Business Designer Lead at IDEO.org

IDEO.org has an opportunity for a Business Design Lead to join our Nairobi studio.

IDEO.org’s Business Designers are a part of multi-disciplinary design teams, blending business strategy and creativity— helping our partners across the developing world bring new offerings and ventures to market. With frequent trips that take you across Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East, you’ll be part design researcher, part strategist, and part operational guru, working alongside other builders and thinkers from different backgrounds. 

Business acumen is a given. Ability to execute is a must. Demonstrated passion for solving challenges facing the world’s most impoverished communities is absolutely critical.

You will:

• Work with organizations across the developing world to design new products, services and consumer experiences that address a variety of poverty-related challenges.
• Lead work streams, apply problem-solving frameworks, and conduct rigorous analyses to answer some of the most challenging questions in development today.
• Bring a combination of analytical skills and social acumen, you simplify complex findings, develop insightful recommendations.
• Provide the critical thinking and analytical horsepower that drive concepts that the design teams deliver. 
• Guide partners through the implementation process and steward solutions to market by developing strategies, timelines, and financial models that appropriately reflect our partners’ organizational constraints and aspirations, while delivering on the needs of the end-user.
• Ensure new offerings and ventures introduced by our partners are created with an eye towards and concrete plans for scale.
• Design, lead, and measure experiments to gather feedback and make concepts better.
• Support the financial and operational health of the Amplify program by participating in the creation of budgets, operational plans, and other program-level initiatives.
• Contribute to the culture of IDEO.org.

You are:

• An absolute professional who leads by example, treats peers and partners with respect, and seeks and gives constructive feedback.
• Experienced in business model design, analysis, and implementation, with a Master’s degree in business and 5+ years of industry experience.
• Effective working in multidisciplinary teams and communicating business concepts to a wide diversity of audiences, including partners and designers from other disciplines.
• Able to switch seamlessly between self-directed independent work and highly collaborative teamwork.
• Excited about the opportunity to get your hands dirty in an entrepreneurial environment.
• Experienced in or passionate about working in the developing world and tackling challenges related to poverty.