Director Digital Experiences

Work Hours:  Monday – Friday, 8:00 A.M. – 4:30 P.M. (EST)
*Hours may vary due to work assignments, or projects.*

Work Location: The Edney Innovation Center

FLSA Status:  This is an Exempt position.
Salary: $86,682- $104,721

Department:  Technology Services

CLASSIFICATION SUMMARY:  

Incumbent will lead the strategic direction, design, development, and optimization of exceptional digital experiences for both our citizens and city employees. This leadership role within the Technology Solutions department will be responsible for improving how citizens interact with their city online and through digital channels, as well as enhancing the digital tools and experiences that empower our dedicated city workforce. Reporting to the Chief Information Officer, the Director will champion a user-centric approach, leveraging data, technology, and best practices to create intuitive, accessible, and engaging digital solutions that improve citizen satisfaction, streamline access to city services, enhance employee productivity and foster a stronger connection with our community. This role demands a deep understanding of user experience (UX) principles, digital transformation strategies relevant to local government, and the ability to translate the unique needs of Chattanooga's residents and employees into great digital journeys.

SERIES LEVEL: 
The Director Digital Experiences is a stand-alone position.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

(The following duties ARE NOT intended to serve as a comprehensive list of all duties performed by all employees in this classification, only a representative summary of the primary duties and responsibilities. Incumbent(s) may not be required to perform all duties listed and may be required to perform additional, position-specific duties.)

Directs staff to include prioritizing and assigning work; conducting performance evaluations; ensuring staff is trained; ensuring that employees follow policies and procedures; maintaining a healthy and safe working environment and making hiring, termination and disciplinary recommendations.

Develops and executes a comprehensive digital experience strategy and roadmap specifically tailored for Chattanooga's citizens and employees, aligned with the city's overall strategic goals, the IT strategic plan, and Chattanooga's commitment to innovation and accessibility.

Leads the design, development, and continuous improvement of citizen-facing digital channels for Chattanooga, including the city website (chattanooga.gov), the city engagement platform, mobile applications for city services, online portals for permits and information, digital service delivery platforms for local needs, and other interactive digital touchpoints. Focuses on accessibility for all Chattanoogans, ease of use, and citizen satisfaction with city services. 

Ensures all digital experiences meet accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) to provide equitable access for all Chattanooga citizens and employees, including those with disabilities, reflecting the city's commitment to inclusivity.

Leads the enhancement of employee-facing digital tools and platforms used by Chattanooga's workforce, including intranet portals providing city information, internal applications supporting city operations, collaboration tools for efficient teamwork, and digital workflows to streamline internal processes, ultimately improving employee productivity and satisfaction in serving the Chattanooga community.

Champions a user-centric design approach, overseeing user research with Chattanooga residents and city employees, usability testing of digital interfaces, information architecture tailored to local needs, interaction design optimized for city services, and visual design that reflects Chattanooga's identity. 

Develops and oversees content strategies and governance frameworks for Chattanooga's digital platforms, ensuring information about city services, events, and initiatives is accurate, relevant, up-to-date, and aligned with the needs of Chattanoogans and city staff.

Drives digital transformation initiatives across Chattanooga city departments, identifying opportunities to streamline local government processes, automate tasks relevant to city operations, and deliver services to Chattanoogans more effectively through digital channels. 

Establishes and utilizes data analytics to understand how Chattanoogans and city employees interact with digital platforms, identify pain points in accessing city services or internal tools, measure the effectiveness of digital experiences, and drive data-informed design and optimization decisions specific to Chattanooga's context. 

Establishes key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of digital experience initiatives for Chattanooga's citizens and employees and provide regular reports to leadership on progress and impact on community engagement and workforce efficiency. Develops key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor the health, performance, and functionality of the City’s Digital Experience platforms. Implements proactive measures to optimize system performance, uptime, and resource utilization. 

Communicates key metrics to CIO, team members, key stakeholders and others regularly. Uses metrics for actionable insights that enable proactive operation and continuous improvement of the digital experiences and related platforms.

Builds, mentors, and leads a high-performing team of UX/UI designers, digital content specialists, and developers dedicated to enhancing digital experiences for Chattanooga. Develops annual plans and goals for the team. Monitors progress against goals, provide feedback and coaching as required to managers and others on the team. Supervises and reviews team performance and provides effective coaching and counseling when required. Builds and executes annual technical skills training and certification plans for each team member, ensuring completion. Creates an efficient work environment that is conducive to teamwork, collaboration, and encourages good communication between employees and management. Fosters a culture of accountability, innovation, and collaboration among the team. 

Establishes an efficient and high-performing work environment focused on leveraging the city's technological advantages to deliver City services. Develops annual plans and goals for the team. 

Monitors progress against goals, provides feedback and coaching as required. Conducts performance conversations and reviews on a regular basis consistent with Department and City policies and practices. Maintains a healthy and safe working environment.

Directs the day-to-day operations of the Digital Experiences Division. Prioritizes and assigns work, ensuring timely completion of assignments with high-quality and consistent with established policies and procedures. Provides technical leadership, mentoring and coaching for all employees. Prepares annual skills training and certification plans for relevant team members and ensures completion.

Collaborates effectively with other City departments, external agencies and partners to ensure alignment and effective delivery of digital experiences for the benefit of Chattanoogans and city staff. Works closely with other DTS divisions to assess technology needs and implement solutions that enhance municipal operations. 

Collaborates with DTS divisions, city departments, external agencies, contractors, attorneys and/or other interested parties to coordinate activities, review work, exchange information and resolve problems. 

Ensures compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and standards related to digital experiences. Identify and mitigate potential risks. Oversees periodic audits of related system usage and connections to ensure compliance with Safeguarding Member Information Standards and Procedures, City policies and to guard against unauthorized users and to prevent the introduction of any undesirable or destructive software. Develops disaster recovery and business continuity plans for digital experience infrastructure and applications. 

Work with the CIO and other department leaders to develop the annual budgets for digital experience initiatives within the City of Chattanooga. Ensure cost-effectiveness and responsible resource allocation and use of operating and capital funds, working to maximize return on investment for improving citizen and employee digital interactions. Builds and manages relationships with relevant technology vendors, service providers, consultants/contractors, ensuring contract compliance and optimal service delivery. Reviews financial statements related to division operations and ensures division stays within budget and allocated resources are used efficiently and effectively. 

Directs, reviews and participates in the development of a variety of reports, work papers, communications, schedules and/or other related documents to and from internal departments, governmental entities, external agencies, contractors and/or other interested parties concerning digital experience operations.

Evaluates continuously emerging digital experience technologies and trends relevant to local government and the needs of Chattanooga's citizens and employees (e.g., AI-powered chatbots for city inquiries, personalization of local information, low-code/no-code platforms for departmental solutions).  Recommends adoption where beneficial for the city. Advises the CIO on trends and technologies that need to be incorporated into annual and multi-year plans. 

Represents the Digital Experiences Division team at a variety of meetings, public events, training sessions, on committees and/or other related events or groups in order to receive and convey information..

Must meet regular attendance requirements.

Must be able to maintain good interpersonal relationships with staff, co-workers, managers, and citizens.

Must accomplish the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodations, in a timely manner.

Performs other duties as assigned.

DEPARTMENT SPECIFIC DUTIES (if any):

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Bachelor degree in Digital Design, Information Technology, Marketing, Communications, Public Administration, or a related field. Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in digital experience design, user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design, digital transformation, or related fields, with some experience in or understanding of the public sector with at least five (5) of the ten (10)  years of experience being in a leadership role overseeing digital experience teams and initiatives, preferably within government settings or organizations serving a large community; or any combination of equivalent experience and education.

LICENSING AND CERTIFICATIONS: 
Preferred

Information Technology Management and Leadership Professional (ITMLP)
Criminal Justice Information Services awareness training (CJIS)
ITIL Certification
CompTIA Certifications (Security+, Network+, Infrastructure+)
Google Cloud Associate or Professional 
AWS Cloud Practitioner or Solutions Architect
Project Management Professional (PMP) or CompTIA Project+
UX/UI certifications focused on user research and usability testing with diverse populations.
Google Analytics Certification

Six Sigma or Lean/SixSigma Green Belt

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

Strong understanding of customer experience principles and service delivery excellence. Proven ability to identify and resolve complex user experience challenges faced by Chattanoogans and city employees. Strong understanding of web and mobile development technologies and digital communication tools relevant to public engagement. Extensive experience with user research methodologies relevant to diverse populations, usability testing, and data analytics tools.Ability to interpret user data, identify trends in how Chattanoogans and city staff interact with digital services, and translate insights into actionable design improvements for the local context. Extensive experience with content management systems (CMS) and digital asset management (DAM) systems used by government or community-focused organizations. Strong communication and interpersonal skills to effectively exchange information and receive work direction with colleagues, supervisors, and the public. Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities. Proven ability to develop and implement strategic technology plans and budgets.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: 
Positions in this class typically require reaching, fingering, grasping, talking, hearing, seeing and repetitive motions.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: 
Sedentary Work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
Safety Sensitive: N
Department of Transportation - CDL: N
Child Sensitive: N

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:
This position requires pre-employment screening(s) that include: background check / drug screening / lift test / TB screening questionnaire / TB Skin Test / Complete Physical screening / DOT Clearinghouse / HepB Titer / fingerprinting / CJIS check.

The City of Chattanooga, Tennessee is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourage both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.