Freelance Principal UX Designer (Cape Town)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Principal UX Designer

Company: Red Badger

Location: Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Job Type: Contract

Category: UX Design / Product Design

Date Posted: April 14, 2026

Experience Level: 10+ Years

Remote Status: Hybrid (2 days/week in-person)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead User Experience (UX) design efforts for a significant digital transformation project involving website consolidation and rebranding for a UK-based financial services client.

• Drive Human-Centred Design (HCD) and Design Thinking methodologies throughout a multi-phase project, encompassing a 2-week discovery and a 3-month production phase.

• Facilitate client and team workshops, conduct user research and testing, and act as the primary UX consultant to product owners, ensuring alignment with business objectives and user needs.

• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including engineers, QA, and delivery specialists, to translate design concepts into high-fidelity prototypes and implement solutions within the Optimizely CMS.

• Champion user advocacy and proactively drive customer research to inform design decisions, ensuring the delivery of improved process efficiencies and strategic digital enhancements.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the role is for a Principal UX Designer, the core responsibilities and required experience, particularly around HCD, Lean UX, and stakeholder management, align closely with the strategic and process-oriented demands of a Senior Operations or GTM Operations role. The emphasis on process efficiency, user journey optimization, and cross-functional collaboration mirrors key operational objectives.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Discovery & Strategy: Lead the discovery phase to identify opportunities for consolidating corporate websites on the Optimizely CMS, presenting viable options and validating strategic recommendations.

• Design System Implementation: Oversee the implementation of a new rebrand, including new designs and an existing design system, across multiple corporate websites during the production phase.

• Workshop Facilitation: Design and facilitate workshops, design sprints, and brainstorming sessions with clients and internal teams to drive ideation and problem-solving.

• User Research & Testing: Plan and execute comprehensive user research and usability testing at various fidelity levels, from guerrilla testing to lab-based studies, to gather actionable insights.

• Prototyping & Design: Create and iterate on designs at multiple fidelity levels, from low-fidelity wireframes to high-fidelity interactive prototypes, using industry-standard tools like Figma and Sketch.

• UX Auditing: Conduct thorough audits of existing user experiences to identify pain points, areas for improvement, and opportunities for optimization.

• Stakeholder Management & Coaching: Manage design stakeholders, coach clients and team members on Design Thinking, Lean UX, and HCD principles, fostering a user-centric approach across the project.

• Backlog Prioritisation: Consult with product owners on backlog prioritization, ensuring that user needs and strategic objectives are effectively addressed.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Work closely with product managers, engineers, and QA testers to ensure seamless integration of designs and efficient delivery of the final product.

• Client Consultation: Act as a trusted consultant, building rapport with clients from day one, simplifying complexity, and proactively championing user needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strong emphasis on process definition, optimization, and user journey mapping, which are critical components of Revenue Operations and GTM Operations roles. The ability to audit existing UX and consult on backlog prioritization directly translates to optimizing business processes and workflows.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating proficiency in UX design principles and methodologies is paramount. Candidates with degrees in Design, HCI, Computer Science, or related fields may have a foundational understanding.

Experience: A minimum of 10+ years of progressive experience in UX design, with a significant portion focused on leading complex digital projects and consulting for large organizations. Proven experience in financial services or complex corporate environments is highly advantageous.

Required Skills:

• Human-Centred Design (HCD): In-depth knowledge and practical application of HCD principles.

• Design Thinking: Proven ability to apply Design Thinking frameworks to solve complex problems.

• Lean UX Principles: Experience in applying Lean UX methodologies for rapid iteration and value delivery.

• Workshop Facilitation: Advanced skills in designing and facilitating client and team workshops and design sprints.

• User Research & Testing: Extensive experience in planning, conducting, and synthesizing user research and usability testing.

• Prototyping: Proficiency in creating prototypes at various fidelity levels (paper, low-fi, high-fi click-throughs).

• Design Tools: Expertise in industry-standard tools such as Sketch and Figma.

• Responsive & Mobile-First Design: Experience designing for mobile-first responsive websites and mobile native applications.

• Stakeholder Management: Demonstrated ability to manage design stakeholders effectively and build strong client rapport.

• Cross-functional Teamwork: Experience working closely with engineers, QA, and delivery disciplines.

• Sole UX Designer Experience: Ability to operate effectively as the sole UX designer within a cross-functional team, managing both client and team dynamics.

• UX Auditing: Experience in auditing existing user experiences to identify areas for improvement.

Preferred Skills:

• Optimizely CMS Experience: Familiarity with or experience working with Optimizely CMS.

• Design System Development/Implementation: Experience in creating or implementing design systems.

• Product Strategy Consultation: Experience consulting on product strategy and backlog prioritization.

• Financial Services Domain Knowledge: Understanding of the financial services industry, particularly pensions.

• Agile/Scrum Methodologies: Familiarity with Agile development processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The detailed requirements for HCD, Lean UX, and workshop facilitation are directly transferable to operations roles that focus on process improvement, user journey mapping, and change management. Proficiency in tools like Figma and Sketch, while design-specific, demonstrates an aptitude for leveraging technology to visualize and optimize processes.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Case Studies: Detailed case studies showcasing end-to-end UX design processes for complex projects, ideally including website consolidation, rebrands, or digital transformation initiatives.

• Process Visualization: Examples of how you've visualized user journeys, workflows, and information architecture to communicate complex systems and processes.

• Problem/Solution Framing: Clear articulation of the problems addressed, the methodologies used (HCD, Design Thinking, Lean UX), and the rationale behind design decisions.

• Impact & Outcomes: Demonstration of the impact of your design work, including metrics on user engagement, efficiency gains, or successful adoption where possible.

• Tool Proficiency: Showcase of work created using industry-standard tools like Figma and Sketch.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design: Examples of designing and documenting user workflows and system interactions.

• Research Synthesis: Evidence of how user research findings were synthesized and translated into actionable design requirements and process improvements.

• Prototyping & Iteration: Demonstrations of iterative design processes, including how prototypes were used for testing and refinement.

📝 Enhancement Note: For operations candidates, the emphasis should be on how your portfolio demonstrates process optimization, workflow efficiency, and the application of user-centric principles to business processes. Showcase projects where you've improved user journeys, streamlined operations, or implemented new systems that enhance productivity and user satisfaction.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: As this is a contract role with a competitive SAR day rate, the specific rate will depend on the candidate's experience and negotiation. Based on industry benchmarks for Principal UX Designers in Cape Town with 10+ years of experience, a range of R4,000 - R7,000+ per day can be anticipated. This is an estimate, and actual rates may vary.

Benefits: As a freelance contractor, standard employee benefits are typically not included. However, the role offers:

• Project Variety: Opportunity to work on a significant and impactful project for a UK-based financial services company.

• Cross-functional Team: Collaboration within a diverse, cross-functional team of 8 professionals.

• Competitive Rate: A competitive daily rate in South African Rand (SAR).

• Hybrid Work Model: Flexibility with 2 days per week in-person working in Century City, Cape Town.

• Potential for Extension: The initial contract is for 3 months + 2 weeks, with potential for extension based on project needs and performance.

• Direct Client Interaction: Significant opportunity for direct engagement with clients and stakeholders.

Working Hours: The standard working hours are estimated at 40 hours per week. The contract duration is approximately 3 months and 2 weeks, with a proposed start date of Monday, May 18th.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimation is based on current market data for senior contract UX roles in Cape Town, South Africa. Rates can fluctuate based on demand, specific project scope, and the candidate's negotiation skills. It's crucial for candidates to research current freelance rates and be prepared to discuss their expected day rate.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology Consulting / Digital Product Development. Red Badger helps large organizations improve their speed to market and deliver value to users and customers through strategic enhancements and new digital products/services.

Company Size: Red Badger is a well-established consultancy, likely employing a significant number of professionals across various disciplines, though specific numbers aren't provided. The project team size is 8.

Founded: 2010 by Stuart, Cain, and David. This indicates a decade-plus of experience in the industry, suggesting a mature and experienced consultancy.

Team Structure:

• Project Team: You will join a cross-functional team of 8, which typically includes roles such as Product Owners, Developers, QA Engineers, and potentially other designers or UX researchers.

• Reporting: As a Principal UX Designer, you will likely report to a Project Lead or a Head of Design within Red Badger, while working directly with the client's product owner and stakeholders.

• Collaboration: The culture emphasizes collaboration, with a "Collaborative" value focused on generating the best ideas through open listening and generosity of knowledge.

Methodology:

• Agile & Lean: Red Badger champions Design Thinking, Lean UX, and Human-Centred Design principles, emphasizing iterative development, value delivery, and rapid prototyping.

• User-Centricity: A core focus on understanding user needs and delivering value to customers through improved process efficiencies and digital products.

• Consultative Approach: Working closely with clients to understand their problems, validate ideas, and implement strategic enhancements.

Company Website: https://content.red-badger.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on HCD, Lean UX, and iterative development directly aligns with the operational principles of optimizing processes, reducing waste, and focusing on end-user value, which are central to GTM and Revenue Operations.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Principal UX Designer signifies a senior-level role, often considered a lead or expert within their domain. This role requires a high degree of autonomy, strategic thinking, and the ability to mentor others. In an operations context, this would be analogous to a Senior Manager or Director level, responsible for strategic initiatives and process architecture.

Reporting Structure: You will be embedded within a project team, reporting to Red Badger management while collaborating daily with the client's team. This dual reporting structure demands strong communication and stakeholder management skills.

Operations Impact: The role's impact is significant, focusing on improving client processes, delivering strategic digital enhancements, and ensuring value for users and customers. This directly translates to improving operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, and potentially revenue generation through better digital products and optimized user journeys.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Development: Opportunity to lead design efforts on a major project, mentor junior team members, and influence client strategy.

• Cross-Industry Exposure: Experience with a UK-based financial services client, offering insights into a specific industry's operational challenges and digital transformation needs.

• Methodology Mastery: Deepen expertise in HCD, Design Thinking, and Lean UX through practical application in a consulting environment.

• Consulting Skills: Enhance consulting, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills by working directly with clients.

• Portfolio Enrichment: Build a strong portfolio with a high-profile project, showcasing expertise in website consolidation and rebranding.

📝 Enhancement Note: For operations professionals, this role offers a chance to apply process improvement methodologies in a client-facing, project-driven environment. The "Principal" title suggests a path toward strategic leadership in operations, focusing on defining and optimizing key business processes.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid work model, requiring 2 days per week in-person at the Cape Town office (Century City). This suggests a collaborative office space designed to facilitate team interaction, workshops, and focused work.

Office Location(s): Cape Town, Century City. This is a prominent business district in Cape Town, offering accessibility and a professional working environment.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The office is likely set up to encourage collaboration, with meeting rooms, breakout spaces, and shared work areas.

• Tools & Technology: Access to necessary design tools (Figma, Sketch) and technology infrastructure to support project work.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for face-to-face interaction with a cross-functional team of 8, fostering strong working relationships and efficient communication.

• Client Engagement: The environment will support client meetings, presentations, and workshop facilitation.

Work Schedule: The role involves a standard 40-hour work week, with the flexibility of a hybrid model. The project timeline is clearly defined (2 weeks discovery + 3 months production), providing a structured work schedule.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model and emphasis on collaborative spaces are common in modern operations teams, reflecting a blend of focused individual work and essential team synergy for problem-solving and process alignment.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Likely a brief call with a Red Badger recruiter to assess basic fit and interest.

• Portfolio Review & Technical Interview: A more in-depth session with Red Badger team members (potentially including the hiring manager, Stuart) to review your portfolio, discuss your UX process, and assess your experience with HCD, Design Thinking, and Lean UX.

• Client/Project Discussion: A potential interview with the client's stakeholders or project lead to discuss your approach to the specific project challenges, including website consolidation and rebranding.

• Final Stage: May involve a final discussion with Red Badger leadership or a confirmation call.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight Process: Clearly articulate your design process for each case study, emphasizing HCD, research methodologies, and iterative design.

• Showcase Problem-Solving: Demonstrate how you tackled complex problems, particularly those involving system consolidation or rebrands.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, include metrics or outcomes that demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced user errors, increased efficiency).

• Tool Proficiency: Be ready to discuss your proficiency with Figma, Sketch, and other relevant design and prototyping tools.

• Tailor to Project: If possible, subtly tailor your presentation to highlight experience relevant to financial services, CMS platforms, and large-scale digital transformations.

Challenge Preparation:

• Workshop Simulation: Be prepared to discuss how you would approach designing and facilitating a discovery workshop for website consolidation.

• User Research Scenarios: Think about how you would plan and execute user research for a project involving multiple corporate websites.

• Stakeholder Management Scenarios: Prepare examples of how you have managed difficult stakeholders or coached teams on design principles.

📝 Enhancement Note: For operations candidates applying for this role, emphasize how your portfolio and interview responses demonstrate your ability to analyze complex systems, optimize processes, manage stakeholders, and drive measurable improvements – core competencies in operations.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: A leading collaborative interface design tool for UI design, prototyping, and design system management. Proficiency is essential.

• Sketch: Another industry-standard vector-based design tool for macOS, commonly used for UI design and prototyping. Experience is required.

• Prototyping Tools: Familiarity with various prototyping capabilities within Figma/Sketch, or potentially dedicated tools like InVision, for creating interactive mockups.

Analytics & Reporting:

CRM & Automation:

• Not directly applicable to the UX design role itself, but an understanding of how CMS platforms (like Optimizely) integrate with other business systems may be advantageous.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the listed tools are design-specific, the underlying principle of leveraging technology for visualization, collaboration, and process management is directly transferable to operations tools for data analysis, workflow automation, and CRM management.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• People People: Emphasizes strong interpersonal skills, empathy, and building rapport with clients and team members. This translates to effective stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration in operations.

• Find a Way: Fosters a proactive, problem-solving attitude, comfort with uncertainty, and accountability for achieving shared goals. This is crucial for navigating complex operational challenges and driving initiatives to completion.

• Always Learning: Promotes curiosity, continuous improvement, and a willingness to test and refine methodologies. Essential for staying current with evolving design trends and operational best practices.

• Open & Fair: Values honesty, transparency, and equitable outcomes. This fosters trust within teams and with clients, vital for successful project delivery and operational integrity.

• Collaborative: Stresses teamwork, generous knowledge sharing, and openness to diverse ideas to achieve the best outcomes. This mirrors the collaborative nature of operations teams working across departments.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Works closely with product and technology teams, fostering a holistic approach to product development.

• Workshop-Driven: Utilizes workshops and design sprints as key methods for collaborative ideation and problem-solving.

• Mentorship & Coaching: Actively coaches clients and team members to adopt user-centric design principles and methodologies.

• Open Dialogue: Encourages open communication and constructive feedback to ensure alignment and continuous improvement.

📝 Enhancement Note: Red Badger's values strongly align with the ideal culture for an operations team: collaborative, proactive, focused on continuous learning and improvement, and driven by strong interpersonal relationships for effective execution.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Client Needs & User Advocacy: Effectively managing client expectations while championing user needs and ensuring a high-quality, user-centric outcome.

• Consolidating Complex Systems: The technical challenge of consolidating multiple corporate websites on a CMS like Optimizely, requiring strategic planning and design solutions.

• Implementing Rebrand Across Diverse Sites: Ensuring a consistent and effective rebrand implementation across potentially varied website structures and content.

• Working as Sole UX Designer: Managing all UX aspects of a project within a larger cross-functional team, requiring strong organizational and self-management skills.

• Fast-Paced Project: A tight timeline for discovery (2 weeks) followed by a focused production phase requires efficient work and rapid iteration.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Design Methodologies: Deepen expertise in HCD, Design Thinking, and Lean UX through practical, high-stakes application.

• Consulting & Stakeholder Management: Hone client-facing skills, negotiation, and strategic influencing.

• CMS Implementation: Gain practical experience with Optimizely CMS and the process of rebranding websites within such a platform.

• Cross-functional Team Dynamics: Enhance collaboration skills by working within a diverse team environment.

• Industry Exposure: Gain insight into the operational and digital challenges of the financial services sector.

📝 Enhancement Note: For operations professionals, the challenges of system consolidation, process optimization, and stakeholder management are directly analogous to their daily work. The growth opportunities focus on strategic execution, process improvement, and leadership within complex projects.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Project Approach: "How would you approach the discovery phase for consolidating multiple corporate websites on the Optimizely CMS, and what key questions would you ask stakeholders?" (Focus on process, stakeholder engagement, and validation).

• UX Leadership: "Describe a time you led UX activities on a complex project, particularly where you were the sole UX designer. How did you manage stakeholders and collaborate with engineering teams?" (Highlight leadership, HCD, Lean UX, and cross-functional collaboration).

• Problem Solving: "Imagine a scenario where client requirements conflict with user research findings. How would you navigate this situation to achieve the best outcome?" (Demonstrate critical thinking, user advocacy, and negotiation skills).

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you most about Red Badger's approach to consulting and their values like 'Always Learning' and 'Find a Way'?" (Show alignment with company culture and methodology).

• "How do you see your role contributing to a cross-functional team of 8 on this specific project?" (Emphasize collaboration and team contribution).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Narrative Flow: Structure your portfolio presentations around a clear story: the problem, your process (HCD, research, ideation, iteration), the solution, and the impact.

• Process Emphasis: Clearly articulate how you arrived at your design decisions, not just what the final designs look like. Highlight your use of HCD, Design Thinking, and Lean UX.

• Tool Agnosticism (where applicable): While you need to show Figma/Sketch proficiency, focus on the principles and problem-solving, not just tool mastery.

• Client-Centricity: Frame your work in terms of delivering value to the client and their users. Discuss how your designs addressed business objectives and user needs.

• Conciseness: Be prepared to present key case studies within a specific timeframe, focusing on the most impactful elements.

📝 Enhancement Note: Operations candidates should prepare to discuss their experience with process mapping, workflow optimization, data analysis, and change management, drawing parallels to the UX principles of user journey mapping, problem-solving, and delivering user value.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Principal UX Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the Red Badger careers page.

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio clearly highlights projects demonstrating Human-Centred Design, Design Thinking, Lean UX, workshop facilitation, and experience with complex digital transformations, ideally including website consolidation or rebranding efforts.

• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to emphasize your 10+ years of experience, leadership in UX, client consulting, and collaboration with engineering teams. Use keywords from the job description like "Principal UX Designer," "HCD," "Design Thinking," "Figma," and "Optimizely" (if applicable).

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, preparing concise case study presentations, and rehearsing answers to common UX and consulting interview questions. Be ready to discuss your approach to the specific project challenges.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Red Badger's work, client portfolio, and core values. Understand their approach to consulting and digital product development.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

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