Associate Design Director

Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, diploma or PhD preferably in systems design, circular design, interaction design or interface design, fine arts or graphic/communication design with emphasis on circular or sustainability topics or corresponding business degree
7+ years of work experience; explicit experience in delivering impact within systems design, circularity or sustainability including setting direction in your workstreams and leading creative teams
Design, engineering or business background with expertise in physical product innovation and development, business model innovation or digital product innovation
Consultancy experience is a plus
Proven experience and track record in helping organizations and teams design and deliver on circular processes, products or services using holistic and human-centered approach to design, from research to concept and deliverables
Ability to design for the whole ecosystem; knowledge within materials, plastics value chain or deep expertise in other circular topics that enable systems design
Deep experience collaborating and problem-solving with cross-functional teams preferably including a variety of stakeholders across business functions and levels
Inspiring advocate for circularity, both internally and externally; willingness to publish your thinking to push the industry forward
Entrepreneurial spirit with the ability to adapt, self-organize and define your own and your team's tasks in an ever-changing environment
Professional language skills in English; proficiency with other European languages is a plus
Willingness to travel and spend time onsite with clients and other teams

What you'll do
You'll set the direction for your workstreams and take responsibility for your design teams while delivering high solutions service solutions in areas ranging from decarbonization, climate change, energy transition, to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) topics.
In this role, you'll work with topics ranging from electrification of transports, reducing waste in consumer goods and packaging, circular product design, to sustainable and circular business models as well as digital business building within the sustainability realm. You'll work at the confluence of systems thinking, human-centered design and business strategies to lead situations that result in inherently new circular products/services or integrate circular design fundamentals into existing physical and digital design engagements.
On your projects, you'll tackle the end-to-end aspects of the design process and work with truly blended cross-functional teams, spanning business, analytics, engineering and design capabilities. In those settings, you have the responsibility to champion sustainability, circular and systems thinking to arrive at innovative outcomes. You'll also oversee development of design artefacts that drive organizational change (e.g., business metrics, personas, customer journeys and service blueprints).
To gain customer insights, you'll apply deep expertise in qualitative and quantitative research and testing methodology. You'll leverage a broad palette of strong visual and process design capabilities to develop, prototype and iterate on ecosystem flows and circular concepts that represent a realistic feel of the intended end-state experience. You'll also lead high-stakes, co-creative workshops and concepts sprints to inject systems, circular thinking and methodologies with public, private sector organizations and other stakeholders.
Throughout the design process, you'll work closely with our team and the client's, to define and communicate the engagement's vision, enable the implementation of circular design principles and strengthen our client's capabilities through coaching and sharing of best practices. You will also have the chance to shape the next generation of change-makers by helping mentor, educate and grow a community of circular designers within McKinsey.
Who you will work with:
You'll join our Stockholm studio as part of McKinsey Design. The award winning studio in Stockholm is our largest European design hub that has previously won the coveted Red-Dot Team of the Year award. As a member of our team, you will join our work in designing change that matters, through your passion and expertise in best-in-class circular design.
McKinsey Design drives client growth by delivering breakthrough physical and digital products, customer experiences, and design-led innovation. Our approach is multi-disciplinary, combining out-of-the-box creativity with the analytical rigour of McKinsey to innovate at scale and speed across private, public and social sectors.
Our highly-skilled, cross-functional team of designers, business strategists and agile developers deliver service concepts, experiential prototypes and go-to-market products to transform clients' businesses.
Our Design team offers the breadth and experiences of 350+ world-class design talent from Lunar Design, Veryday and McKinsey's homegrown experience design practice. At McKinsey Design, we bring a diverse community of designers and innovators passionate about getting in the midst of our customers and elevating design capabilities to the forefront of business decisions, impact and results.
We help designers find their professional home in a nurturing and prestige-less studio culture – while providing access to industry leading experts, knowledge resources, driven, and talented colleagues who are committed to drive sustainable change. Our unique studio culture is casual and social, with an emphasis on knowledge building and innovation. We have the freedom to experiment, work iteratively, and are constantly learning and growing. Our community emphasizes the importance of mentorship, collaboration and propelling the value of good design.