Product UX Designer

Nova Pioneer is looking for a rockstar Product UX Designer to be part of the Post School Success Platform team, ready to start in January 2026. The successful candidate should be able to legally work in either Kenya/ Nigeria.

ABOUT NOVA PIONEER

Nova Pioneer is a pan-African network of schools reimagining education to develop innovators and leaders who will shape the future. With campuses across Kenya and South Africa, we deliver rigorous, values-driven learning that equips students with the skills, mindsets, and confidence to thrive in a rapidly changing world.  We are extending this impact through blended digital and in-person programmes that help young people thrive after school

ABOUT THE POST-SCHOOL SUCCESS PLATFORM

Africa has the world’s youngest, fastest-growing population and a looming employment gap. In Kenya alone, 67% of youth aged 15–34 are unemployed, and most secondary graduates lack structured support to navigate tertiary study, employment, or entrepreneurship. Nova Pioneer created the Post-School Success Platform (PSSP) to close this gap. PSSP is a blended online-offline ecosystem that acts as a “cockpit and coach” for youth, curating and connecting fragmented career, university, and entrepreneurship resources into one guided pathway.

Through three interlinked programmes—Post School Prep (PSP) for students, The Graduate Platform (TGP) for alumni, and the Innovator Pathway (IP) for young entrepreneurs—PSSP combines an AI-enabled Success Coach with in-person seminars, Graduate Summits, and the African Innovation Olympiad. Over its first three years, PSSP will pilot and scale to 25,000+ members, build a pan-African community, and generate sustainable revenue, positioning Nova Pioneer as a leader in preparing Africa’s youth to thrive beyond school.
 

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Product Designer will lead human‑centred design for PSSP’s digital experiences. You will translate insights from students, graduates, parents, deans, and employers into elegant, accessible workflows and UI that ship quickly and measurably improve outcomes. You will partner with the PSSP Lead, product managers, engineers, and programme teams to scope MVPs, run experiments, and evolve the product based on data and feedback.

Key Output: Usable and delightful product experiences that improve learner activation, completion, and progression to next‑step outcomes. Shipped designs and specs that enable high‑quality engineering delivery and measurable impact.

Key responsibilities of the role include:

Discovery and Research

• Co-plan and run lightweight user research, co‑design sessions, and usability tests with learners and potential users across Kenya and South Africa.
• Map end‑to‑end journeys for PSP, TGP, and IP, including offline touchpoints like camps, job shadows, and Graduate Summits.
• Translate findings into clear problem statements, opportunity areas, and hypotheses.

Product and User Experience Design

• Define information architecture, user flows, wireframes, and interactive prototypes for mobile‑first experiences with offline‑first considerations.
• Design UI that is accessible, device‑agnostic, and low‑bandwidth friendly. Apply or extend the design system in partnership with brand and engineering.
• Write UX copy that is clear, motivating, and appropriate for the different user archetypes.

Delivery and Quality

• Produce developer‑ready specs, states, and edge cases. Partner closely with engineers during implementation and QA to ensure quality.
• Run design reviews, incorporate feedback quickly, and maintain a high bar for craft while shipping iteratively.

Outcomes and Iteration

• Define success metrics with the PSSP Lead and PM team. Instrument flows for analytics and NPS. Use data to prioritise and iterate.
• Scope MVPs and experiments that de‑risk assumptions. Balance user value, feasibility, and speed to learning.

Collaboration and Ways of Working

• Facilitate workshops with educators, deans, and employer partners. Align cross‑functional teams on problems, solutions, and release plans.
• Contribute to a practical design system and component library. Document patterns and guidelines

ABOUT YOU

• Bachelor’s degree in Design, HCI, Computer Science, Psychology, Education, or a related field. Equivalent practical experience considered.
• 4+ years in Product Design or UX Design shipping products used by real users. Experience in education, youth development, employability, or marketplaces is an advantage.
• Portfolio with two to three concise case studies showing problem framing, user insight, design decisions, shipped results, and learning.
• Strong interaction and visual design skills with a mobile‑first mindset.
• Proficiency with Figma or equivalent for end‑to‑end work: flows, wireframes, prototypes, specs.
• Practical research skills: planning, running, and synthesising interviews and usability tests.
• Systems thinking across digital and in‑person touchpoints. Comfortable mapping service blueprints.
• Experience designing for low connectivity, shared devices, and accessibility needs.
• Data‑informed decision making. Basic analytics literacy and comfort defining success metrics.
• Excellent written and verbal communication in English Language. Clear documentation and UX writing.
• Strong collaboration with engineers and programme teams. Ability to give and receive feedback.
• Mission alignment. Experience in youth development, education, employability, or a comparable mission‑driven domain.
• Leadership potential. Able to influence without authority, run workshops, and mentor junior contributors as the team grows.
• You are a strategic thinker and a thought leader but you are also able to translate your ideas into action and execute on them.
• You have strong project management skills. You are able to juggle multiple tasks and meet deadlines and targets.
• You understand best practices for youth safeguarding, data privacy, and responsible AI, ensuring ethical implementation of programmes and technology.
• You are a problem solver - you are proactive in identifying issues and address these thoroughly by making an effort to find appropriate solutions.
• You thrive in start-up or early-stage environments; able to pivot quickly, manage risk, and deliver under tight timelines.
• You have a heart and belief in the African continent and are keen to shape young minds of innovators and leaders.
• You resonate deeply with our mission and culture principles in developing the next generation of innovators and leaders.

HOW TO APPLY

Does working at Nova Pioneer excite you? If so, then apply now!

To apply, please complete the form on the right-hand side of this page. We cannot process applications that are emailed to us.

Please note:  You are encouraged to attach your resume in PDF format to protect formatting.

All applications will be reviewed and applicants notified of the next steps. There are a series of stages in the Nova Pioneer interview process and candidates will be moved forward in the process depending on their success in the previous stage. The process is as follows:

• Phone interview: a short conversation to understand your skills and experience a little better.
• Practical demonstration of what you can do: you will complete a written task or a demonstration related to the role you are applying for. Teachers participate in a half-day selection day at one of our campuses as well as deliver a lesson to a class.
• In-person/virtual interviews: at this point you will visit one of our schools to meet the team and participate in a series of in-person or virtual interviews.
• Final interview: you’ll have a final conversation with the hiring manager before decisions are made.

WORKING AT NOVA PIONEER

Nova Pioneer is a place where our people experience tremendous growth, fast! We invest heavily in the growth of our people because it leads to greater mastery in both us and our students. “Novaneers” work harder and work longer hours than most schools but as a result, the growth they experience is extraordinary. We offer consistent and ongoing personal development and provide clear career pathways that ensure that our people are always achieving their personal and professional best. Nova Pioneer has a highly energetic, entrepreneurial environment where our people get to bring their creative and innovative ideas to life. We look for people who are flexible and who are able to adapt and respond quickly to adversity with a positive, can-do attitude (there are no problems, only solutions!). We welcome challenges and roll with the punches because it makes us, and our students, better. There is no problem too big for us! We bring infectious energy and enthusiasm to everything we do because joy fuels our work and learning. Read more about our culture principles here.

Nova Pioneer will never request an application fee from candidates. If you are contacted with a request to pay a fee from someone claiming to be a Nova Pioneer Talent or Recruitment representative, please do not pay them and report it to us immediately on talent.ke@novapioneer.com or talent.sa@novapioneer.com.