UI/UX Product Designer

Position:.UI/UX Product Designer

Reporting to: Director of Innovation

Location: Nairobi, Kenya.

Role type: Full-Time - Fixed term contract 1 year

About SunCulture
Founded in 2012, SunCulture's vision is to build a world where people take control of their environment in rewarding and sustainable ways. SunCulture achieves this by developing and commercializing life-changing technology that solves the biggest daily challenges for the world's 570 million smallholder farming households. The company is the largest distributor of solar water pumps/solar irrigation for smallholder farmers in Africa and was recognized by Fast Company as one of the World's Most Innovative Companies in 2021. SunCulture has grown significantly over the last five years, now employing over 400 people globally.

About Maarifa
Maarifa (the Swahili word for knowledge or wisdom) is a data platform by SunCulture with integrated credit scoring and Peer-2-Peer engagement. It aims to connect opportunities for smallholder farmers in East Africa, addressing challenges like limited market access, price volatility, and exploitation by intermediaries. Maarifa supports Sustainable Agriculture (SDG 2) by providing market access and reducing post-harvest losses, and Social Entrepreneurship (SDG 8) by empowering smallholder farmers to improve economic stability. It also enables farmers to demonstrate financial stability, making them financible by SunCulture's irrigation business, thereby supporting Water Access (SDG 6). The platform facilitates communication between farmers and outgrowers, provides training, and allows for payments and credit score building.

About The Role
The UI/UX Product Designer for Maarifa Rollout will play a leading role in the planning and execution of the Maarifa initiative's user experience and interface design. Reporting to the Director of Innovation, this position will be crucial in ensuring the successful development, launch, and scaling of SunCulture's outgrower data platform. This role demands a dynamic leader with strong UI/UX design skills, a deep understanding of user-centered design principles, and a passion for creating impactful products for underserved communities.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead UI/UX Design for Maarifa: Provide comprehensive leadership and oversight for the user interface and user experience aspects of the Maarifa project rollout, from concept to full-scale deployment.
• Conduct End-User Research: Plan and execute thorough end-user research, including interviews, surveys, and usability testing, to deeply understand the needs, pain points, and behaviors of smallholder farmers, outgrowers, and agricultural entrepreneurs in East Africa. Develop detailed user personas and journey maps10.
• Design and Prototype User Experiences: Create intuitive, user-friendly, and visually appealing designs for the Maarifa web and Android applications, as well as the WhatsApp bot and USSD/SMS interfaces11. Develop wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes using Figma and Adobe tools.
• Collaborate with Technical and Commercial Teams: Work closely with the technical development team to ensure the feasibility of designs and with the business development and field support teams to align design solutions with market needs and user adoption strategies
• Iterate and Optimize Based on Feedback: Continuously gather user feedback and performance data, and iterate on designs to improve usability, engagement, and overall user satisfaction.
• Ensure Design System Consistency: Develop and maintain a consistent design system and component library to ensure brand coherence and efficient scaling of the platform.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Graphic Design, or a closely related field.
• Proven experience (typically 3+ years) in UI/UX product design, with strong experience specifically in designing for high-traffic, consumer-facing digital products.
• Demonstrated mastery of design tools such as Figma and Adobe Creative Suite.
• Strong portfolio showcasing end-user research methodologies, case studies, and interactive prototypes.
• Experience participating in the launch of new products with a new go-to-market strategy is highly desirable.
• Excellent organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience working in East Africa, particularly with underserved populations or in rural contexts, is highly desirable.
• Understanding of agricultural value chains or financial inclusion products is a plus.

Does this sound like you?

If you are a driven and experienced UI/UX Product Designer with a deep understanding of user-centered design and a passion for leveraging innovative technology to create significant social and economic impact for smallholder farmers, we encourage you to apply.

Interested?

Please apply online via this job portal. We respond to all candidates; however, only shortlisted candidates will be interviewed.

Please Note
SunCulture is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations, and ordinances14.