Head of Product Design Job in Kenya - NCBA

The Head of Product Design will be a pivotal leader in shaping the future of LOOP DFS digital financial products, with a strong emphasis on user research and UI design. You will be responsible for defining and executing the product design strategy, leading a team of talented designers, and ensuring that LOOP products are intuitive, engaging, and aligned with the business objectives. You will champion user-centred design principles, guide impactful user research initiatives, and oversee the creation of compelling UI that drives customer satisfaction and business growth.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & User Research Focus 30

  • Develop and implement a comprehensive product design strategy that heavily integrates user research and aligns with the company’s overall business objectives.
  • Establish and maintain design standards, guidelines, and processes, with a particular focus on robust user research methodologies.
  • Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in user experience, design, and user research.
  • Advocate for user-centered design principles, championing the importance of user experience and data-driven design decisions throughout the organization.
  • Direct and guide the user research strategy, ensuring that research insights are effectively translated into actionable design improvements.

Team Management & Development 20


  • Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of product designers and user researchers, fostering a collaborative and high- performing environment.
  • Recruit, onboard, and develop design and user research talent to build a strong and scalable design team.
  • Provide constructive feedback, coaching, and performance evaluations to support the professional growth of team members.
  • Manage team workload, prioritize projects, and ensure timely delivery of design and research deliverables.

Product Design & Execution 20

  • Oversee the design process from concept to delivery, ensuring that designs are user-friendly, visually appealing, and technically feasible, with a strong focus on UI excellence.
  • Collaborate with product managers and developers to define product requirements and translate them into effective design solutions, informed by user research.
  • Conduct and oversee user research, usability testing, and data analysis to gather insights and inform design decisions, especially UI decisions.
  • Create wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity UI designs that effectively communicate design concepts and user flows.
  • Ensure that designs are accessible and inclusive, catering to the diverse needs of our user base.
  • Maintain consistency of UI across all products.

Cross-Functional Collaboration 20

  • Work closely with product managers, developers, marketing, commercial, and other stakeholders to ensure alignment and collaboration throughout the product development lifecycle.
  • Communicate design concepts and rationale effectively to stakeholders, articulating the value of design and research decisions.
  • Participate in product planning and strategy sessions, providing design and research input and contributing to product roadmaps.
  • Ensure design and research deliverables are provided in a timely manner to keep development cycles on track.
  • Ensure that all product design is consistent with the company’s brand guidelines.

Brand Stewardship 10

  • Contribute to the evolution of the brand’s digital presence, with a keen eye on UI consistency.

Qualification Profile

Education:

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design, Visual Design, or a related field

Desired Work Experience:

  • Minimum 8+ years of experience in product design, with a proven track record of leading design teams and delivering successful digital products, and proven experience conducting user research
  • Strong portfolio showcasing a range of design projects and demonstrating expertise in user- centered design principles, UI design, and user research methodologies
  • Excellent understanding of user research methodologies, usability testing, and data analysis
  • Proficiency in design and prototyping tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, or similar
  • Strong leadership, communication, and collaboration skills
  • Experience working in the fintech or digital financial services industry is highly desirable
  • Strong understanding of UI design principles, and best practices
  • Experience with mobile first design
  • Understanding of accessibility standards

Technical Skills

  • Proficiency in Design Software: Expert-level proficiency in industry-standard UI/UX design tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD
  • High-Fidelity Prototyping: Ability to create complex, interactive prototypes that accurately simulate user experiences for testing and stakeholder communication
  • Design Systems Expertise: Deep understanding of design system principles, creation, implementation, and governance. Familiarity with tools and methodologies for managing design systems
  • Information Architecture (IA) and User Flows: Strong grasp of IA principles, ability to create clear and effective site maps, user flows, and task flows
  • Interaction Design (IxD) Principles: A solid understanding of interaction design patterns, micro-interactions, and animation principles to create intuitive and engaging user experiences
  • Familiarity with User Research Tools: Understanding of various user research platforms for surveys, remote testing, and analytics (e.g., UserTesting.com, Maze, Google Analytics, Mixpanel)
  • Basic Data Analysis Skills: Ability to interpret quantitative and qualitative research data to inform design decisions. Familiarity with basic data analysis tools or spreadsheets
  • Understanding of A/B Testing: Knowledge of A/B testing methodologies and tools to optimize design solutions based on data
  • Understanding of Mobile Platform Guidelines: Knowledge of platform-specific design guidelines and best practices for iOS (Human Interface Guidelines) and Android (Material Design)
  • API Awareness: Basic understanding of how APIs work and how design integrates with backend systems
  • Accessibility Standards (WCAG): Strong understanding of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the ability to design inclusive and accessible products
  • Performance Considerations: Awareness of design choices that impact application performance (e.g., image optimization, animation complexity)
  • Technical Communication: Ability to clearly communicate design specifications and requirements to engineering teams
  • Familiarity with Collaboration Tools: Proficiency in using collaboration platforms like Jira, Confluence, Slack, and Miro
  • Technical Feasibility Assessment: Ability to evaluate the technical feasibility and complexity of design proposals

Qualification Profile

  • Strategic Technology Alignment: Understanding how design can leverage emerging technologies to create innovative user experiences
  • Data-Driven Decision Making: Using data and analytics to inform strategic design decisions and measure impact

How to Apply

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