Head of Product Design

M-Kopa; Pretoria; On-site; ZAR 500 000 - 600 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading fintech company in Pretoria seeks a Head of Product Design to lead their design function and drive UX strategy. The ideal candidate will have over 10 years of experience in digital products, mentoring capabilities, and a deep understanding of user-centered design. This role involves collaboration across multiple teams and markets, focusing on building design systems that align with business goals. Join us in delivering transformative financial services across Africa while fostering innovation and impact-driven design.

Benefits

Career development programs

Family-friendly policies

Flexible work environment

Qualifications

• 10+ years experience leading design teams and complex projects in digital products.
• Deep understanding of UX strategy with the ability to balance business goals with user needs.
• Experience translating design impact into business metrics.

Responsibilities

• Leading the strategic direction and evolution of our Product Design function.
• Building and maintaining design systems that ensure visual cohesion while enabling rapid innovation.
• Mentoring design team members and fostering a sense of belonging.

Skills

Leadership

UX strategy

Design systems

Collaboration

Communication

Job description

About Us

We foster a culture where design excellence is celebrated and design thinking is embedded throughout the organization.

Our team values innovation, collaboration, and impact-driven design.

You'll be empowered to demonstrate how exceptional design directly contributes to business success and customer empowerment, sitting at the intersection of business strategy and user needs.

At M-KOPA, design isn't an afterthought—it's central to our mission of creating transformative financial partnerships that often serve as customers' first entry point into formal financial services.

Responsibilities

• Leading the strategic direction and evolution of our Product Design function
• Collaborating with Product Management and Tech leadership to define overall UX strategy
• Building and maintaining design systems that ensure visual cohesion while enabling rapid innovation
• Reviewing design work to ensure quality and cohesion before release
• Mentoring design team members and fostering a sense of belonging while helping advance their careers
• Working with marketing teams to ensure visual cohesion across the M-KOPA brand
• Translating design metrics into business outcomes that executives understand and value

This role will require frequent travel across our operational markets; therefore an ideal candidate should either be based in one of our markets or be willing to relocate. This will allow you to be at the heart of Africa’s most dynamic tech hubs with direct access to our core market.

Your application should demonstrate

• 10+ years experience leading design teams and complex projects in digital products
• Deep understanding of UX strategy with the ability to balance business goals with user needs
• Experience building and maintaining design systems across multiple touchpoints
• Solid leadership and mentoring capabilitiesAbility to work with diverse, cross‑functional teams across multiple countries
• Solid interpersonal, communication, and collaboration skills
• Experience translating design impact into business metrics
• Experience in fintech or similar industries

If the above is of interest to you, please apply.

Why M-KOPA?

At M-KOPA, we empower our people to own their careers through diverse development programs, coaching partnerships, and on‑the‑job training.

We support individual journeys with family‑friendly policies, prioritize well‑being, and embrace flexibility.

Join us in shaping the future of M-KOPA as we grow together.

Explore more.

• Recognized four times by the Financial Times as one of Africa’s fastest growing companies
• and by TIME as one of the most influential companies in the world
• We've served over 6 million customers, unlocking $1.5 billion in cumulative credit for the unbanked across Africa.

Important Notice

M-KOPA is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to assembling a diverse, broadly trained staff.

Women, minorities, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

M-KOPA explicitly prohibits the use of Forced or Child Labour and respects the rights of its employees to agree to terms and conditions of employment voluntarily, without coercion, and freely terminate their employment on appropriate notice.

M-KOPA ensures that its employees are of legal working age and complies with local laws for youth employment or student work, such as internships or apprenticeships.

M-KOPA does not collect or charge any money as a pre‑employment or post‑employment requirement.

This means that we never ask for recruitment or processing fees at any time during the hiring process.

Applications for this position will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Shortlisting and interviews will take place at any stage during the recruitment process.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a suitable candidate is selected before the advertised closing date.

Successful candidates will undergo pre‑employment background checks including criminal records, identification verification, academic qualifications, employment dates, and employer references.

Seniority level

Director

Employment type

Full‑time

Job function

Product Management and Marketing

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