Associate Designer

Location

This is a hybrid position open to internal candidates based in countries where IRC operates who have the right to work in their location. Successful candidates will be hired on a local employment contract and according to local salary scale. This role is open to candidates located and with the right to work in Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon. Job overview Airbel is the IRC’s innovation laboratory. We work alongside people affected by conflict and crisis to design more useful, dignified and sustainable services. This post places a

• She is a designer at the heart of this work in West and Central Africa, closest to communities, front-line staff and questions that determine whether a product or service really helps someone. You will be our eyes and hands on the ground. You’ll conduct design research, engage with customers and service providers, see what they do and why, and turn your discoveries into prototypes that you test and refine in the field. You will work closely with the Human-Centred Design Manager, who will support you in synthesizing and developing concepts as you shape your own work.

Responsibilities

• Conduct design research in the field: interviews, observation and time spent with clients and front-line staff.
• Stay in touch with the same geographical area or work axis long enough to spot trends that only appear over time.
• Give meaning to what you observe on the ground and spot the sparks of innovation already present in the solutions and ideas of people themselves.
• Turn research into prototypes, test them with real people and iterate as you learn, rather than following a frozen script.
• Restoring what you learn in a form useful to the team: clear notes, visuals, user journey, everything that makes an observation speak.
• Collaborate with country program teams, technical managers and front-line staff with care and respect, gaining access on which good research depends.

Job overview

• Intervene in French-speaking West and Central Africa, and other humanitarian contexts as needed, adapting quickly to new contexts and teams. Job requirements

Experience

We would like to understand how you think and work, including:

• Research experience with people, in any setting: design research, ethnography, UX or product research, participatory research or action research, or any other type of qualitative research. What matters is that you have gone
• Beyond a script to understand why people act the way they do.
• You have built or implemented something (a service, a small driver, a tool, an application, even a summary paper version of an idea), you have tested it with the people concerned and you have evolved it according to what you have learned. We call it “prototyping,” but you don’t need to have used that word.
• A sense of observing everyday opportunities: workarounds, small details and what people have already found for themselves.

Other information

• Something that shows your way of thinking: a portfolio, a case study, a research report, photos of a prototype or a project you helped shape. It doesn’t matter if it is not successful, but we would like to see your reflection in one form or another. Demonstrated skills
• Strong research skills: you know how to design and conduct fieldwork, interact with everyone, respect ethics with people in vulnerable situations, and read a situation for what it reveals, carefully in the way you collect and record what you find.
• Strong prototype testing skills: you build summarily, test early and adjust during testing rather than waiting for a finished version.
• A genuine curiosity about what drives people to act the way they do, and discernment to detect the spark of an idea.
• Ease in the field: you can spend two weeks at a time on a site and do a good job.
• An ability to adapt to changing cultures, languages and plans, driven by the humility and care of the people you work with. Language skills A functional French and English, sufficient in both languages to conduct research and work with teams elsewhere on the continent. Proposals and presentations can be written in either language, then translated. Desired experience and skills
• An eye to make the teachings readable through simple visuals, maps and presentations.
• Experience in humanitarian, health or community contexts. Work authorization The candidates
• e
• must have the legal right to work in the country where the position is based. Working environment This position is based in an IRC country office in DRC, Nigeria or Chad, with a standard desktop installation. The work involves frequent travel, up to 40%, to sites in various humanitarian contexts, in the region and internationally. A design research or prototyping mission can represent two weeks in a row in remote, low-resource and sometimes unsafe locations, with summary hosting, limited connectivity and long days. If it is precisely the fact of being closer to the ground that attracts you, this position is for you. IRC and IRC employees must adhere to the values and principles contained in the IRC WAY (Standards of Professional Conduct). These are Integrity, Equality, Service, and Responsibility. In accordance with these values, IRC operates and enforces policies on the protection of beneficiaries from exploitation and abuse, child protection, workplace harassment, financial integrity, and retaliation. Equal Opportunity Employer: The IRC is an equal opportunity employer. The IRC evaluates all applicants on the basis of merit, regardless of race, sex, skin colour, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by current legislation. Professional standards: All International Rescue Committee (IRC) employees must adhere to the core values and principles set out in the "IRC Way" document. – Standards of professional conduct.” Our standards are integrity, service, equality and responsibility. In accordance with these values, the IRC implements and enforces policies related to personal protection, conflict of interest, financial integrity, reporting irregularities and protection against retaliation. The IRC is committed to taking all necessary preventive measures and creating an environment where everyone feels safe, as well as taking all necessary and corrective measures in case of harm. The IRC is a team of professionals who promote critical thinking, shared responsibilities, debate and objectivity in order to offer the best possible services to our beneficiaries. Job Overview Airbel is IRC’s innovation lab. We work alongside people affected by conflict and crisis to design services that are more useful, more dignified, and more likely to last. This role puts a designer in the middle of that work in West and Central Africa, close to the communities, the frontline workers, and the questions that decide whether a product or service actually helps someone. You will be our eyes and hands in the field. You will run the design research, interact with clients and providers, notice what they do and why, and turn what you find into prototypes you test and refine on the ground. You will work closely with the Human Centered Design Lead, who will support synthesis and concept development as you shape your own work. Major Responsibilities Run design research in the field: interviews, observation, and time spent with clients and frontline workers. Stay close to one geography or work stream long enough to notice the patterns that only show up over time. Make sense of what you see on the ground, and find the sparks of innovation already present in people’s own workarounds and ideas. Turn research into prototypes, test them with real users, and iterate as you learn rather than following a fixed script. Bring what you learn back in a form the team can use: clear notes, visuals, journey maps, whatever makes the insight legible. Partner with country program teams, technical leads, and frontline staff with care and respect, earning the access that good research depends on. Work across francophone West and Central Africa, and other humanitarian settings as needed, adapting quickly to new contexts and teams.

Candidate profile

Work Experience We would like to see how you think and work, including: Experience doing research with people, in any setting: design research, ethnography, UX or product research, participatory or action research, or any other kind of qualitative research. What matters is that you went past a script to understand why people do what they do. You have built or set up something (a service, a small pilot, a tool, an app, even a rough paper version of an idea), tested it with the people it was for, and changed it based on what you learned. We call this prototyping, but you do not need to have used the word. A way of noticing opportunities in the everyday: workarounds, small details, and the things people have already figured out for themselves. Something that shows how you think: a portfolio, a case study, a research write-up, photos of a prototype, or a project you helped shape. It does not need to be polished, but we would like to see your thinking in some form.

Required skills

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies Strong research skills: you can plan and run fieldwork, talk with anyone, hold ethics with people in vulnerable situations, and read a situation for what it is telling you, with care in how you gather and record what you find. Strong prototype testing skills: You build rough, test early, and change things during testing rather than waiting for a finished version. Real curiosity about why people behave as they do, and the judgment to find the spark of an idea inside it. Comfort in the field: You can spend two weeks at a stretch in a field site and do good work there. Adaptability across cultures, languages, and changing plans, held together by humility and care for the people you work with. Language Skills Working French and English, enough of both to do research and to work with teams elsewhere on the continent. Proposals and presentations can be written in either language and translated. Preferred experience & skills An eye for making insights legible through visuals, maps and simple decks. Experience in humanitarian, health, or community settings. Work Authorization Candidates must have the legal right to work in the country where the position is based Working Environment This role is based in an IRC country office in DRC, Nigeria, or Chad, with a standard office setup. The work involves regular travel, up to 40%, to sites across humanitarian settings, in the region and globally. A design research or prototyping visit can mean two weeks at a time in places that are remote, low-resource, and sometimes insecure, with basic accommodation, limited connectivity, and long days. If being close to where the work happens is the part that draws you in, this is a role built for that. Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Professional Standards: All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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