Design Manager

Our client is building Africa's leading payroll infrastructure. Their products power HR, payroll, time & attendance, leave, benefits, expenses, and employee experiences for thousands of organizations across the continent. As they scale, they are looking for a Design Manager who can elevate their design practice, lead a growing team, and shape the future of their product experience across multiple modules and platforms.

The Design Manager will oversee and grow the Product Design team, ensuring world-class execution, consistent quality, and a cohesive product experience across their entire ecosystem. You will mentor designers, improve design processes, collaborate closely with Product and Engineering leads, and champion customer-centricity in everything we build. You will guide designers working across Payroll, Leave, EOR, Financial Services, and new AI-powered experiences.

- Lead, mentor, and coach a team of product designers from junior to senior levels.

- Develop and maintain a high bar for visual, interaction, and UX design quality across all products.

- Own and evolve the design system, ensuring consistency, scalability, and adoption across teams.

- Improve and standardize design processes including discovery, user testing, documentation, and handoff.

- Collaborate with Product Managers and Engineering Leads to define product strategy, scope, and priorities.

- Champion user research, usability testing, and feedback loops across modules.

- Ensure UI implementation quality through regular QA, design reviews, and alignment with front-end engineering.

- Set standards for helper text, tooltips, empty states, and in-app guidance to ensure clarity and usability.

- Conduct regular 1:1s, design critiques, performance reviews, and goal-setting sessions.

* 5+ years of experience in Product Design, including 2+ years in a leadership or management role.

* Strong portfolio showcasing complex design systems, enterprise interfaces, and end-to-end UX work.

* Proven experience leading design teams within SaaS or B2B product environments.

* Deep proficiency in Figma, prototyping tools, and design systems.

* Strong understanding of user research methods and applying insights to product decisions.

* Excellent communication, facilitation, and presentation skills.

* Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution when needed.

* Experience working closely with Product and Engineering in cross-functional squads.

* Experience designing HR, payroll, fintech, or workforce management tools is a nice-to-have.

* Background working on complex multi-module systems is a nice-to-have.

* Experience with AI-driven or automation-driven product experiences is a nice-to-have.

* Familiarity with analytics tools (Mixpanel, Hotjar, FullStory, and Maze) is a nice-to-have.