Job Description

Empowering Africa's tomorrow, together...one story at a time.
With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.
Job Summary
Design Project Lead (DPL) manages the day-to-day execution of one or several customer design projects in Absa while guiding and developing individual team members. DPL works directly with different business stakeholders and takes ownership of the overall project and the delivery of exceptional customer experience. She/he will make an important contribution to the design work of the team and work closely with the stakeholders to ensure the project delivery meets both the customer and the business needs. A successful DLP is a self-starter with passion for high quality customer design. She/He has a strong track record of delivering complex, creative and innovative design projects that elevate the customer experience. He/she can demonstrate strong communication capabilities and ability to influence and lead others in even high-pressure situations.

Accountability: Project Management

Engage with business stakeholders to clarify the needs and requirements of the business and, jointly with the Design director, establish a clear scope, creative brief and project plan for projects Manage the day-to-day delivery of the design output against the plan, continuously interrogating the

design quality and customer experience to deliver high-quality output in each stage of the project

Work closely together with the business and technical stakeholders to ensure the project aligns to

their needs and requirements

Take ownership of the customer experience within the project and constructively challenge business and technical decisions to ensure the best possible experience for the customers Lead the project team by aligning, managing and coaching the designers, prototype engineers,

copywriters and other possible team members, supporting them in setting goals, overcoming

obstacles and delivering outstanding outcomes, while ensuring a fully unified end product

Develop and nurture relationships across teams and disciplines to promote collaboration and

efficiency

Actively seek ways to measure impact of the design to the customer and business, reporting the

insights to the senior management and business stakeholders
Accountability: High quality design

Create creative, innovative and high-quality design solutions to create a world-class customer

experience across the projects in Absa

Give a significant contribution to the design within the project, while providing thought leadership to

the overall team and business

Take ownership in applying design thinking and best practice standards in developing design options and narrowing down the final solution Leverage insight and data, such as market analysis, customer feedback, and user research analytics to ensure that products/services/solutions are truly designed around the customer and deliver improved experience; surface and share insights to the broader team Design scenarios, mock-ups and prototypes as necessary for each stage of the project, continuously iterating to achieve the optimal output Align the design to the design standards and brand guidelines to ensure consistent experience to the customer across the Absa ecosystem

Accountability: Building capabilities

Coach and mentor designers in the project team and design office as a whole Foster a team environment in which designers feel engaged and motivated Continuously build your own expertise by, for example, actively seeking and incorporating feedback,

and following external trends and best practices

Contribute the knowledge building of the entire team by actively sharing insights and success stories; and providing feedback and ideas across different design projects
Education and experience required

Degree or diploma in a Design discipline such as product, industrial, service, interaction, digital or

visual design or equivalent qualification (NQF level 4)

Track record of delivering complex, high quality design projects, with strong customer impact Two years of experience conducting audience and usability research including benchmarking,

heuristic reviews, surveys, analytics, stakeholder interviews, focus groups, contextual inquiry, and

usability testingDemonstrated experience in each of the usability and software engineering cycle phases (analysis,

design, implementation, and deployment)

Ability to create and use personas and produce illustrated customer journeys Ability to communicate ideas through drawing, digital tools, prototyping, model making etc.

Knowledge and skills: (Maximum of 6)

Advanced understanding of the whole process of developing digital and service design solutions Great customer obsession - ability to tirelessly drive improvement in customer experience

throughout the projects

Strong skills in stakeholder management - ability to build strong relationships, communicate

effectively and, when necessary, challenge constructively

Problem-solving skills - ability to work tirelessly and think creatively in order to find solutions to

problems/issues

Understanding of the importance of data and insight in driving solutions and ability to use data in

decision-making

Awareness of new and emerging design trends and patterns in customer design space

Competencies: (Maximum of 8 competencies)

Ability to provide creative and innovative ideas and concepts to push the thinking on customer

experience

Entrepreneurial mind-set with an ability to work independently and make quick decisions Meticulous attention for detail Ability to influence and lead others in all levels of the organisation Project management/planning skills to ensure projects are delivered on time and on budget Great communicator with strong written and oral communication skills

Education
Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Physical, Mathematical, Computer and Life Sciences (Required)Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank.Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised