Director of Design Anthropology,
- Job Type
- Full Time
- Job Level
- Senior
- Location
- Toronto, ON
- Impact Area
- Economic Development
- Impact Category
- Social Good
- Company Type
- Nonprofit
About this position
About MaRS Solutions Lab
MaRS Solutions Lab is the public and social innovation lab for MaRS Discovery District, the world’s largest urban innovation hub. Our core focus is on inclusive urban innovation. Today, the most innovative global cities are also among the most unequal. We believe that Toronto can be a model city for tomorrow: tolerant, equitable, innovative, and prosperous.
To realize this vision, MaRS Solutions Lab convenes changemakers across organizations and sectors to generate breakthrough innovations for our most important and complex urban challenges. We steward diverse groups through the full innovation arc, from challenge discovery, to co-design and prototyping, to spreading and scaling solutions. We are most influenced by the practices of design, ethnography, systems change, public and social innovation, and business model innovation, and also draw on many other change-oriented toolkits.
About your Role
As Director of Design Anthropology, you will lead Solutions Lab’s design ethnography practice. Ethnographic research is a vital component in every Solutions Lab project. You will oversee all primary research plans, and you will lead major lab projects through the full innovation arc as described above. You will contribute vision and leadership, building world-class qualitative and quantitative research capabilities that provide a strategic advantage for Solutions Lab in order for us to achieve maximum impact. You will also drive business development efforts and manage major account relationships in support of Solution Lab’s mission.
The challenges MaRS Solutions Lab is currently working on include procurement innovation, youth employment, urban wellness, and low-carbon inclusive cities. You will be responsible for managing multidisciplinary teams that work alongside and build capacity among our partners, clients and stakeholders to understand these challenges from different perspectives and drive systems-level change. You will lead engagements that support diverse stakeholders to co-create, prototype and scale solutions.
In this position, you are a champion of design anthropology. You have extreme empathy and curiosity for people. You have an impressive track record on delivering real-world impact. You are armed with an extensive innovation toolkit and create your own tools for novel situations and challenges. You relish leading, mentoring and managing people. You are highly skilled at business development and client relationship management. You are driven to create social impact at the city scale with global relevance.
Your responsibilities:
- Lead, offer oversight and advice for Solutions Lab’s field research, including research ethics, research methodology, participant recruitment, tool development, data collection and management, quantitative and qualitative data analysis, reporting and dissemination, testing and evaluation of field prototypes, and communication with internal project teams and external partners
- Lead innovation lab projects, from designing the lab container and process, to field research, to facilitating multi-day co-design workshops, to low- and medium-fidelity prototyping, to scaling solutions through policy, market, and social change in iterative processes
- Manage and develop Solutions Lab staff, challenging them to reach their full potential
- Develop, document, publish and present next practices for design anthropology
- Contribute to the development of the future MaRS digital platform through deep insights into the user journeys for entrepreneurs, corporate early adopters, venture capital, and venture talent
- Promote the adoption of design ethnography across MaRS by collaborating with, coaching and mentoring MaRSians across all teams
- Perform business development activities to generate qualified deal flow, shape and respond to RFPs, and win major new projects
Qualifications and Experience
- 10+ years of experience in innovation-oriented projects using design, systems change, and social innovation approaches, preferably in a corporate, management consulting, startup, social venture or policy environment
- 5+ years of experience leading and managing cross-functional project teams comprised of colleagues, clients, and partners
- Masters degree in anthropology, design, behavioral science, human factors, human-computer interaction, cognitive science, psychology, design strategy or related field
- Published in your field and recognized as a thought leader
- Significant experience in implementing a wide variety of research methods (e.g. rapid ethnography, contextual inquiry, focus groups, surveys, concept testing, usability validation, experimentation) and working with research suppliers
- Track record of discovering, synthesizing, and socializing actionable insights that have influenced decisions with deep and lasting impact
- Experience conducting prototype testing, usability and user experience testing, and feasibility testing with clients
- Experience in leading, designing and conducting evaluation and impact assessments
- Confident public speaker, excellent group facilitator, and an ability to persuade executive clients and decision makers
- Extensive professional network across multiple disciplines and sectors
- Experience in leading and developing junior and mid-level staff
- Excellent communication (written and oral) in English. At least one other language preferred; French is an advantage
Internal contacts
The ability to work collaboratively with colleagues across MaRS is a critical aspect of this role in particular:
Directors and Managers across most MaRS business units (especially MaRS Data Catalyst)
Corporate Development & Partnerships Team
Communications Team
External Contacts
MaRS Solutions Lab external clients and stakeholders across all sectors ranging from executive leaders to frontline staff and citizens, including marginalized people.
Working Conditions
General office environment with operating business hours of 8:30am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday. Some work outside of regular business hours is expected to support time-critical projects and events. Time off in lieu will be provided.
About us
Based in Toronto’s Discovery District, MaRS is the world’s largest urban innovation hub.
Focusing on four key sectors – health, energy & environment, finance & commerce and work & learning – MaRS supports more than 1,000 ventures that are striving to make the world a better place. MaRS provides these ventures with expert advice, and connects them to capital, talent and new markets to accelerate their growth and scale up their impact.
MaRS is also home to cutting-edge research institutes advancing knowledge in areas like healthcare and artificial intelligence, as well as the Canadian offices for several globally leading tech companies like Facebook, PayPal, Autodesk and Airbnb.
Our Impact
MaRS supports scaling ventures that create jobs, increase prosperity and help tackle important societal issues like climate change or rising healthcare costs.
MaRS has also been instrumental in growing Canada’s market for socially conscious investments through its Centre for Impact Investing and SVX online investing platform.
On the capital side, MaRS manages a fund (MaRS Catalyst Fund) that invests in companies creating positive social or environmental change, and also manages the StandUp Ventures fund, which invests in women-led tech startups.
What it's like to work here
The MaRS Centre is a vibrant, architecturally inspiring innovation hub. It draws 6,000 researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs to work each day at a diverse, curated tenant mix of startups, scaleups and multinational high-tech companies in the building.
MaRS itself is a lean organization with a flat management structure. Dedicated to supporting startups, the culture is entrepreneurial and employees are encouraged to find unique solutions to problems. Teams tend to be small and responsible for the full lifecycle of a project, from ideation and design to development and rollout.
MaRS employees enjoy extras, such as:
i. Access to a wide range of tech industry events that take place in the MaRS Centre, such as the MaRS Mornings entrepreneur talks.
ii. An active social committee that organizes regular events, “serendipity coffees” to meet members of other teams, a summer games tournament, team-building outings and summer golf day.
iii. MaRS softball team, free weekly yoga in the atrium, and discounted gym memberships
iv. Indoor bike parking and showers
Career Growth Opportunities
Career growth at MaRS is fostered by the breadth of experiences and educational opportunities available to employees, as well as exposure to startups, entrepreneurs and diverse networks. Personal development opportunities set the foundation for a successful career within and beyond the organization.
For employees at an earlier stage in their career, the innovation ecosystem and entrepreneurial environment offer opportunities to develop expertise in some of the most important sectors of the economy.
What We Look For When Hiring
MaRS seeks candidates who have an entrepreneurial spirit, who are collaborative and team-oriented and share a passion for innovation and MaRS’ mission.
Candidates should be motivated by the prospect of continuous learning, improving their skills and being given the responsibility to manage projects and find novel solutions to problems.
MaRS looks for people whose unique personal experiences and background can add to its culture of innovation.
Application instructions
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