Product Design Manager - UX

Who we are

[Employer] Inc. is Africa’s all-in-one financial ecosystem, helping 10 million businesses and individuals access seamless payments, banking, credit, and business management tools since 2019. As Nigeria’s largest merchant acquirer, it powers most of the country’s Point of Sale (POS) transactions. Through its subsidiaries, [Employer] Inc. processes $22 billion monthly for its customers while operating profitably.

Curious about what makes [Employer] an incredible place to work? Check out posts on how we cultivate a culture of innovation, teamwork, and growth.

About the role:

Designing for money means designing for trust. Our customers are shop owners, traders and entrepreneurs, and many are new to digital products. They work on low-end devices and unreliable networks, where one confusing screen can cost them a sale. Your team's work has to hold up for them, whatever their ability or device. You make sure it does.

As a Design Manager, you'll lead a small team of product designers and be accountable for everything they ship: its quality, how it works as one product, and the results it drives for our customers and the business. Your team works either on the products our customers use on POS, mobile and web, or on the operational tools our teams use to serve them.

It is a hands-on role: you build the systems the team works within and step into the hardest problems yourself. 

What you’ll do

• Set the design direction for your area, turn it into plans with milestones and measurable outcomes, and make the case for it to senior leaders in customer and business terms.
• Work with product partners so every designer begins from a clear, well-framed brief, and push back early when one isn't ready.
• Keep each customer journey whole across teams, and resolve conflicting designs before they launch. 
• Run critique and design reviews against a definition of done that includes accessibility, and stay close enough to the work that nothing reaches customers below the bar.
• Decide what must be tested with customers before build and what can ship and be measured after, and plan that validation into delivery with success metrics defined up front.
• Make sure journeys use the design system, with market and product variations handled inside it rather than as one-off rebuilds.
• Plan and staff system contributions like any other project.
• Build trusted partnerships with product and engineering, so design shapes what gets built, and design and engineering stay in step through build. 
• Hire well, set clear expectations, give direct feedback, and build a growth path for each designer.
• Bring AI tools into the team's design process, model effective and responsible use in your own work, and build that fluency across the team.

What you need to succeed

• 10+ years of experience in product design, with a portfolio of shipped work across mobile and web that shows the problem, your decisions and the results.
• 3+ years of experience managing product designers, including hiring, coaching and career development.
• Experience setting design direction for a product area and leading a team to deliver it. 
• Experience running a design quality practice, such as critique, design reviews and a definition of done, that raised the quality of shipped work. Experience building shared patterns or templates adopted across teams, products or markets.
• Experience shipping accessible, inclusive products for people with disabilities, people new to digital products and people on limited devices and connectivity.
• Experience using AI tools in design work and building that fluency across a team.
• Experience designing for POS terminals is a strong plus.
• Experience in financial services, multiple markets or operational tools is also welcome. 

What you’ll get

• A leadership role in shaping the future of fintech - your work will influence design strategy and impact millions of users.
• Opportunities for career growth - mentorship, leadership development, and the ability to scale and shape a high-performing design team.
• Autonomy and influence - own design decisions, drive cross-functional collaboration, and define best practices.
• A high-performing and collaborative team - work alongside talented designers, engineers, and product managers in a culture that values design excellence.
• A culture of experimentation - we encourage bold ideas, rapid iteration, and data-driven design improvements.
• Competitive compensation and benefits.
• Remote-friendly work culture with support for professional development and engagement with the design community.

What to expect in the hiring process

• Application & portfolio review: we assess your experience, leadership impact, and UX case studies that demonstrate strategic thinking, process, and measurable outcomes.
• Preliminary phone call with recruiter: a brief conversation to discuss your background, leadership experience, and expectations.
• Interview with senior leadership: a deep dive into your leadership approach, design philosophy, and ability to drive impact. This includes a discussion on past projects and collaboration with cross-functional teams.
• Design leadership challenge: a scenario-based assessment to assess both strategic thinking and leadership skills while balancing UX/UI expertise.
• Final executive conversation: a discussion with senior leadership to assess alignment with our vision, strategic thinking, and team-building philosophy.

How to apply:

Submit your resume and portfolio showcasing your leadership in managing design teams, driving strategy, and delivering user-centred solutions with measurable business impact. We want to see case studies that demonstrate how you have led and developed designers, prioritised and managed projects, and fostered a high-performing team culture. Your portfolio should highlight how you have used research, data, and experimentation to inform decisions, optimise workflows, and drive success metrics.