Who are we?

Design Action Collective is…

• A fully remote, multi-lingual worker-owned design and communications studio, founded in 2002 and officially incorporated in 2004.
• Proudly committed to providing high-quality visual communications tools to progressive, non-profit, and grassroots activist organizations.
• A union shop affiliated with the Pacific Media Guild, Local 39521 Communication Workers of America (typographical sector, AFL/CIO).
• Majority trans / gender non-conforming, queer, and People-of-Color owned.

What’s the job role?

We’re hiring a Department Coordinator (DC) / Project Manager (PM)!

This role is part of our Design Team, which produces reports, brand and identity systems, posters, social media graphic suites, illustration, and other materials for print, presentation, and web. Project timelines can range from a few days to more than a year. You’ll be managing both client-facing and internal administrative projects.

In an average month, you’ll…

PRIMARY: Manage scope, budget, and timeline around individual client projects

• Work with art directors and production designers to monitor project progress from start to finish, communicating proactively about deadlines and capacity.
• Negotiate project timelines and budgets with clients throughout the project, communicating proactively to manage scope creep and ensure projects stay on agreed upon timelines.
• Bill clients on a monthly basis and follow up on invoices for client projects.

SECONDARY: Support our internal department’s infrastructure

• Help facilitate weekly and bi-weekly Design Team department meetings to distribute new projects and troubleshoot ongoing ones.
• Help plan and facilitate departmental retreats as needed.
• Manage initiatives that come out of departmental retreats, such as tracking professional development goals or revamping internal infrastructure, etc.

TERTIARY: Support our incoming project pipeline

• Work with the Design Team, Intake Coordinator, and Finance Committee to track team capacity and income goals in order to assess what projects to bring in.
• Establish project schedules for accepted estimates, assign project teams, and communicate scope and budget to the team.
• Work with our Intake Coordinator to conduct intake and write estimates for potential clients as needed. (Intake won’t be a primary part of your duties, but you’ll be trained to step in as backup whenever our main Intake Coordinator is out.)
• Forecast our team’s capacity and project schedules, and use this information to assign project teams to incoming projects

Collaborate with DAC members as a potential co-owner

• Participate in regular collective meetings, committee meetings, and staff-wide retreats to help democratically shape our shop’s direction.
• Take on internal operations work as needed to manage our collectively owned and operated business.
• Participate in political education trainings, reading groups, affinity groups, and coaching circles.

We’re an ever-growing and changing shop, so this position will have room for growth depending on your interests, skills, experience, and the needs of the business.

Our ideal candidate has*…

*We encourage you to apply even if you aren’t sure you meet 100% of our desired qualifications. 

*We especially encourage candidates who are Black or Indigenous, disabled, poor or working class,  trans or gender non-conforming, queer, or have otherwise faced systemic barriers to advancement in your field.

• Excellent communication and negotiation skills.
• Excellent time-management, organization, and boundary-setting skills.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• The ability to track multiple projects to make sure they’re staying on deadline and within scope, and the ability to communicate any obstacles in a timely manner.
• Experience with or willingness to learn meeting facilitation.
• Experience with or willingness to learn project management tools such as Basecamp, Slack, Harvest, Forecast, Google Suite, CiviCRM, etc.
• Interest in or experience being a worker in a non-hierarchical, democratic workplace.
• Interest in or experience with business management, development, or ownership, since this position is on a path to co-ownership of our collective.
• Interest and involvement in progressive social change work.
• Strong commitment to and willingness to engage in political education.
• Full agreement with our Points of Unity.
• As a bonus: Some experience with design tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Canva, Sketch, and/or Figma, and even some experience in graphic design.
• As a bonus: The ability to dream up and implement new systems and processes to make our work more efficient!

What are the pay and benefits?

Our pay is $34/hr for an average of 30 – 37.5 hours a week.

This translates to roughly $53,040 – $66,300 a year before taxes.

Pay rates are not negotiable, as all workers receive the same hourly pay, but our hourly schedules are flexible. DAC is committed to increasing compensation regularly so that we may provide a thriving wage to all our workers.

Our starting benefits include…

• 10 days of paid wellness / sick time each year
• 10 days of paid vacation time each year, with an increase to 20 days after the first two years
• 11 paid holidays each year
• Health, dental, and vision insurance starting the first full month after you’re hired
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) for medical expenses and dependent care
• Flexible schedules to manage work-life balance

We’ll provide you with a company-owned computer and a budget for ergonomic home setup. More benefits, including patronage (profit-sharing) and access to our 401(k), come when you become an owner.

This position is on the path to ownership of our co-op.

You will be eligible for an ownership position after completing a 9-month candidacy period with three evaluations. You will have both a “buddy” and a “supervisor” who will facilitate evaluations, support your growth, and orient you on what it means to be an owner of Design Action. You will be expected to fulfill certain collective duties, including attending a weekly Collective Meeting and regular all-staff trainings, in order to become an owner.

One of the biggest pluses of being at Design Action is the rare opportunity to be a worker-owner at a design & tech business that is explicitly committed to social justice. Our democratic workplace structure (no bosses!) allows us to put our political values into action. 

In addition, many of our members are rooted in community activism and organizing on issues such as anti-imperialism, prison abolition, tenant & housing rights, anti-racism, gender equity, and environmental justice. We also hold regular political education trainings as well as annual staff and department retreats where we can build our camaraderie with one another and strategize on ways to keep our business bold, radical, and thriving.

How do you apply? 

Please send the following to jobs@designaction.org:

1. Resume / CV
2. Brief cover letter that includes how you heard about us
3. 3 references (preferably at least one professional, and at least one speaking to volunteer or community-related activities)