Web Designer

Position Purpose:

This Web Designer is responsible for improving the Wisconsin Historical Society’s web user interface and design with a focus on marketing and communications initiatives. This person will work closely with the Society’s marketing and information technology teams to properly support, maintain, and create web content across the many departments within the Wisconsin Historical Society.

This role is part of a fast-paced, in-house Wisconsin Historical Foundation team that includes marketing, public relations, social media, web and development professionals who work in collaboration to grow awareness of the Wisconsin Historical Society portfolio.

This role is also a core member of a new cross-functional Digital Experience team. This new team primarily includes Marketing and IT staff members. The IT Director and Director of Marketing & Communications will collaborate to provide direction and support to the team members.

All applications must include access to your professional design portfolio. Applications without samples will not be considered.

Core Duties:

1. Update, maintain, and seek to improve webpage content, layout, and user experience across various society web holdings based on Marketing, Communication priorities and Society Goals.
2. Maintain adherence to brand standards as set by the Senior Graphic Designer – including typography, photo style, colors, etc. to ensure brand identity and message consistency across web platforms.
3. Review and understand relevant market research findings, web best practices based on competitor and customer analysis, as well as industry standards and advancement to apply to Society web strategies. Optimize the web experience to deliver on key marketing KPIs.
4.  Understand the technical requirements behind each digital user experience element and work closely with (internal & external) front- and back-end developers to plan for and implement those components.
5. Consult with owners and stakeholders to understand project goals, explain research into improving site usability, establish expectations & processes, and complete projects with thorough review.
6. Leverage usability testing frameworks and facilitate testing websites for a variety of users across a number of different browsers and devices and ensure that page elements are present and functional when the site goes live and to suggest improvements to user experience.
7. Advocate for the digital user experience in the development of marketing strategies to grow the Society’s audience, and market all Society services.
8. Monitor web for improvements to accessibility, responsiveness and advocate for others to follow best practices in accessibility when editing web pages.
9. Create and prototype wireframes, sitemaps, and customer processes through various web experiences to improve usability of Society web experience.
10. Follow CSS and html design standards and components when building and maintaining webpages.
11. Leverage analytics and accessibility tools to enhance the user experience and facilitate user research.
12. Develop reusable design elements and templates using existing guidelines for look, layouts, contents, and interface elements.
13. Edit specialized content and design custom made styling and functionality as requested Supervise interns as necessary.

Experience:

• Strong design skills with experience in web and user-interface design, multimedia design, content management, and multimedia programming and technology 
• Experience working with data display, responsive design, and front-end web development (preferred) 
• Experience with UI and UX Design for a variety of workflows and journeys. 
• Experience composing pages and determining where to locate page elements and how to balance the overall look and flow 
• Experience with image editing, including cropping, resizing, color correction, and optimization of images for desktop or mobile browsers Experience with HTML, CSS, PHP, Javascript, JQuery, and JAVA software and systems 
• Strong copy-writing skills (preferred) 
• 1-3 years of related experience

Other Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Collaborative mindset and ability to work in a team environment 
• Ability to think strategically and translate vision into action plans 
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment 
• Strong attention to detail 
• Ability to align project goals with end user interactions 
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to analyze data 
• Familiarity with accessible web design standards 
• Experience creating mock-ups and wireframes 
• Familiarity with typography principles 
• Familiarity with testing for creative optimization

Salary and Benefits:

This is a full-time exempt position eligible for the Wisconsin Historical Foundation’s benefits package including health, dental and vision insurance; competitive retirement plan including employer match, and generous paid time off and paid holiday policy. This position offers compensation range of $63,800 - $67,700, dependent upon qualifications and experience and includes participation in the Wisconsin Historical Foundation’s annual incentive compensation plan (a board-approved annual bonus program based on team performance and metrics).

Hybrid Workplace:

The Wisconsin Historical Foundation encourages a hybrid work format for this position. Schedule to be determined with supervisor upon hire. All Wisconsin Historical Foundation staff are required to attend occasional in-person meetings or events in or near Madison, Wisconsin and are responsible for their own commute/travel.