Lead Designer Jobs

About us

BFA Global is an impact innovation firm that combines research, advisory, venture building, and investment expertise to build a more inclusive, equitable, and resilient future for underserved people and the planet. We partner with leading public, private and philanthropic organizations, global and local, to catalyze innovation ecosystems for impact across emerging markets. BFA Global is the general partner and venture-building provider of Catalyst Fund.

Catalyst Fund is a pre-seed high-impact fund backing tech startups that seek to improve the resilience of underserved, climate-vulnerable communities in Africa. It provides capital and hands-on venture-building support to mission-driven, local and women entrepreneurs. Over the past 7 years, we have backed 61 startups across 15 emerging markets.

About the Lead Designer role

We seek a multi-disciplinary designer with research-based UI/UX and product design experience to work with BFA Global’s portfolio of projects, including with Catalyst Fund startups. You will be responsible for leading all design-related project activities and working with our portfolio of climate resilience startups across Africa. You will work with team members worldwide and must be proactive and independent while collaborating closely with colleagues in different time zones. You will report to the Head of Communications & Influence.

What You’ll Do

Creative Direction

Are you passionate about storytelling and communication and looking to have an impact on creating a more sustainable and equitable world?

Do you have a vision for how to bring stories to life via visual design to have a positive impact?

Do you want to support cutting-edge African innovators to develop climate resilience solutions that help people and the planet? If you say yes, this job is for you.

As Lead Designer at BFA Global, you will be expected to:

• Leveraging your understanding of UI/UX best practices and research, regularly recommend improvements to our content and projects, and advise Catalyst Fund portfolio companies during design and marketing sprints as needed.
• Leverage your understanding of digital marketing, work with the team to ideate on novel and creative approaches to visually present information and better reach individual target audiences (inclusive of donors, NGOs, investors, startup founders, research firms, corporates and more)

Specifically, your role will include:

Graphic design, UI/UX, and product design

• Social media graphics
• Image/photography library
• Light-touch collateral design (one-pagers, banners, pitch decks, social media visuals)
• Minimal video graphic work
• Creating design management systems
• Decks
• Own, update and enforce visual guidelines across all internal and external touchpoints to ensure consistent brand aesthetic
• As part of marketing + communications support offering for our portfolio companies, work with the Strategic Marketing Lead to lead design sprints with companies, as determined necessary by individual Project Leads. This may include:
• Printed event material (banners, one-pagers, etc.)
• Social media text-based videos
• Work with team members to determine UI/UX or design needs within other venture-building projects as needed. Execute project-based design activities and/or hire freelance/external talent as needed.
• Own and manage design-based website updates, collaborating with external suppliers as needed
• Deck redesign
• Branding revamps
• Digital toolkits
• Website front-end build or recommendations
• Product design and UX/UI improvements
• Reports
• Infographics
• Own and lead all graphic design requirements, which may include:

Qualifications & Requirements:

Successful applicants will have many of the following qualities:

• Bachelor’s degree in design or a related field
• Excellent ability to create and manage content (web, e-newsletters, social media, print, etc.).
• A good eye for visual branding and graphic representation.
• A fluent English-language speaker with excellent written, presentation, and verbal communication skills, as well as a proven ability to communicate clearly and effectively, even in stressful situations
• Product design experience is strongly preferred
• Demonstrated ability to create and enforce consistent visual brand
• A proven ability to identify target audiences and devise cross-channel engagement strategies that educate, engage, motivate, and influence
• A proven ability to work in a fast-paced, startup environment, with strong attention to detail for all tasks, large and small
• 5+ years’ experience as an Art Director or Designer with a strong digital focus
• Unrelenting persistence and drive to achieve excellence in execution.
• A demonstrated ability to tell stories visually
• UX/ UI experience across web and mobile

Successful candidates will also:

• Be a strong team player who is open to feedback and other perspectives.
• French language skills a plus but not required
• Be willing and available to travel 20% of the time for project work as needed.
• Understanding emerging markets and designing for low-connectivity contexts, preferably in Africa.
• Possess strong project management skills, with the ability to prioritize and adapt to rapidly changing needs.
• Be creative, proactive, enthusiastic, and willing to take risks and confidently lead initiatives.
• Have the ability to work with remote teams, where collaboration tools such as Slack and video calls are used frequently.

Anticipated Start Date: August 2023

Preferred location: India, Spain. U.K. and the U.S.

Candidates must have local work permits. Compensation will be commensurate with experience.

Only shortlisted candidates who provide the required information will be contacted for follow-up.

At BFA Global, we are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation, and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military, and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

BFA Global believes that diversity and inclusion among our teammates are critical to our success as a global company. We seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool and to carry out the best inclusion work we undertake.

*BFA will not sponsor work permits.

**BFA will not pay for relocation expenses.