Details
The Brand
W STHOF has one mission since its beginning in 1814: crafting the finest knives that last for generations. Founded in Solingen, Germany, known for centuries as the "City of Blades", the brand is owned by the seventh generation of the W STHOF family. In their state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, the company creates a variety of knife collections and cooking utensils. W STHOF is appreciated for its art of crafting; it takes over forty manufacturing steps to make a W STHOF knife, with many made by hand, using traditional skills and techniques. Forged knives from the famous CLASSIC Collection have become the symbol of W STHOF and are a lifelong companion for chefs all over the world. With over 500 employees in North America and Europe, the brand is available at leading culinary retailers worldwide.
Throughout recent years, consumers rediscovered that healthy eating is the foundation of a healthy body and mind. Along with the pleasure of preparing and enjoying homemade meals together with family and friends, consumers recognize that a healthy planet is an essential element of this lifestyle. At a time where disposable products cloud the future of our planet, W STHOF is loved for its commitment to responsibly crafting premium products that last a lifetime and are often handed down to the next generation. This appreciation and emotional connection recently led the company to launch its direct-to-consumer business. As W STHOF builds their bond with the consumer, they will take this relationship further by creating and sharing digital content and tangible experiences.
W STHOF, what brings us together every day is the joy of a tasty and healthy meal.
Position Overview
The Director of User Experience is a global role responsible for envisioning the future of the W STHOF customer journey and helping to lead a new era of consumer-centric thinking within the brand. As the voice of our customer internally this person will own the user experience and digital design roadmap as well as partner with creative and brand teams and digital channel leaders. A successful candidate will bring an unwavering respect for the customer, a philosophy based on empathy, and a desire to create best-in-class digital experiences that drive sales and engagement. This role reports to the EVP Global DTC & Digital Marketing.
Key Responsibilities & Duties
- Influence decision-making and change across the organization by evangelizing design thinking, a consumer-first mentality, and the broad principals of user experience.
- Act as a resource for the executive leadership team as they seek to innovate across the business and enter into new international markets.
- Own the user experience roadmap and partner with leadership to ensure W STHOF builds innovative, best-in-class customer journeys and experiences.
- Collaborate with and manage agency resources for digital design and development. Work with an agency to build new pages and content blocks for Direct-to-Consumer.
- Act as a pseudo-product owner by contributing to the input and prioritization web design and development queue.
- Lead team discussions on user experience, customer journey, and user-centered design. Feel comfortable independently leading development and design sprints in coordination with an agency as well as requirements definition and internal workshops.
- Guide effective documentation and communication of website design through wireframes, mockups, workflows, prototypes, written requirements, and/or usability documentation.
- Conduct user research to understand customer and consumer needs.
- Synthesize output from research and effectively summarize key insights related to user and customer needs and behaviors.
Qualifications & Skills
- Bachelor s degree or similar in Interaction Design, Graphic Design, Human Computer Interaction, or equivalent work experience required.
- Minimum 3-5 years of experience in a similar role or demonstrated readiness to step up into a Director level role.
- Minimum 8 years of wireframing and / or graphic design experience required.
- Demonstrated understanding of a variety of development styles including Agile software development as well as Lean UX methodologies.
- Well-organized and strong attention to quality and detail with a desire to streamline and simplify experiences and processes.
- High EQ and understanding of how the use of empathy can result in better digital experiences as well as cross-functional collaboration.
- Excellent follow-through and prioritization skills with the ability manage and complete multiple projects simultaneously in line with business objectives and time constraints.
- Must have the ability to work with a rapidly changing business and thrive when working as an individual or with cross-functional, distributed teams.
- High level of comfort in the challenging role of change agent.
- Exceptional verbal and written communication and presentation abilities.
- Experience with analytics or testing tools such as HotJar and Google Analytics required.
- Candidates must be willing and able to travel both domestically and internationally.