Senior Innovation Manager

A bit about us, and how we’re different

Digital Disruptions is a boutique US-based strategy and design innovation consulting firm focusing on fintech and digital financial services (DFS) in emerging markets. Since our founding in 2014, we’ve been re-thinking – and re-doing – the way fintech consulting work is done.  [Read more about our unique traits].

Our mission is to apply and adapt best-in-class innovation tools, methods, and mindsets to the fintech sector, and work diligently yet swiftly from research and design to build and launch phases.

We take a start-up style approach that fuses analytical and creative thinking and use our proprietary frameworks and workflows we have developed in-house. The result is tangible progress for our clients – and meaningful impact for the people and communities they serve.

​We’ve been trusted by top-tier clients in both the private sector (Amazon Web Services, Vodafone M-Pesa, Mastercard, Ecobank, BRAC Microfinance, VC-backed start-ups) and public domain (e.g., World Bank, IFC, International Monetary Fund, United Nations, World Economic Forum). [See our clients’ testimonials on 20+ case studies on our website’s Work section.]

Our work is guided by 5 core values:

1. Integrity: doing the right thing – even when no one is looking;
2. Quality: serving as experts in our craft and taking pride in delivering high-quality work;
3. User-Centricity: keeping the client and the end-user at the center of our engagements;
4. Bias to Action and Urgency: taking decisive action rather than overanalyzing scenarios;
5. Solution-Oriented Mindset: looking for optimal solutions, while being aware – rather than dwelling on – risks, unknowns, and obstacles.

What we’re looking for 

We’re seeking a mid-senior (7 to 10 years of experience) Senior Innovation Manager, ideally with experience in fintech to help drive the growth of digital products for our private and public sector clients, mainly in Rwanda but occasionally elsewhere in East Africa.

You’ll use your strong project management skills to align client teams and external stakeholders towards project completion, whether they be week-long sprints or two-year long engagements.   You’ll adjust plans as necessary, but still push forward with urgency.  You’ll support the review of secondary reports, conduct basic data analysis and competitor reviews, and be the face of the firm in front of existing and prospective clients in Rwanda and the broader East Africa region.

What you’ll be doing

As a Senior Innovation Manager at Digital Disruptions, you will work and manage a wide variety of exciting, meaningful projects in the country, such as:

• Acting as project manager for a leading bank’s mobile app for a remittance product to make it easier and cheaper for migrants based in Europe to send money to Africa;
• Understand needs of prospective clients and help draft proposals to win deals.
• Build and nurture strategic partnerships to strengthen the firm’s presence in the country.
• Conducting secondary research and competitive analysis to boost adoption for agricultural payment products for farmers in rural areas;
• Run a week-long design sprint on a new digital credit product for a fintech start-up;

Projects last anywhere from two weeks to two years, and you’ll often be involved in two to three projects at a given time. You’ll work closely with our Head of Product and as part of a broader team of specialists in marketing, design, research, and data analysis, depending on the engagement.

What we offer

• Impact-driven work: Opportunity to collaborate on innovation projects that improve lives in developing countries, focusing on low-income individuals and SMEs.
• Top-tier client engagement: Work with a range of leading clients in fintech from around the world.
• Flexible work arrangements with option to work near full-time (~80%) with potential to transition to 100%. Fully remote from Kigali, with occasional travel.
• Quarterly travel (about 1 week) for project engagements and conferences in East Africa.
• Competitive compensation, based on quality of experience, potential impact, and local market rates (in this case, for Kigali).
• Performance bonuses, paid time off, and parental leave.
• Professional growth with focus on development opportunities and learning from expert colleagues in various fields such as marketing, design, research, and data analysis.

Sound interesting? You should have:

• 7 to 10 years of solid, hands-on experience working in innovation and project management, preferably in a corporate innovation team, a start-up, or consultancy / agency.
• Ability to clearly and effectively communicate insights, ideas and recommendations to internal teams and clients;
• Experience in conducting secondary research, basic data analysis, competitive landscaping, and synthesizing information in concise PPT slides or Word documents.
• Experience in driving complex projects forward with multiple cross-functional stakeholders and external dependencies.
• Strong local network in the fintech and technology space in Rwanda and able to build and nurture relationships;
• Excellent verbal and written skills in English; conversant in Kinyarwanda;
• Work authorization in Rwanda, and based in Kigali.

It would be a bonus if you also had:

• Experience working in the fintech or Digital Financial Services sector (ideally B2C); specific experience in payments, credit, remittances, or e-commerce highly desirable;
• Experience in, or strong familiarity with, innovation frameworks and concepts such as Design Thinking, Lean Start-Up, Behavioral Design, and Agile;
• Professional experience in multiple markets in one or more advanced economies;
• Working proficiency in French;
• MBA or equivalent advanced degree.

Please note that due to the volume of applications received, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.