Head of Brand Design and Creative

About Wave

Wave is working toward a future where Africa becomes the first cashless continent. The company was founded to address the barriers that keep people outside the financial system, such as high fees, long travel distances to branches, and limited card acceptance. Its mobile financial services are built to be simple, affordable, and widely usable, even in places where infrastructure is unreliable. Since launching in Senegal in 2017 with support for cash deposits, withdrawals, and person-to-person as well as business payments, Wave has expanded to millions of users across nine countries and continues to grow quickly.

Role overview

Wave is hiring a Head of Brand Design and Creative to own brand expression at scale. This role combines strategic thinking, creative leadership, and strong operational discipline. You will shape the brand design direction, set up effective creative systems, and guide a high-performing team so the brand can support the company’s expansion across Africa.

What you will do

• Set the direction for Wave’s brand design strategy so it aligns with business goals in every market.
• Create scalable brand systems, standards, workflows, and approval structures that balance consistency with local relevance.
• Recruit, organize, and lead a global team made up of brand designers and creative leads.
• Put in place efficient creative operations, including intake processes, prioritization methods, review rhythms, and production workflows.
• Work closely with Marketing, Growth, Product, and senior leadership to make sure creative output supports strategic priorities.
• Run and contribute to senior-level creative direction discussions, giving clear feedback that improves the quality of the work.
• Manage relationships with agencies, production partners, and other external vendors to ensure smooth collaboration.
• Define performance expectations, coach team members, and create pathways for professional growth.

Working arrangement and key details

• This is a remote position that can be done from anywhere within UTC -8 to UTC +4, as long as reliable internet is available.
• Compensation is competitive and follows a transparent formula.
• Health insurance is subsidised for the employee and dependents, and retirement contributions are also subsidised; both benefits vary by country.
• The company offers 6 months of fully paid parental leave and subsidised fertility support.
• Vacation is unlimited, with a minimum requirement of 20 days.
• Employees receive up to $10,000 each year in charitable donation matching.

Requirements

• At least 10 years of experience in brand design or creative leadership.
• A background in leading and scaling creative teams in fast-growing environments.
• Demonstrated ability to build scalable creative systems and governance frameworks.
• Experience working across multiple countries or regions.
• Strong strategic judgment paired with consistently high creative standards.
• Experience managing agencies and external collaborators.
• Fluency in English; French is a significant plus.
• A BSc/BA in advertising, fine art, design, or a related discipline.
• Willingness to travel occasionally to operating markets.

What makes someone a strong fit

• You have already built and grown creative or brand teams in multi-market, high-growth settings.
• You bring organised leadership and can create structured operating models and processes.
• You know how to turn brand strategy into repeatable systems and consistent execution.
• You are comfortable influencing senior stakeholders and leading across functions.
• You have managed agencies and complex production workstreams before.
• You understand how brand drives growth, trust, and customer adoption.
• You combine high creative standards with accountability and operational discipline.

About the team

• The company has rapidly growing in-country teams in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Uganda, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Cameroon, along with remote team members around the world.
• The team is strongly motivated by the mission of delivering radically affordable financial services to people who need them most.
• Wave encourages autonomy, giving employees ownership from problem discovery through production monitoring.
• The company raised Africa’s largest Series A in 2021 and is backed by investors including Founders Fund, Sequoia Heritage, Stripe, Ribbit Capital, Y Combinator, and Partech Africa.
• Wave is among Y Combinator’s top companies by revenue.

Application information

Applicants are expected to submit a resume in English and a cover letter explaining their interest in Wave and the role. The company reviews applications regularly and suggests applying to the role that best matches your background, experience, and career goals.

Equal opportunity

Wave is an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to building an inclusive workplace that welcomes diversity.