Design Lead

Blue Pearl Pty Ltd; Gauteng; Hybrid; ZAR 800 000 - 1 200 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading design consultancy in South Africa seeks an experienced designer to lead a high-performance team. Responsibilities include managing the design guild, ensuring quality outcomes, and collaborating with stakeholders. The ideal candidate has strong leadership skills, a deep understanding of user-centered design, and proficiency in design tools like Figma and Adobe Creative Suite. This hybrid role involves international travel and demands excellent communication and problem-solving capabilities.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership and people management skills within a design environment.
• Strong understanding of user-centered design and digital product development processes.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on design oversight.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the design guild, assigning tasks and ensuring timely delivery against sprint goals.
• Remove obstacles and provide guidance to ensure smooth design operations.
• Manage the intake, prioritization, and allocation of design work across the guild.
• Prepare for Project Increment (PIO) planning and represent the Design Guild.
• Maintain consistent communication with key stakeholders.
• Oversee design quality and ensure all outputs meet experience and brand standards.
• Foster collaboration and mentorship within the design guild.
• Champion design best practices and consistency across deliverables.

Skills

User-centered design

Strong communication skills

Leadership

Problem-solving

Proficiency in Figma

Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite

Job description

Job Description We are sourcing for highly specialised, deeply skilled designer with strong cra7

• Candidate must have demonstrable experience in the design of consumer facing na=ve mobile apps.
• Experience in airline and e-commerce ecosystems with be a great advantage
• Work is deeply embedded in the world of AI, na=ve app paCerns, technical systems, and complex design flows.
• Experience with working on large interna=ional brands is a must
• Ability to work within design processes, high-feedback environments, and global quality expecta=ons.
• Strong collabora=on skills with tolerance for large-organisa=on
• Team culture is extremely high-performance, with high design standards looking for world-class talent who is obsessed with beau=ful design and are energised by crea=ve excellence
• It will be hybrid delivery.

Teams will be based with travel to KSA alternated with the client travelling to South Africa Responsible for leading and managing the design guild to deliver high-quality design outcomes that meet client expecta=ons and sprint objec=ves.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the design guild, assigning tasks and ensuring =mely delivery against sprint goals
• Remove obstacles and provide guidance to ensure smooth design opera=ons
• Manage the intake, priori=za=on, and alloca=on of design work across the guild and nego=ate work intake with key client stakeholders
• Prepare for Project Increment (PIO) planning and represent the Design Guild in the PI to agree the 3-month implementa=on plan as part of the digital delivery team
• Maintain consistent communica=on with key stakeholders including product managers, delivery leads, and client experience leads
• Act as the liaison between the design guild and the development teams
• Oversee design quality and ensure all outputs meet experience and brand standards
• Foster collabora=on and mentorship within the design guild to drive growth and excellence
• Champion design best prac=ces, processes, and consistency across deliverables

Requirements & Skills

• Proven leadership and people management skills within a design environment
• Strong understanding of user-centered design and digital product development processes
• Excellent communica=on and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on design oversight
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making capabili=es
• Proficiency in design and collabora=on tools such as Figma and Adobe Crea=ve Suite Experience 12+ years