Design Manager at Paystack

About the Design Manager role

As the Design Manager, you’ll build and manage a high-performing design team and ensure they consistently design high-quality user experiences.

The Design Manager reports to the Head of Design who is responsible for design vision and leadership. The Design Manager is responsible for the development of design team members and the execution of design projects and shares the responsibility to drive product success and growth.

What You’ll Do

• Design & Research Leadership
  • Provide visionary leadership to the designers and researchers, setting high standards for creativity, innovation, craft and user-centric design.
  • Oversee user research and collaborate with product managers to understand user needs, ensuring designs meet and exceed expectations.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product management and engineering, to align design strategy with business goals.
  • Advocate for user-centered design principles throughout the product development process.
• Strategic Design Planning
  • Develop and communicate a comprehensive design strategy that aligns with the overall product and business strategy.
  • Drive the evolution of the design language and principles to ensure a cohesive and distinctive brand identity that energizes the organization and our customers.
• Team Development
  • Hire, mentor and develop a team of skilled designers and managers.
  • Foster a culture of collaboration, continuous learning, professional growth and creative excellence.
  • Drive innovation within the design team, exploring new approaches to elevate the visual and interactive aspects of our products.
• Design Process Optimization
  • Implement and refine design processes to improve efficiency and quality.
  • Work closely with cross-functional teams to integrate design into agile development cycles, ensuring a seamless and iterative design approach.
• Stakeholder Collaboration
  • Present design vision concepts and strategies to executives and key stakeholders, incorporating feedback to drive design excellence.
  • Be a champion for the design organization to the rest of the organization, driving thought leadership and influencing our creative brand vision at the company level.

Who You Are

• Location: Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Côte d'Ivoire or South Africa.
• Minimum of 3 – 5 years managing people and processes.
• Experience in product design leadership at a high-tech or SaaS software company.
• Ability to think and operate at a “strategic level,” but drive execution on a “tactical level” with the willingness to roll-up sleeves.
• Deep understanding of design principles, user experience, and industry trends.
• Familiarity with branding work, product marketing, value propositions, and messaging.
• History of building and coaching high-performing teams who are motivated to do better and think bigger as a result of your leadership.
• Data-driven mindset and highly analytical with the desire and ability to dig into metrics to derive insights through design dashboards.
• Ability to influence, partner, and communicate cross-functionally with product, engineering, and GTM business teams across a company to set and deliver on design vision.
• Strong awareness of technology trends and potential influence on the current and future business.
• Ability to balance creative thinking with pragmatic decision-making.
• A team player who is willing to pitch in where needed in a fast-paced, growing company.
• Decisive, and capable of making smart decisions in the face of ambiguity and imperfect information.
• An exceptionally hard/smart worker, capable of getting things done.