Head of Design at Absa

Job Summary

The role is primarily responsible for driving the development and execution of a cohesive Design strategy across multiple channels, lead clients and teams through insights, and contribute to all phases of the design process.

Job Description

he Head: Design is primarily responsible for driving the development and execution of a cohesive Design strategy across multiple channels, lead clients and teams through insights, and contribute to all phases of the design process. The role is accountable for identifying problems faced by business/product owners, and ensure effective and efficient business value streams and optimal integration of processes, people and technology by interactively analysing, researching, providing input and recommendations to solution designs initiative across RBB, in line with business strategy.

To act as the ultimate authority of design in RBB to address business problems and needs by defining the overall design landscape from a solutions perspective, ensuring conformity and compliance to standards and guidelines.

Key accountabilities
Accountability: Strategy & business accountability

• Set and communicate a long-term Design strategy that clearly articulates strategic targets and metrics to align the delivery of agreed strategy against the RBB Business strategic objectives and targets and shareholder expectations.
• Outline clear and compelling vision in terms of Design, translating the vision into a set of clear and actionable initiatives
• Stay abreast of industry trends and role players and ensure that RBB is well positioned to provide competitive and industry leading Design.
• Set and communicate a long-term strategy that clearly articulates strategic targets and metrics to align the delivery of the function’s targets against the Bank’s strategic objectives and targets and shareholder expectations.

Accountability: Customer Experience (CX) Design

• Deliver projects, which lead to the creation of an industry leading customer experience that is notably different, far exceeding expectations and is at the global forefront of simplicity and usability while still maintaining the depth and richness in functionality of the Absa product set.
• Leverage insight and data to ensure that products/services/solutions are designed around the customer/client/colleague.
• Establish a CX strategy that will guide the principles for CX application in the short and medium term –leveraging the global team where appropriate.
• Design, develop and deliver through integrated teams, ongoing customer experience improvements as well as innovations, which provide Absa/Barclays with sources of significant differentiation and competitive advantage.
• Review and approve the output of the design and technical teams to ensure that the planned user experience is achieved during implementation.
• Work collaboratively to elicit and document functional requirements and prioritisation from business stakeholders through workshops and relevant documentation while tracking implementation delivery and reporting on progress.

Accountability: User Interface (UI) & User Experience (UX)

• Design Defining, building and running a successful, world-class design team, typically responsible for:
• Determining and setting the optimal design approach for projects from ideation to final design implementation
• Documenting personas and journey maps, site-mapping, wire-framing, prototyping, user-testing, visual assets, front-end code etc.
• Creating a design ecosystem and physical environment in which designers will thrive, be motivated by and develop as professionals.
• Instructing and managing agencies to ensure quality, value for money and effective working relationships.
• Managing stakeholders and the department to ensure all things finance/governance/resource related are handled.
• Allocating and monitoring of design resource to ensure that quality work will be completed on time and to budget; involving external design agencies to manage demand when appropriate.
• Closely directing designers who are driving day-to-day design detail. Engage and inspire entire design project teams.
• Ensuring projects remain on course and reach the highest standards of design that create innovation and user value.
• Providing updates and presenting final designs to senior Absa/Barclays leadership alongside to project team.
• Keep abreast of developments within area of expertise, reading internal circulars, bulletins, etc. and implement training interventions to ensure imparting of skills and understanding.

Accountability: Business Process Design Outputs to deliver this accountability:

• Responsible for identifying problems faced by business/product owners, and ensure effective and efficient business value streams and optimal integration of processes, people and technology by interactively analysing, researching, providing input and recommendations to solution designs initiative across RBB, in line with business strategy.
• Act as a strategic consultant to executive management on the alignment of business processes to the technical and information enterprise architecture, and on the alignment of business processes in line with strategic business needs.
• Work with the Enterprise Architecture team to ensure alignment between the business process architecture and all relevant technology architectures (applications, data and infrastructure).
• Engage and build relationships with product and process owners, to understand the requirements, inputs, handoffs and outputs of the process, and ensure that sufficient process analysis is conducted in order to meet desired business needs.
• Support process owners to design change impact assessment tools and change project plans.
• Champion and lead process improvement, analysis and business process management functions – either as standalone projects or as part of wider programmes of change.

Accountability: Design Research Outputs to deliver this accountability:

• Provide subject matter expertise and training in user research. Work with project teams to identify research needs, design learning plans, research materials and tests, Guides execution of research activities on projects
• Provide analysis of research related data with actionable recommendations
• Coordinates with internal and external resources where appropriate to maximize existing work and expertise
• Evangelize social research methodologies and approaches across project teams to empower every team member to increase their awareness of user needs
• Maintain awareness of relevant social, cultural, economic and technological trends
• Teach design thinking and research best practices to other team members
• Work with a variety of experts to provide breakthrough insights based on the analysis and synthesis of user needs, corporate strategies, enterprise capabilities and market opportunities
• Partner with others in the innovation development strategy – connecting new concepts to the current business

Team Leadership and People Management Outputs to deliver this accountability:

• Drive senior management thinking, debate and influence, to drive and manage transformational change.
• Facilitate, support and guide the delivery and achievement of business team results in a balance scorecard of customer / company / colleague / community.
• Oversee the management of business managers and engagements with clients.
• Proactively build and maintain relationship with key stakeholders across RBB and looking for opportunities to leverage and build cross BU solutions.
• Provide leadership and coaching to ensure that all colleagues are aligned to the goals and culture of RBB.
• Rigorously discharge all Group HR policies (including Performance Development, Equality and Diversity, Disciplinary & Grievance) in respect of staff under scope.
• Ensure and maintain a succession plan for the key roles and review/approve succession plans in the operating environment.
• Manage and develop performance through the ongoing implementation of the performance development process within Transformation and Change and review alignment between performance ratings and business results.
• Managing the recruitment process with the Resourcing team resolving issues and tracking overall progress of hiring activity.
• Participate in coaching and mentoring activities, particularly for candidates in the graduate programme and for identified talent development within the business.
• Actively manage the workplace environmental elements and their impact on staff motivation, retention as well as health and safety.
• Manage consistently poor performers.

Role/Person specification
Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree (NQF Level 7) in Design/Digital/Commerce/Engineering/Business Administration/Information Systems.
• MBA or similar post-graduate qualifications preferred.
• Has at least 15+ years’ post qualification experience directing complex, commercial, design projects
• Deep aptitude and knowledge within business architecture/process architecture
• A design practitioner background and foundation within one or more disciplines.
• Familiar with designing product, services and experiences across multiple touch points.
• Has worked with large budgets and major brands.
• Preferably a leading, established and respected figure within the design industry and community.
• Deep aptitude and knowledge within business architecture/process architecture
• Expertise in strategy development, planning and execution.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Detailed understanding of strategic agenda and ability to influence stakeholders at various level including communication and presentation skills.
• Knowledge of customer/digital/service/product/process design.
• Highly creative with the ability to generate ideas and practically contribute to design details.
• Ability to communicate ideas through digital tools, prototyping, model making etc.
• Ability to inspire others.
• Ability to influence stakeholders at all levels, particularly at RBB Exco level.

Competencies:

• Strategic Capability
• Business Acumen
• Customer Focus
• Results Orientation
• Innovation Leadership
• Problem Solving Leadership
• Inspirational People Leadership
• Collaboration and Influencing

Education

• Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)