UX Designer - Senior

Portfolio requirements

The proposal must include a portfolio or case studies demonstrating at least three relevant projects. The examples should identify:

• The candidate's role and responsibilities
• The project context, users, constraints, and objectives
• Research and design methods used
• Key design decisions and supporting evidence
• Accessibility and inclusive-design considerations
• Collaboration and implementation approach
• Measurable outcomes, lessons learned, or resulting improvements
• The City may request that the candidate present selected case studies during the interview.

Experience considered assets

The following will be considered assets:

• Post-secondary education or certification in user experience design, interaction design, service design, human-computer interaction, information architecture, accessibility, or a related discipline.
• Experience delivering digital services in a municipal, broader public-sector, or regulated environment.
• Experience with content design, search optimization, analytics, or service performance measurement.
• Experience providing coaching, mentorship, or knowledge transfer to design teams and multidisciplinary partners.
• Familiarity with agile product delivery and public-sector procurement or governance processes.

Discovery and research

• Plan and conduct discovery, user research, stakeholder interviews, usability testing, and related evidence-gathering activities.
• Review existing research, analytics, service processes, accessibility findings, business requirements, and technical constraints.
• Synthesize findings into prioritized user needs, experience principles, design recommendations, risks, and opportunities.
• Ensure research and design activities include diverse users and consider accessibility, privacy, ethics, and informed consent requirements.

Experience and interaction design

• Translate validated user and business needs into user journeys, task flows, service blueprints, information architecture, wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity interface designs.
• Design responsive and accessible experiences for web and mobile, including navigation, forms, validation, errors, empty states, loading states, and other relevant interaction states.
• Apply user-centred design methods and UX/UI best practices to improve usability, findability, task completion, consistency, and service outcomes.
• Identify and prioritize design debt and recommend practical improvements based on user impact, accessibility, feasibility, and project priorities.
• Iterate designs using research findings, usability-test results, stakeholder feedback, technical input, and implementation constraints.

Accessibility and design-system alignment

• Design in accordance with applicable City standards, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines specified by the City.
• Document accessibility requirements, interaction behaviours, content guidance, and identified issues throughout the design process.
• Contribute to and support the maintenance of the City's design system by creating or refining reusable components, patterns, variants, tokens, and usage guidance.
• Reuse approved City components and patterns where appropriate and document the rationale for any proposed deviation or new pattern.
• Participate in accessibility and design reviews and support the resolution or formal acceptance of identified issues.

Collaboration and implementation support

• Collaborate with City staff, divisional partners, researchers, content specialists, developers, product and project leads, and other stakeholders.
• Plan and facilitate workshops, design critiques, playback sessions, and decision-making activities to build shared understanding and obtain timely feedback.
• Present design concepts, research findings, prototypes, and recommendations clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Prepare developer-ready design specifications, annotated prototypes, assets, behaviours, responsive guidance, component references, and acceptance criteria.
• Maintain continuous involvement during implementation, participate in design-quality reviews, and document issues and recommended resolutions.
• Advise clients and project teams on UX, UI, service design, accessibility, and design-system standards.

Leadership, documentation, and knowledge transfer

• Provide senior design leadership and advocate for evidence-based, accessible, consistent, and user-centred decision-making.
• Maintain design files, research records, decision logs, accessibility issue logs, design backlogs, and other documentation required for continuity and governance.
• Identify and communicate design risks, dependencies, assumptions, scope impacts, and trade-offs to the designated City authority.
• Monitor relevant UX, accessibility, service design, and technology practices, and recommend appropriate improvements for City consideration.
• Provide knowledge transfer, coaching, and documentation to enable City staff to maintain and extend the work after the assignment.
• Perform related duties within the scope of the assignment, as directed by the designated City authority.

Deliverables

1. Discovery and UX assessment: Review existing research, analytics, service processes, accessibility findings, and design-system assets, and deliver a prioritized findings report identifying user needs, pain points, d