Head of Design

Introduction

We have an opening for a Head of Design. We are looking for someone to define, share and lead a remarkable and consistent design vision and experience. The person who will join us will be managing a team of two Product Designers that is expected to grow throughout the year.

The role

In this role you will define design orientations that will support Memo Bank’s growth strategy. You will carry our users’ voices to offer them an outstanding experience. We are aiming to create elegant and intuitive interfaces for two types of users : our SME clients and our bankers. In your mission, you will have the full support of our CEO, along with our Product, Engineering, Marketing, Risk and Finance teams.

Reporting directly to our CEO, you will be the manager of our Design team. We will expect from you to promote best practice to help implement quality user experiences.

In addition to defining our products’ functional and visual orientations, you will be working on practical topics day to day. You will advise on interactions, and help balance the desire for esthetic simplicity with the need for technical complexity. You will design client interfaces (e.g. those for managing wire transfers, other payment methods, etc.) as well as tools that will help our bankers assist our clients. We are looking for someone who enjoys working as part of a team and sharing their love of design.

As Head of Design, you will have the opportunity to shape our products and our company. You will play a major role in making it possible for SME executives to spend less time managing their finances and more time focused on their business. We will be right there with you working to live up to that goal.

The team

We are building our design team. You will be joining Hugo Mingoia and Antoine Plu, our Product Designers, and Jean-Daniel Guyot, our CEO, who also founded Capitaine Train (now Trainline). If you wish to, you will be able to advise us on the tools and methods to deliver the best work possible.

As a member of our Design team, you will also benefit from a budget to learn and progress in your profession. If you’d like to attend a conference, take a training course, or read trade publications, you can count on our financial support to facilitate this.

Finally, if you enjoy sharing your knowledge by writing articles or speaking at conferences, we can free some time in your schedule for it. We have relied on some of the work of our peers to build our bank, and we love giving back to the wider community by contributing the expertise of our team members and passing along our collective lessons learned.

Responsibilities

Broadly speaking, you will be asked to :

Conduct our design team of two Product Designers.
Define, share and follow a consistent design vision.
Promote excellent practice to support our teams in the implementation of remarkable experiences.
Influence the strategy, in collaboration with our Engineering and Product teams.
Define and design new features based on the needs identified by our clients and bankers and in keeping with the technical and regulatory constraints inherent in our work.
Find visual and interactive solutions to improve our products.
Present your work to your peers visually and/or in writing.
Periodically design visuals for our internal or external communication. You will collaborate with our Marketing and Sales teams.
Instill an appreciation of the importance of design across all teams and help colleagues improve their visual lexicon.

About you

You have already designed B2B products, maybe even in the banking sector. You thoroughly enjoyed it and would like to continue - preferably with us. You love harnessing the power of both form and content to solve problems visually. It’s your thing. You don’t see constraints as an obstacle to your performance. They are simply part of the scope of the challenge, and they help focus your creativity.

You enjoy managing a team and have at heart to develop, motivate and inspire them. Like us, you value collaborative work.

For you, design is everything, not just a finishing touch. UX doesn’t stop at what you see, but also incorporates interaction design and information architecture. You want to help us find the right balance between the esthetic and the functional.

You are self-aware and unafraid of reexamining yourself and your approach in the pursuit of constant improvement. You like taking part in lively discussions about everything from navigation principles to icon design.

Our strategy is to hire curious, daring, humble people and then to give them a lot of freedom to learn and create. In our experience, properly-thought-out and well-executed projects tell us more than a piece of paper from even the most prestigious institutions.

Requirements

We are looking for someone with a solid experience in both B2B product design and team management.

Ideally, you have :

At least 10 years of design experience of B2B products, gained on various topics and in fast-growth companies.
A management spirit. You care about your team and how you can grow, mentor and motivate them.
A diverse portfolio of work personally designed and shipped, along with examples of work directed and delivered by your team.
A willingness and ability to build from scratch.
A capability to visually solve complex issues.
Strong written and spoken English. All internal documentation is in English and you will be adding to it.
International experiences.

How to apply

Initial application

If you’d like to join us, simply send your CV (or your LinkedIn), your portfolio (or your website) and a message (in French or English) explaining why you are applying. We don’t expect a formal cover letter, but we do want to know what you think you can bring to the team and what you expect from us. Don’t be afraid to let a bit of your personality shine through; your future colleagues will be reading.

You don’t get any bonus points for length, and you won’t be penalized for brevity. Leave out the parts that we might be tempted to skip over and focus on what’s truly important to you.

We are aware that we are asking a lot of you. You likely already have a job and/or other occupations. If you are willing to take time out of your busy day to write to us, we genuinely appreciate it. The ball is in your court. We hope to hear from you.