Head of Design

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Head of Design

Company: Ziina

Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Design Leadership / Product Design

Date Posted: August 11, 2026

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead and grow a high-performing design team, fostering a culture of excellence and career progression within a fast-scaling product environment.

• Define and execute the design vision, translating strategic objectives into tangible product experiences that drive key business metrics such as acquisition, activation, and retention.

• Drive end-to-end design ownership for major product initiatives, from initial concept (0-1) through to successful launch and iteration, with a hands-on approach.

• Establish robust user feedback loops to inform product decisions, reduce rework, and ensure design efforts are aligned with user needs and market demands.

• Scale design operations by maturing the design system, addressing design debt, and enhancing the speed and quality of design output as the company expands.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is explicitly a "player-coach" position, requiring a Head of Design who is not only a strategic leader but also actively involved in hands-on design work. This balance is crucial for influencing product direction and maintaining design craft within the team. The emphasis on measurable impact (acquisition, activation, retention) highlights a strong connection to business outcomes, typical in high-growth tech environments.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Build, mentor, and scale a team of talented designers, establishing clear career paths and fostering a collaborative, high-craft environment.

• Develop and champion the overall design vision, ensuring it aligns with company strategy and translates into impactful user experiences across the product ecosystem.

• Lead the design process for new products and features from ideation to launch, demonstrating hands-on design expertise, particularly in 0-1 initiatives.

• Implement and refine user research methodologies to gather actionable insights, informing product strategy and design decisions.

• Evolve and maintain a scalable design system, ensuring consistency, efficiency, and adoption across the product suite.

• Act as a key strategic advisor, influencing product roadmaps and leadership decisions with data-driven insights and clear articulation of design's impact.

• Collaborate closely with Product Management, Engineering, and Brand teams to ensure cohesive product development and a strong brand identity.

• Explore and integrate AI and automation opportunities to enhance design quality, efficiency, and user experience.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibility to "scale design without diluting it" suggests a need for a candidate who can establish scalable processes, robust design systems, and efficient workflows that can accommodate rapid growth while maintaining high standards of design quality and user experience.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong foundation in design principles, user experience, and potentially a related field like Human-Computer Interaction, Graphic Design, or Industrial Design is expected.

Experience: 5-10 years of progressive experience in product design, with a significant portion in leadership roles managing and growing design teams within fast-scaling environments. Experience in fintech, consumer tech, or similar industries is highly valued.

Required Skills:

• Proven experience in leading and growing design teams, including mentorship and performance management.

• Exceptional hands-on product design skills, with a portfolio showcasing a strong track record of shipping successful products.

• Expertise in developing and implementing design strategies that directly impact user acquisition, activation, and retention.

• Deep understanding of user research methodologies and the ability to translate user insights into product decisions.

• Proficiency in building, scaling, and advocating for design systems that drive adoption and efficiency.

• Strong communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence senior leadership.

• Experience in leading 0-1 product development cycles from concept to launch.

• Ability to think in systems and connect design decisions to user behavior and business outcomes. Preferred Skills:

• Direct experience designing consumer financial or payments products.

• Track record of leveraging AI or automation to enhance design quality or speed.

• Experience in brand strategy and its integration with product design.

• Familiarity with agile development methodologies and cross-functional collaboration in a tech environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "still an exceptional designer yourself" and "can show the work, not only talk about it" indicates that while leadership is paramount, the candidate must also possess demonstrable, hands-on design craft and be willing to contribute directly to the design output. The preference for a portfolio showing "impact, not only beauty" underscores a results-oriented approach to design.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio that clearly demonstrates the impact of your design work on user behavior and business results, not just aesthetic appeal.

• Case studies showcasing end-to-end ownership of product initiatives, particularly 0-1 product launches, detailing your process, challenges, and outcomes.

• Examples of how you have led and grown design teams, highlighting your mentorship and leadership approach.

• Demonstrations of your ability to build, scale, and drive adoption of design systems.

• Evidence of influencing product strategy and leadership decisions through data-driven insights and clear communication. Process Documentation:

• Documented examples of how you have established user feedback loops and translated user insights into actionable product decisions.

• Methodologies for scaling design processes and operations without compromising quality or diluting craft.

• Processes for integrating AI and automation into the design workflow to improve efficiency and quality.

• Examples of how you have addressed design debt and improved the speed of shipping quality work.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirement is heavily weighted towards demonstrating tangible impact and strategic leadership, rather than just visual design execution. Candidates should be prepared to articulate how their design leadership directly contributed to business growth and user satisfaction, especially in the context of scaling a product.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: While not explicitly stated, for a Head of Design role in Dubai with 5-10 years of experience in a fast-scaling fintech environment, a competitive salary range would typically fall between AED 350,000 - 550,000 annually (approximately USD 95,000 - 150,000). This estimate considers the senior leadership level, the strategic importance of the role, the high cost of living in Dubai, and typical compensation benchmarks for similar positions in the UAE's tech and fintech sectors.

Benefits:

• Competitive base salary and potential for equity/stock options in a high-growth startup.

• Comprehensive health insurance coverage (medical, dental, vision) for employees and dependents.

• Generous paid time off (PTO) policy, including vacation days, sick leave, and public holidays.

• Opportunities for professional development, including conferences, workshops, and training.

• Potential for relocation assistance if applicable.

• Access to cutting-edge design tools and technology.

• A dynamic and collaborative work environment within a fast-growing fintech company.

Working Hours: Standard full-time working hours, likely around 40 hours per week, with a hybrid work arrangement. Flexibility may be expected to accommodate project deadlines and team needs, especially given the player-coach nature of the role.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on market data for senior design leadership roles in Dubai's tech sector, factoring in the company's status as a growing fintech firm and the specified experience level. Benefits are typical for a full-time role at a startup of this nature, with a focus on health, well-being, and professional growth.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Fintech (Financial Technology). Ziina operates in the payments and financial services sector, aiming to simplify money management for a region that has historically been underserved. This industry demands a strong focus on trust, security, user experience, and regulatory compliance.

Company Size: Ziina is a fast-scaling startup. This implies a dynamic, agile environment where roles can evolve quickly, and individuals have a significant opportunity to shape processes and culture. For operations professionals, this means a high degree of autonomy, direct impact, and the need for adaptability.

Founded: Ziina was founded in 2021. This indicates a relatively young company, likely still building out its core processes and team structures, offering a ground-floor opportunity to influence how the company operates and grows.

Team Structure:

• The design team is described as "growing" and will be led by this Head of Design. The role is a "player-coach," meaning the Head of Design will directly manage designers while also contributing hands-on design work.

• Collaboration is expected to be tight with Product and Engineering teams, forming the core of product development.

• The Head of Design will be a "strategic voice in the room," influencing product and leadership decisions, suggesting direct interaction with senior leadership, including founders. Methodology:

• Design is positioned as a core competitive advantage, not merely decorative. This implies a data-driven approach where design decisions are linked to measurable outcomes (acquisition, activation, retention).

• Emphasis on user insight to drive product decisions and a focus on building scalable systems (design systems) to support growth.

• Exploration of AI and automation for design enhancement is a key strategic direction.

Company Website: https://ziina.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture at a fast-scaling fintech startup like Ziina is likely to be energetic, ambitious, and focused on rapid execution. The "player-coach" model for the Head of Design suggests a hands-on, collaborative leadership style is valued, where strategic vision is grounded in practical execution.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a senior leadership position, equivalent to a Director or VP level within a design function. The Head of Design is responsible for the overall design strategy, team building, and execution of design initiatives, directly impacting product success and company growth. This role requires a blend of strategic thinking, team management, and hands-on design craft.

Reporting Structure: The Head of Design will likely report to a C-level executive, such as the Chief Product Officer (CPO), CEO, or CTO, given the strategic importance of design in shaping the company's competitive advantage. They will, in turn, manage a team of Product Designers.

Operations Impact: The Head of Design's impact is directly tied to Ziina's ability to acquire, activate, and retain users by creating simple, human, and effective financial products. Their influence extends to shaping the product roadmap, fostering innovation through AI/automation, and ensuring the design team is a strategic asset contributing to business goals.

Growth Opportunities:

• Leadership Expansion: Potential to grow the design team significantly, potentially building out specialized functions (e.g., UX research, UI engineering liaison) as the company scales.

• Strategic Influence: Deeper involvement in company-wide strategy, product vision, and potentially brand direction.

• Industry Expertise: Becoming a recognized leader in fintech design, particularly in emerging markets and with AI integration.

• Equity Growth: As a key leader in a high-growth startup, there is potential for significant equity appreciation.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "player-coach" aspect of this role suggests that career progression might involve either deepening the player role (becoming a principal designer for critical initiatives) or fully transitioning to a pure coaching/leadership role as the team expands and requires more strategic oversight.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Ziina operates with a hybrid work model. This suggests a blend of remote work and in-office collaboration, likely in a modern office space designed to foster innovation and teamwork.

Office Location(s): The primary location is Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This implies an office environment within the Dubai tech hub, offering access to a vibrant ecosystem of startups and talent.

Workspace Context:

• The workspace is likely to be collaborative, encouraging interaction between design, product, and engineering teams.

• Access to modern design tools, software, and potentially hardware necessary for high-fidelity prototyping and research.

• Opportunities for spontaneous brainstorming and structured design critiques within the team and with cross-functional partners.

• A focus on creating an environment where design is integrated into the product development lifecycle, not an afterthought.

Work Schedule: A hybrid schedule means employees are expected to be in the office for a portion of the week, likely for key meetings, collaborative sessions, and team building, while also having the flexibility to work remotely. This balance aims to combine the benefits of in-person interaction with the flexibility of remote work.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model in Dubai is typical for tech companies, balancing the need for in-person collaboration crucial for design leadership with the flexibility employees expect. The emphasis on design as a competitive advantage suggests the office environment will be conducive to creative problem-solving and cross-functional alignment.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess alignment with the role's requirements and Ziina's needs.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A conversation with the hiring manager (likely a C-level executive) to discuss your leadership experience, design philosophy, and strategic vision. This stage will heavily focus on your player-coach capabilities and understanding of fintech.

• Team/Peer Interviews: Meetings with potential direct reports (designers) and cross-functional partners (Product Managers, Engineers) to assess collaboration style, mentorship approach, and technical acumen.

• Design Challenge/Portfolio Review: A deep dive into your portfolio. Expect to present case studies, discuss your design process, explain how you've driven impact, and potentially tackle a hypothetical design problem relevant to Ziina's business. This is where your hands-on skills and strategic thinking will be evaluated.

• Final Round: Potentially a meeting with the CEO or other senior leaders to discuss cultural fit and overall strategic alignment.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Impact: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process you followed, the decisions you made, and the quantifiable results (user metrics, business outcomes). Use data wherever possible.

• Showcase Leadership: Include examples of how you've built, mentored, and led design teams. Highlight your approach to fostering talent and raising the bar on design craft.

• Highlight 0-1 Experience: Be prepared to walk through your process for taking a product from concept to launch, detailing challenges and how you overcame them.

• Design Systems Expertise: Demonstrate your understanding of designing, implementing, and scaling design systems, and how they contribute to efficiency and consistency.

• Player-Coach Balance: Be ready to discuss specific instances where you were both leading a team and actively contributing to design execution.

• Tailor to Fintech: If possible, include examples related to financial products, payments, or complex user flows.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Ziina: Research Ziina's product, target audience, competitors, and recent news. Understand the challenges of operating in the MENA fintech space.

• Anticipate Design Problems: Prepare to discuss how you would approach designing solutions for common fintech challenges like user onboarding, transaction clarity, security, or financial literacy.

• Strategic Thinking: Be ready to discuss how design can be a competitive advantage, how you'd measure design success, and how you'd integrate AI/automation into design.

• Communication: Practice articulating your thoughts clearly and concisely, especially when discussing complex design decisions and their business implications.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes a blend of strategic leadership, hands-on design capability, and a strong understanding of business impact. The portfolio review is critical and should clearly demonstrate how the candidate has driven measurable results and effectively led design teams.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (highly probable, industry standard for collaborative design), Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator).

• Prototyping & User Testing: InVision, ProtoPie, Maze, UserTesting.com.

• Design System Management: Zeroheight, Storybook (for documentation and component libraries).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Product Analytics: Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics (for user behavior tracking and feature adoption).

• Data Visualization/BI: Tableau, Looker, Power BI (for reporting on key metrics and trends).

• A/B Testing: Optimizely, VWO, Google Optimize (for experimentation and data-driven iteration).

CRM & Automation:

• CRM: Salesforce, HubSpot (though less direct for design, understanding sales/marketing alignment is key).

• Project Management & Collaboration: Jira, Confluence, Asana, Trello, Slack.

• User Feedback & Insights: SurveyMonkey, Typeform, Dovetail, Productboard.

📝 Enhancement Note: While Ziina may use specific tools, the expectation for a Head of Design is proficiency in industry-standard design and prototyping tools (especially Figma), a strong understanding of analytics platforms to measure design impact, and experience with collaboration and project management tools to work effectively with engineering and product teams. Knowledge of design system tools is also crucial.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Simplicity & Human-Centricity: Design at Ziina aims to make money feel simple and human. This translates to a value placed on clear, intuitive user experiences and empathetic design.

• Impact-Driven: Design is not decoration; it's a driver of business success. This means a focus on measurable outcomes, data-driven decisions, and a results-oriented approach.

• Innovation & Future-Forward: Embracing AI and automation to enhance design quality and efficiency reflects a value on continuous improvement and leveraging new technologies.

• Collaboration & Teamwork: Design is a "team sport." This implies a culture that values open communication, constructive feedback, and strong partnerships with engineering, product, and brand.

• Craftsmanship & Excellence: While focused on outcomes, there's an underlying expectation of high design quality and attention to detail.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Designers are expected to work closely with Product Managers and Engineers, participating actively in roadmap planning, sprint reviews, and daily stand-ups.

• Feedback Culture: An environment that encourages constructive critique and open discussion around design solutions to improve the final product.

• Knowledge Sharing: A willingness to share learnings, best practices, and insights across the team and with other departments to foster collective growth and efficiency.

• Agile & Iterative: A dynamic approach to product development, where designs are iterated upon based on user feedback and performance data.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture at Ziina emphasizes a pragmatic, impact-oriented approach to design within the fast-paced fintech industry. Values are likely to be a blend of user advocacy, business acumen, technological curiosity, and collaborative execution.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Player & Coach: Effectively managing team growth and strategic direction while remaining hands-on with design execution is a significant challenge.

• Scaling Design Systems: Ensuring design systems remain relevant, adopted, and scalable as the product ecosystem and team expand.

• Driving Measurable Impact: Clearly demonstrating the ROI of design initiatives in a data-centric environment, especially in a competitive fintech landscape.

• Navigating Rapid Growth: Adapting design processes and team structures to keep pace with Ziina's rapid scaling without sacrificing quality or innovation.

• Integrating AI/Automation: Successfully implementing new technologies into the design workflow and team practices.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Leadership Development: Deepening expertise in building and managing high-performing design teams in a startup environment.

• Fintech Specialization: Gaining in-depth knowledge of the financial services industry, user behavior in payments, and regulatory considerations.

• Emerging Technology: Leading the charge in integrating AI and automation into design processes, becoming an expert in this emerging field.

• Strategic Product Influence: Expanding influence on broader product strategy and company direction.

• Mentorship: Developing junior designers and contributing to the broader design community through knowledge sharing.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are inherent to leading design in a high-growth startup, requiring adaptability, strategic foresight, and strong execution. The growth opportunities are substantial, offering a path to significant career advancement and specialized expertise.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach building and scaling a design team from its current stage to support Ziina's growth objectives over the next 2-3 years?" (Focus on team structure, hiring, mentorship, and process development.)

• "Describe your philosophy on how design can be a key competitive advantage in the fintech space. Provide examples of how you've achieved this in previous roles." (Emphasize linking design to business outcomes and user acquisition/retention.)

• "How do you balance the need for hands-on design work with your responsibilities as a team lead? Walk me through a specific instance where you successfully managed this." (Be ready to showcase both leadership and design craft.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about Ziina's mission and the challenge of simplifying money for underserved regions?" (Show genuine interest and understanding of the company's purpose.)

• "How would you foster a collaborative culture between design, product, and engineering at Ziina, especially given our hybrid work model?" (Highlight your approach to cross-functional partnership and communication.)

• "How do you ensure design decisions are data-driven and contribute to measurable business results like acquisition and retention?" (Prepare examples of using analytics, A/B testing, and user feedback.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly outline the problem, your role, the context, your process (research, ideation, iteration, testing), key decisions, challenges, and the quantifiable impact.

• Highlight Impact Metrics: Quantify success with data (e.g., X% increase in conversion, Y% reduction in support tickets, Z% improvement in user satisfaction).

• Showcase Leadership & Mentorship: Weave in examples of how you've led teams, mentored designers, and influenced strategy.

• Demonstrate Design Craft: Be ready to discuss specific design choices, user flows, and UI details, especially for any 0-1 projects.

• Embrace the Player-Coach Role: Be prepared to discuss both strategic leadership and hands-on design contributions.

• Tailor to Ziina: Connect your experiences and portfolio pieces to Ziina's specific challenges and goals in the fintech space.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a strong understanding of Ziina's business, a strategic approach to design leadership, and the ability to execute hands-on. The portfolio is a critical tool; ensure it tells a compelling story of impact and leadership.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Head of Design position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Ashby.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight leadership experience, team management, strategic design contributions, and any experience in fintech or fast-scaling environments. Use keywords from the job description.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your most impactful case studies that best showcase your leadership, 0-1 product experience, design system work, and measurable results. Ensure it clearly articulates your "player-coach" approach.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice walking through your portfolio case studies, focusing on the story, your impact, and how your skills align with Ziina's needs. Be ready to discuss your leadership philosophy and design strategy.

• Research Ziina: Deeply understand Ziina's product, mission, target audience, and the fintech landscape in the MENA region. Prepare thoughtful questions for the interviewers.

⚠️ 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.