Senior Design Lead - 6 month contract

Positron Recruitment

Date: 2 days ago
City: Johannesburg, Gauteng
Contract type: Full time

We are looking for a Senior Design Lead to act as custodian for design methodology, providing strategic direction to the design team by developing and implementing design processes through collaboration with cross-functional teams.

High Quality Design

  • Provide opportunities for teams to build creative, innovative, and high-quality design solutions that create a best-in-class customer experience across design projects
  • Ensure teams apply design thinking and best practice standards when developing design options and narrowing down final solutions
  • Source relevant insights and data (e.g. market analysis) to ensure teams design products, services, and solutions around the customer; surface and share insights with the broader team
  • Ensure design teams adhere to necessary guidelines and frameworks for design scenarios, mock-ups, and prototypes at each project stage, driving continuous iteration to achieve optimal output

Project Management

  • Collaborate with business and technical stakeholders to challenge the constraints of project/solution delivery
  • Manage day-to-day delivery of design team output against plan, continuously interrogating design quality and customer experience across multiple squads
  • Engage business stakeholders to clarify design requirements and, jointly with Head of Design, establish clear scope, creative brief, and project plan
  • Take responsibility for customer experience within projects, constructively challenging business and technical decisions to ensure the best possible user experience
  • Lead project teams by aligning, managing, and coaching members — supporting goal-setting, overcoming obstacles, and delivering outstanding outcomes with a fully unified end product
  • Develop and nurture relationships across teams and disciplines to promote collaboration and efficiency
  • Continuously measure the impact of design on customer and business outcomes, reporting insights to senior management and stakeholders
  • Effectively manage teams, resources, capacity planning, development, and overall performance

Capability Build

  • Coach and mentor designers within the project team
  • Foster an engaged and motivated team environment
  • Continuously build expertise by seeking feedback and following external design trends and practices
  • Contribute to team knowledge-building by sharing insights, success stories, feedback, and ideas across design projects

People Specification

  • Matric / Grade 12 / National Senior Certificate
  • Certification in Design from an accredited design school
  • 7–10 years' relevant experience
  • 1–2 years' managerial experience

Technical / Professional Knowledge

  • Process design
  • Product design
  • UI/UX design
  • Relevant design tools
  • Project management

Behavioural Competencies

  • High performance, purpose-led culture (client-centred, values-driven)
  • Driving successful customer engagements
  • Driving innovation
  • Building talent
  • Accountability
  • Portfolio management

People Specification

  • Matric / Grade 12 / National Senior Certificate
  • Certification in Design from an accredited design school
  • 7–10 years' relevant experience
  • 1–2 years' managerial experience

Technical / Professional Knowledge

  • Process design
  • Product design
  • UI/UX design
  • Relevant design tools
  • Project management

Behavioural Competencies

  • High performance, purpose-led culture (client-centred, values-driven)
  • Driving successful customer engagements
  • Driving innovation
  • Building talent
  • Accountability
  • Portfolio management

Interested candidates who meet the above requirements are invited to submit their updated CVs to or apply directly via this job advertisement/post.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

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