Director, Consumer Insights & Design Job at BFA (Bankable Frontier Associates)

Responsibilities Identify, contract and direct projects

• Develop and identify new business for the CI team that aims to tackle product design problems and implement solutions by applying user-centered design processes
• Stay abreast of new trends and ideas in the fields of HCD, UX, and design, ensuring that BFA remains a top choice for thought leading work in design for financial services for low-income people
• Lead the design of and successfully manage the CI team to execute projects that may include:
  • User interviews, user surveys, usability testing
  • Creating wireframes, mockups, and prototypes for products and service
  • Producing user personas, use case scenarios, user journeys and storyboards
  • Implementing products and features with engineers and business analysts on other BFA teams
• Think creatively about how to enable low-income people to solve problems and achieve goals in all areas of their lives, through new and improved financial services
• Review outputs, ensuring the highest standards of quality for BFA’s clients
• Effectively manage budgets and timelines and ensure profitability of Consumer Insights projects
• Communicate stage of the project process effectively, keeping clients updated throughout all phases of implementation
• Set expectations accurately and define scope of projects to ensure client satisfaction

Collaborate effectively across other practice areas of BFA

• Understanding the content areas of policy, supply-side analytics and financial to be able to identify and enhance the ability of the Consumer Insights team to collaborate across practice areas

Contribute to strategic direction of firm

• Serve as an active member of BFA’s Leadership Team, including review of pipeline and associate utilization. Contribute to discussions around strategic areas for growth for the firm
• Maintain focus on social impact and work to ensure that projects translate to measurable improvements in the lives of poor people (even if indirectly)

Manage associates

• Manage a team of five Consumer Insights associates with expertise in how low-income people manage their finances
• Ensure Consumer Insights team members have an appropriate work load
• Coach and mentor staff, particularly strengthening their design skills and the use of cutting-edge, lean tools and methodologies

Represent BFA

• Represent BFA at conferences and events, including public speaking engagements
• Maintain strong client relationships

Qualifications

• Bachelor Degree in anthropology, engineering, marketing, economics, journalism, or other similar area.
• Masters or other type of qualification in digital design, graphic design, human-computer interaction (HCI) is a plus
• A minimum of 10 years of work experience in design and its application for international development. Experience working in developing countries and a commitment to improving the lives of low-income people required
• Demonstrated expertise in design for poverty alleviation in developing countries
• Professional familiarity with different cultures and languages
• Intuitive understanding of the environments and conditions in which low-income people live their lives
• Demonstrated success in managing others and advocating for their professional advancement
• Strong communication skills and comfort with public speaking and ability to represent technical topics accurately
• Creative thinking and storytelling skills, and ability to connect individual stories with information needs of BFA’s clients
• Willingness to travel internationally up to 25% of the time
• Advanced English skills

Any of the following will be considered a plus:

• Proficiency in languages other than English
• Familiarity with financial inclusion, microfinance, digital financial services or other topics related to money management
• Knowledge of design and prototyping tools such as Balsamiq Mockups, Photoshop, Illustrator
• Understanding of HTML, Android Design Guidelines, CSS and JS