Product Developer
Deadline to apply: July 14, 2022
Reports to: Director of Strategic Communications.
The Stimson Center, a global foreign policy think tank, seeks a full-time Product Developer to join a tight-knit and productive team. The Product Developer will lead the Communications team's technical projects, helping bring the Stimson Center's leading research and data tools to a global audience. The ideal candidate will be level-headed in a fast-paced workplace, take initiative and work independently, and have an interest in foreign affairs.
This new position is the first developer Stimson has hired. It is a unique opportunity for a talented person to make an impact at a growing organization, set the direction for how we use and develop digital products and tools, own the full stack, and collaborate with a wide range of subject matter experts to bring their ideas to life.
Team & Organization Culture:
- The Communications team is small, close-knit, and fast-paced. We expect our colleagues to move quickly, solve problems, pay attention to details, support each other, and keep many balls in the air at once.
- We wear many different hats, and they are all important. Communications is simultaneously an advisor, enabler, service provider, and collaborator with colleagues across a wide range of subject matter expertise and communications experience.
- Management is mentorship-driven. We aim to create an environment that enables professional development, intentional skill-building, and finding opportunities for growth.
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are among the Stimson Center's core values. They inform both the work that we do and how we do it. More on our DE&I efforts.
Responsibilities:
- Lead the Communications Team's technical projects. Set the overall direction of how we use and develop digital tools and products.
- Develop, improve, and administer WordPress websites. Collaborate with communications and policy teams to build and execute a roadmap for stimson.org as well as other project-specific sites. Create custom sites from scratch using code (not just plugins). Advice on vendor selection and oversight as needed.
- Develop innovative digital products. Collaborate with policy teams on projects with significant technical dimensions, such as interactive, data-driven, and/or media-rich experiences. Take projects from concept to launch, advising, planning, and building the sites, pages, and tools that support research program goals.
- Data Management. Oversee our email subscriber lists and other data and ensure compliance with relevant policies.
- Reporting, Analytics, and Online Advertising. Create tools and systems to ensure timely data and analysis that supports internal decision making and funder reporting. Maintain advertising using our Google AdWords Grant.
- Internal Tools. Develop, improve, and administer the internal tools that enable policy and communications staff to track and support work across the organization.
- Technical documentation and manuals. Write clear and complete documentation for technical projects and accessible guidance for using and managing them.
- Other responsibilities: Respond to ongoing policy staff inquiries and requests, post web content, back up other team members as needed, supervise interns, etc.
Qualifications & Qualities
- Bachelor's degree in relevant field or other relevant experience. Five years of professional experience.
- Excellent creative skills and strong intellectual curiosity; eagerness to learn new skills, tools, and approaches and creatively apply technology to solve problems.
- Experience in custom WordPress site development and administration and an expert understanding of how to use content types, taxonomies, and other aspects of WordPress to create custom solutions.
- Fluency in modern web development technologies, such as HTML, CSS, Javascript, and PHP.
- Familiarity with best practices in UI/UX design, including accessibility. Experience with prototyping tools such as Adobe XD or Figma.
- Ability to communicate clearly and collaboratively with nontechnical colleagues, take feedback gracefully, and iterate and improve on work.
- Strong writing and communication skills.
- Excitement for challenging problems, eagerness to follow a project through to the end, and attention to detail.
- Sound judgement, maturity, and discretion.
- Interest in foreign policy, international security, or any of Stimson's programmatic work is a plus.
- Some of the tools and technologies we use:
- WordPress. Including Toolset and Elementor.
- Zapier and Make.com
- Mailchimp and Salesforce
- Google Adwords, Tag Manager, Analytics, and Data Studio
- Adobe Creative Suite
- ArcGIS