Head of Product Design

We are looking for a Director level Head of Product Design to lead and evolve our Product Design function as we scale up and drive digital and financial inclusion across our markets.

This role offers the opportunity to reshape how design drives business strategy and customer experience at a crucial growth moment. Youll lead cohesive, highquality user experiences across all touchpoints for customers across multiple African markets, working with talented crossfunctional teams including product managers, engineers, data scientists, and commercial stakeholders.

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 impactdriven design. Youll 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 MKOPA, design isnt an afterthought—its central to our mission of creating transformative financial partnerships that often serve as customers first entry point into formal financial services.

In this role, you would be responsible for:

• 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 MKOPA brand

• Translating design metrics into business outcomes that executives understand and value

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  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 Africas most dynamic tech hubs with direct access to our core market.

  Your application should demonstrate:

  • Proven 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 capabilities

  • Ability to work with diverse, crossfunctional 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 MKOPA?

    At MKOPA, we empower our people to own their careers through diverse development programs, coaching partnerships, and onthejob training. We support individual journeys with familyfriendly policies, prioritize wellbeing, and embrace flexibility.

    Join us in shaping the future of MKOPA as we grow together. Explore more at mkopa.com.

    

    Recognized four times by the Financial Times as one Africas fastest growing companies (2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025) and by TIME100 Most influential companies in the world 2023 and 2024 , weve served over 5 million customers, unlocking $1.5 billion in cumulative credit for the unbanked across Africa.

    

    Important Notice
    
    MKOPA 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.

    MKOPA 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. MKOPA shall ensure that its Employees are of legal working age and shall comply with local laws for youth employment or student work, such as internships or apprenticeships.

    MKOPA does not collectcharge any money as a preemployment or postemployment requirement. This means that we never ask for ‘recruitment fees’, ‘processing fees’, ‘interview fees’, or any other kind of money in exchange for offer letters or interviews 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.