Senior Design Systems Specialist

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Design Systems Specialist

Company: Telesure Investment Holdings (TIH)

Location: Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Design Operations / Product Design

Date Posted: 2026-02-16

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the creation, maintenance, and evolution of a scalable design system to ensure brand consistency, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliance across all digital touchpoints.

• Develop and govern reusable UI components, design tokens, and comprehensive documentation to empower design and development teams.

• Drive cross-functional collaboration with product designers, UX writers, developers, and brand strategists to deliver cohesive and accessible user experiences.

• Champion the adoption and value of design systems across the organization, fostering a culture of design excellence and user-centricity within the financial services sector.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Senior Design Systems Specialist," the responsibilities and required experience strongly indicate a role focused on the operational aspects of design systems, bridging design and development with a focus on consistency, governance, and efficiency. This aligns with a "Design Operations" or "Product Design Operations" function, rather than purely a hands-on design role. The emphasis on insurance and financial services context is crucial for understanding specific regulatory and customer experience needs.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design System Development & Maintenance:

  • Design, document, and maintain a comprehensive library of reusable UI components, design patterns, and design tokens.
  • Ensure the scalability, consistency, and maintainability of design elements across diverse digital platforms, including web applications, mobile apps, internal consultant portals, and self-service policy tools.
  • Contribute to defining, documenting, and updating the Digital Corporate Identity (CI) to ensure seamless integration and brand alignment across all digital assets.
  • Support broader design initiatives and ad hoc projects as required, leveraging design system principles.

• Stakeholder & Cross-Functional Collaboration:

  • Manage relationships with internal clients and stakeholders, providing high-quality professional services to support business strategy execution.
  • Collaborate closely with product designers, UX writers, and developers to ensure the design system facilitates seamless end-to-end user experiences.
  • Work directly with development teams to ensure components are built to specification, adhere to design guidelines, and meet accessibility standards.

• Governance & Standards Enforcement:

  • Establish and enforce clear guidelines for the usage, accessibility, and brand alignment of design system elements.
  • Conduct regular audits of digital products to identify design inconsistencies, compliance gaps, and areas for improvement.
  • Ensure adherence to industry-specific regulatory standards within the insurance and financial services domain.

• Customer Experience & Research:

  • Gather feedback from design and development teams to iteratively refine and expand the design system.
  • Stay abreast of emerging design trends, tools, and best practices to continuously evolve the design system's capabilities.
  • Support the implementation of customer experience initiatives, tools, and processes, including customer journey mapping and qualitative analysis.
  • Lead the implementation of voice-of-the-customer initiatives and touchpoint analysis to identify and address customer pain points.

• Training & Advocacy:

  • Develop training materials and documentation to facilitate effective adoption and utilization of the design system by designers and developers.
  • Act as a primary advocate for design consistency and the strategic value of design systems throughout the organization.

• Product & Process Improvement:

  • Define and deliver products and services that meet evolving customer needs by applying best-practice approaches within established systems.

  • Identify shortcomings in existing processes, systems, and procedures, and propose improvements or contribute to change management programs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strong operational focus on governance, cross-functional enablement, and process improvement, typical of a Design Operations or Senior Design Systems role aimed at scaling design efforts. The mention of "insurance space" and "regulatory standards" is a critical differentiator for this role.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Matric / Grade 12 / SAQA Accredited Equivalent (Essential)

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in UX/UI Design or Product Design.

• Minimum of 2 years of focused experience in design systems (creation, maintenance, or governance).

Required Skills:

• Design Systems Expertise: Proven ability to create, maintain, and govern comprehensive design systems, including component libraries, design tokens, and style guides.

• UI Component Design: Proficiency in designing and documenting reusable UI components for web and mobile applications.

• Design Token Management: Understanding and practical application of design tokens for managing design attributes (color, typography, spacing, etc.) and enabling theming.

• Accessibility Standards (WCAG): Deep understanding and practical application of accessibility guidelines (e.g., WCAG 2.1 AA) in design and component development.

• Governance & Compliance: Experience in establishing and enforcing design governance frameworks, ensuring brand consistency and adherence to regulatory requirements.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Demonstrated ability to effectively partner with product managers, UX designers, UX writers, UI developers, and brand strategists.

• Documentation & Training: Skills in creating clear, concise documentation and developing training materials for design systems.

• Auditing & Quality Assurance: Experience in conducting design audits to ensure consistency and quality across digital products.

Preferred Skills:

• Financial Services Industry Knowledge: Familiarity with the unique design challenges, regulatory landscape, and customer expectations within the insurance or broader financial services sector.

• Digital CI Development: Experience in developing and maintaining Digital Corporate Identity guidelines.

• Customer Journey Mapping: Proficiency in customer experience mapping and journey analysis techniques.

• Agile Methodologies: Experience working within Agile development environments.

• Figma Expertise: Advanced proficiency in Figma, particularly its features for component management, libraries, and collaboration.

• UX Writing Collaboration: Experience working closely with UX writers to ensure voice and tone consistency within design system elements.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Essential" vs. "Advantageous" distinction for financial services experience is key. The required skills are heavily weighted towards the practical, operational, and governance aspects of design systems, with a strong emphasis on accessibility and cross-functional enablement.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Design System Case Studies: Showcase at least one in-depth case study detailing the creation, maintenance, or significant evolution of a design system. This should include:

  • Problem Statement: Clearly articulate the design challenges or inefficiencies the design system aimed to solve.
  • System Architecture: Explain the structure of the design system, including component breakdown, naming conventions, and token strategy.
  • Component Library: Provide examples of key UI components, detailing their design, functionality, and accessibility considerations.
  • Governance Model: Outline the processes established for contribution, review, and adoption of system elements.
  • Impact & Outcomes: Quantify or qualitatively describe the improvements in efficiency, consistency, scalability, and user experience achieved.

• Component Design Examples: Include a selection of well-designed, reusable UI components that demonstrate your understanding of modular design, consistency, and best practices.

• Design Token Implementation: Demonstrate how design tokens were used to manage design attributes and ensure theming or brand variations.

• Accessibility Integration: Provide examples of how accessibility principles were integrated into component design and documentation.

• Process Documentation Samples: Include samples of design system documentation, guidelines, or training materials you have created.

Process Documentation:

• Candidates should be prepared to discuss their experience with documenting design system processes, including:
  • Workflow Design: How to establish workflows for component contribution, review, approval, and release within a design system.
  • Implementation Standards: The process of translating design specifications into developer-friendly guidelines and code-level documentation.
  • Performance Analysis: Methods for tracking design system adoption, identifying usage patterns, and gathering feedback for continuous improvement.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a "Specialist" role focused on design systems, the portfolio is paramount. It should not just show design output but also the process behind creating and managing a scalable, governable system. The emphasis on case studies with quantifiable impact is critical for demonstrating operational value.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

Benefits:

• Comprehensive Medical Aid: Coverage for private healthcare needs, often including hospital plans and day-to-day medical expenses.

• Retirement Fund Contributions: Company contributions to a provident fund or pension fund, supporting long-term financial planning.

• Performance Bonuses: Potential for annual bonuses based on individual and company performance, aligning with TIH's operational success.

• Employee Assistance Programs (EAP): Access to confidential counseling and support services for personal and work-related challenges.

• Study & Development Support: Opportunities for further training, certifications, and professional development related to design systems, UX/UI, and leadership.

• Leave Entitlements: Generous annual leave, sick leave, and family responsibility leave as per South African labor laws and company policy.

• Potential for Remote Work Flexibility: While the role is listed as on-site, future hybrid arrangements may be considered based on operational needs and individual performance.

Working Hours:

• Standard full-time hours, typically 40 hours per week, with flexibility often provided around start and end times, subject to team needs and operational requirements. This allows for effective collaboration during core business hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary estimate is based on research for similar roles in major South African metropolitan areas, considering the specified experience level and the specialized nature of design systems. Benefits are standard for a large financial services organization in South Africa.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Financial Services (Insurance)

• Telesure Investment Holdings (TIH) operates within the highly regulated and competitive South African financial services sector, specifically focusing on insurance products. This context implies a strong emphasis on compliance, data security, customer trust, and delivering reliable, accessible services. The design system must support these critical business drivers.

Company Size: Large Enterprise (Implied by "TIH" and "Auto and General Park" location, suggesting a group structure)

• As part of a larger holding company, TIH likely offers a structured environment with established processes but also opportunities for impact due to its scale. This size suggests a need for robust, scalable systems and clear governance to maintain consistency across diverse brands and products.

Founded: (Information not provided, but TIH is a well-established entity in SA)

Team Structure:

• Design Operations/System Team: The specialist will likely be part of a dedicated design systems team or a broader UX/Product Design department. This team is responsible for the core design system assets and guidelines.

• Reporting Structure: The role reports to a Design Lead, Head of Design, or potentially a Product Management lead, depending on the organizational structure.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Close collaboration is expected with UX/UI Designers, UX Writers, Front-end Developers, Product Managers, Brand Managers, and potentially Compliance/Legal teams. The design system acts as a central point of integration for these functions.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Design: Emphasis on using user research, analytics, and feedback to inform design system development and improvements.

• Agile Development Practices: Likely to work within an Agile framework, requiring iterative development and continuous integration of design system updates.

• Component-Based Architecture: The core methodology revolves around building and maintaining a library of reusable components.

• Design Governance: Formal processes for contribution, review, and adoption of design system elements to ensure quality and consistency.

Company Website: https://www.tihsa.co.za/ (Assumed based on domain_derived)

📝 Enhancement Note: Understanding TIH's position in the financial services industry is crucial. The design system's success will be measured not just by its usability but by its contribution to regulatory compliance, customer trust, and operational efficiency within this specific sector.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Senior Specialist / Lead

Reporting Structure:

Operations Impact:

• The design system's impact is measured by its ability to:
  • Reduce Time-to-Market: By providing pre-built components, teams can launch features faster.
  • Enhance Brand Consistency: Ensures a unified user experience across all TIH brands and digital products.
  • Improve User Experience: By implementing consistent patterns and adhering to accessibility standards, leading to higher customer satisfaction and trust.
  • Lower Development Costs: Reusing components reduces redundant coding efforts.
  • Ensure Regulatory Compliance: By embedding accessibility and potentially other required standards directly into components.

Growth Opportunities:

• Design Systems Leadership: Potential to grow into a Design Systems Lead or Manager role, overseeing a dedicated team and setting the strategic direction for design systems across the organization.

• Product Design/UX Leadership: Transition into broader Product Design or UX leadership roles, leveraging deep understanding of scalable design principles.

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in areas like accessibility, design technology, or front-end development integration.

• Cross-functional Mobility: Opportunities to move into Product Management or Design Operations roles, applying systems thinking to broader product development processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers significant growth potential within specialized design operations or broader product development leadership, particularly within the financial services sector. The ability to demonstrate tangible operational improvements through the design system will be key to career advancement.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Corporate Office Environment

Office Location(s):

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: Access to meeting rooms, brainstorming areas, and potentially open-plan seating arrangements that encourage interaction.

• Technology & Tools: Expect access to standard office equipment, high-speed internet, and the necessary software licenses (e.g., Figma, potentially Adobe Creative Suite, collaboration tools like Jira/Confluence).

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for regular face-to-face interaction with designers, developers, and product managers, facilitating efficient problem-solving and knowledge sharing.

Work Schedule:

• While primarily on-site, there may be some flexibility in daily start/end times, as is common in corporate environments. The core expectation is presence during business hours to facilitate team collaboration and meetings.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site nature of the role emphasizes the importance of in-person collaboration, which is often beneficial for complex design system work involving intricate component logic and cross-functional alignment.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Initial Screening: HR or Talent Acquisition will review applications for essential qualifications and experience.

2. Hiring Manager Interview: A discussion with the hiring manager to assess fit, understand your approach to design systems, and delve into your experience. Expect questions about your philosophy, past projects, and how you handle challenges.

3. Portfolio Presentation & Technical Interview: This is a critical stage. You will be asked to present a selection of your work, focusing on design system case studies. Be prepared to:

• Walk through your portfolio, highlighting your contributions to design systems.
• Explain your design process, decision-making, and problem-solving techniques.
• Discuss how you've managed governance, documentation, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Answer technical questions about component design, accessibility, and design tokens.

1. Cross-functional Panel Interview: Interviews with key stakeholders from design, development, and product management. This assesses your ability to collaborate, communicate, and align with different team perspectives.

2. Final Interview/Offer: A final discussion with senior leadership, followed by an offer if successful.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Impact: Prioritize case studies that demonstrate quantifiable improvements (e.g., reduced design/development time, increased consistency scores, improved accessibility metrics).

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use visuals (screenshots, prototypes) to illustrate your work. For design systems, show the components, the documentation, and examples of their application in real products.

• Explain Your Role: Be clear about your specific contributions, especially if working in a team environment.

• Structure Your Narrative: For each project, clearly outline the problem, your solution, your process, and the results.

• Tailor to TIH: If possible, research TIH's existing digital products and mention how your design system experience could benefit them. Highlight your understanding of the financial services industry.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design System Audit Exercise: You might be asked to critique a set of UI elements for consistency, accessibility, and adherence to potential brand guidelines.

• Component Design Task: You could be given a brief to design a new component or pattern that fits within an existing system (or a hypothetical one).

• Documentation Task: You might be asked to draft documentation for a specific component or guideline.

• Problem-Solving Scenario: Prepared to discuss how you would approach a common design system challenge (e.g., onboarding new teams, managing conflicting stakeholder needs, updating a core component).

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to thoroughly assess not only design skills but also operational acumen, collaboration capabilities, and understanding of the financial services context. A strong portfolio with clear evidence of design system impact is essential.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: This is almost certainly the primary tool for design system creation, component management, prototyping, and collaboration. Proficiency in Figma's advanced features (variants, auto layout, component properties, libraries) is crucial.

• Storybook / Similar Component Library Tool: While not explicitly mentioned, developers will likely use tools like Storybook to document and showcase implemented components. Understanding this integration is beneficial.

• Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop): May be used for asset creation or specific graphic design tasks, though Figma is likely dominant for UI.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Google Analytics / Adobe Analytics: For understanding user behavior on digital platforms, which can inform design system improvements.

• User Feedback Platforms: Tools for collecting and analyzing customer feedback (e.g., surveys, NPS tools).

• Internal Reporting Tools: TIH likely uses internal dashboards for tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) related to digital product performance and adoption.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems (e.g., Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics): While not directly managed by this role, understanding how customer data is managed and how digital platforms interact with CRMs is advantageous, especially for customer experience initiatives.

• Project Management Tools (e.g., Jira, Asana, Confluence): Essential for tracking design system tasks, managing development sprints, and documenting processes.

• Collaboration Tools (e.g., Slack, Microsoft Teams): For day-to-day communication and cross-functional coordination.

📝 Enhancement Note: The focus is heavily on design tools, particularly Figma, and the ability to translate design system assets into production-ready code. Understanding the broader tool ecosystem (project management, analytics) is also important for operational effectiveness.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Consistency & Standardization: A core value is ensuring a unified and predictable experience for users across all TIH digital products.

• Efficiency & Scalability: The design system is a tool to drive operational efficiency by reducing redundant work and enabling faster delivery.

• Collaboration & Partnership: Strong emphasis on working effectively with diverse teams (design, development, product, brand) to achieve common goals.

• User-Centricity: Commitment to understanding and meeting customer needs through well-designed, accessible, and trustworthy digital experiences.

• Continuous Improvement: A culture of ongoing learning, feedback, and iteration to refine the design system and related processes.

Collaboration Style:

• Proactive Communication: Engaging stakeholders early and often to ensure alignment and gather input.

• Transparent Documentation: Making design system guidelines and decisions easily accessible and understandable.

• Empowerment: Enabling other teams by providing them with the tools and resources needed to utilize the design system effectively.

• Feedback Integration: Actively seeking and incorporating feedback from users of the design system.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture likely values a blend of rigorous process (essential for design systems and financial services) and collaborative problem-solving. Candidates should demonstrate an ability to balance these aspects.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Driving Adoption: Overcoming resistance to change and encouraging teams to adopt the design system over bespoke solutions.

• Maintaining Consistency: Ensuring the system scales effectively while new features and products are constantly being developed.

• Balancing Needs: Accommodating the diverse requirements of different brands, product teams, and regulatory constraints within a single system.

• Technical Debt: Managing the evolution of components and ensuring they remain compatible with current development practices.

• Measuring ROI: Quantifying the business value and impact of the design system can be challenging.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deepen Design Systems Expertise: Advanced training in design system strategy, architecture, and tooling.

• Accessibility Specialization: Becoming a go-to expert for accessibility within the organization.

• Design Technology Exploration: Investigating new tools and workflows that can further enhance design system efficiency and integration.

• Leadership Skills: Developing skills in stakeholder management, mentorship, and strategic planning.

• Industry Conferences: Attending design systems or UX conferences to stay at the forefront of best practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are typical for a senior design systems role, requiring strong interpersonal and strategic skills alongside technical expertise. The growth opportunities are substantial for someone looking to specialize or move into leadership within design operations.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your philosophy on building and maintaining a design system. What are the key pillars of a successful system?"

  • Preparation: Focus on principles like consistency, scalability, usability, accessibility, and governance. Explain how these pillars are interconnected.

• "How do you approach gaining buy-in and driving adoption of a design system across multiple teams with different priorities?"

  • Preparation: Discuss strategies like early stakeholder involvement, clear communication of benefits, providing excellent documentation and support, and celebrating early wins.

• "Walk us through a complex design system challenge you've faced and how you resolved it. What was the outcome?"

  • Preparation: Choose an example that showcases your problem-solving skills, collaboration abilities, and ability to drive to a solution. Quantify the impact if possible.

• "What is your approach to ensuring accessibility and regulatory compliance within a design system for the financial services industry?"

  • Preparation: Emphasize understanding of WCAG, experience integrating accessibility into components, and awareness of the importance of compliance in regulated sectors.

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What do you know about Telesure Investment Holdings and its position in the South African financial services market?"

  • Preparation: Research TIH's brands, services, and market presence. Understand the competitive landscape.

• "How do you see the role of a design system specialist contributing to TIH's broader business objectives, especially concerning customer trust and operational efficiency?"

  • Preparation: Connect design system benefits (consistency, speed, reliability, accessibility) to TIH's business goals.

• "Describe your ideal collaboration with front-end developers. How do you ensure a smooth handoff and ongoing partnership?"

  • Preparation: Highlight communication, shared tools (like Storybook), clear documentation, and a collaborative mindset.

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Choose 3-4 Key Projects: Select projects that best showcase your design system expertise, focusing on impact and operational value.

• Structure Each Project: Problem -> Your Role -> Process/Solution -> Outcome/Impact.

• Demonstrate System Thinking: Show how components work together, how tokens are applied, and how the system scales.

• Highlight Governance & Documentation: Show examples of guidelines, contribution processes, and how you've documented components.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your design decisions, technical considerations, and problem-solving approaches.

• Practice Your Narrative: Ensure you can articulate your contributions clearly and concisely within the allotted time.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating both deep technical knowledge of design systems and strong operational/strategic thinking, with a clear understanding of the financial services context.

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📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Design Systems Specialist position:

• Submit your application through the provided Workday link: https://wd3.myworkdaysite.com/recruiting/telesure/Wday/job/Gauteng-Johannesburg/Senior-Design-Systems-Specialist_JR103597

• Customize Your Resume: Ensure your resume clearly highlights your 5+ years of UX/UI or Product Design experience, with specific emphasis on your 2+ years of dedicated design systems work. Use keywords from the job description (e.g., "design systems," "UI components," "accessibility," "governance," "Figma").

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 3-4 of your strongest design system projects. Prioritize case studies that demonstrate tangible impact, operational efficiency, and your role in governance and documentation. Ensure your portfolio is easily accessible online.

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through your portfolio, focusing on connecting your past work to the responsibilities and challenges outlined in this job description. Be ready to discuss your process, decision-making, and collaboration strategies.

• Research TIH: Familiarize yourself with Telesure Investment Holdings, its various brands (e.g., Auto and General), and its role in the South African financial services market. Understand the importance of trust and compliance in this sector.

⚠️ 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.