Design Director

About the role

The Design Director will lead the creative direction of complex digital products for a globally distributed team based in South Africa. This senior role blends hands‑on design execution with mentorship, ensuring that design quality meets the highest standards while aligning with business goals.

Key responsibilities

• Lead and contribute directly to design execution across multiple projects, delivering high‑quality UX, product, and visual design.
• Define and uphold design excellence standards, providing critique, direction, and mentorship to improve team output and consistency.
• Partner with clients as a trusted design advisor, presenting work, managing feedback loops, and shaping design direction.
• Align design decisions with product strategy, roadmaps, market positioning, and user needs.
• Collaborate with business development to scope engagements, identify growth opportunities, and support client relationships.
• Build and nurture a strong design culture by hiring, mentoring, and developing designers while fostering inclusivity and high performance.
• Champion service design, change management, and systems thinking to ensure scalable, long‑term impact.

Required profile

• Proven experience leading and mentoring design teams in complex product environments.
• Deep expertise in UX and product design, including research, strategy, interaction design, and end‑to‑end delivery.
• Strong visual design sensibility and awareness of modern design trends, tools, and emerging technologies.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills with the ability to influence clients and stakeholders.
• Ability to operate in ambiguous environments, balancing strategic thinking with hands‑on execution.

Required skills

• UX design
• Product design
• Visual design
• Service design
• Systems thinking
• Qualitative research
• Quantitative research