documentation of CRM processes.
• Generate reports and dashboards to inform strategic planning, partnership development, and student engagement.
• Train staff and student workers on CRM use and best practices.

Curriculum Research & Pathway Development

• Conduct research, comparative analysis, and stakeholder interviews to inform the design of human-centered design and social innovation curricular pathways at the 5Cs.
• Support the development of new academic offerings, including a certificate program and potential major/minor structures for The Claremont Colleges.

Operations and space management

• Co-coordinating and co-staffing adequate coverage of common spaces to welcome and assist guests.
• Maintaining and resetting making spaces, classrooms, and meeting spaces, including the overall care, safety, and appearance of the Hive for workshops, classes, and activities.
• Maintaining, organizing, and restocking of making spaces, prototyping carts, and classroom materials and supplies.
• Leading and supervising student staff to manage spaces, workshops, and ensure a valuable experience for all users at the Hive.
• Supporting in the maintenance, repair, organization, and resetting of classrooms, prototyping carts, makerspaces, study/lounge areas, and supplies.

ADDITIONAL REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

• Familiarity with the hive, its mission, and what it offers The Claremont Colleges.
• Demonstrated knowledge leading teams and teaching in group settings.

• Use appropriate organizational and time management skills to prioritize and perform multiple projects and tasks, meet deadlines and timelines, respond to others in a timely manner with a high standard of accuracy, attention to detail, and ethics.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (especially Word and Outlook email and calendar), AirTable, Adobe Creative Suite, Slack, Mailchimp, and Zoom. HTML knowledge a plus.
• Be proactive about creating and developing new projects, as well as building new relationships across campuses and the wider community.
• Highly desired: Strong experience in human-centered design or design thinking, either through coursework or personal experience.
• Preferred: Expertise in one or more of making skills, such as audio + video recording, website building + coding, sewing, building with a variety of tools/materials, or printmaking, among others.

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree and recent graduate

COMMITMENT

• Two-year position that actively onboards the future members of the Experience Designer (formerly Post-Bac) program

HOURS & JOB REQUIREMENTS

This is an in-person, full-time position with 40 hours per week, 5 days per week. Working hours are between 9a-9p (Hive open hours) and will be agreed upon with manager. Occasional overtime, holiday, weekend, and evening work hours are required.

• Regularly communicates with students and other guests who have inquiries about our organization and space. Must be able to share accurate information.

PHYSICAL CLASS:  This position frequently involves remaining in a stationary position for extended periods while operating a computer and other office equipment. The individual must be able to move occasionally within the office to access files, office machinery, and other resources. Frequent use of hands and fingers is required for keyboarding and handling documents. The role also requires close visual acuity for tasks such as preparing and analyzing data, viewing a computer screen, and reading printed materials. Light lifting of up to 20–25 pounds may be necessary. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. 

HOURLY RATE: The hourly rate for this role is $25.75 per hour with a competitive benefits package. The specific factors that the College will consider when offering a salary to an individual will include, but not be limited to: education, training, relevant prior experience, and performance in prior roles. All staff positions are ineligible for visa or permanent resident card sponsorship. As a California employer, Pomona College requires all employees to be residents of California.

TO APPLY:

Please submit 1) cover letter, 2) resume, and 3) portfolio/work samples by January 21, 2025. Portfolio/work samples can be submitted in PDF, Word, or web link format, and may include design, art, making, event production, or facilitation materials. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. We encourage individuals to apply and lead with their strengths even if their experience does not fulfill every element in this job description.

ADA/OSHA: This job description defines the essential job duties of this position. The College expects that employees hired for this position can perform the essential functions of this job without imposing risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of themselves or others. It may also include marginal functions, generally defined within Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

DISCLAIMER: This job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this position. When duties and responsibilities change and develop, the College will review this job description and make changes of business necessity.