HCD & Service Design Lead (Consultant)

ABOUT THE COMPANY

FINCA International is a non-profit, microfinance organization, founded by John Hatch in 1984. Sometimes referred to as the "World Bank for the Poor", FINCA is the innovator of the village banking methodology in microcredit and is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of modern-day microfinance. With its headquarters in Washington, D.C., FINCA has 21 affiliated host-country institutions (affiliates), in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Eurasia and the Middle East and South Asia. Along with Grameen Bank and Accion International, FINCA is considered to be one of the most influential microfinance organizations in the world.

JOB SUMMARY

The HCD & Service Design Lead plays a pivotal role within FINCA’s Poverty Eradication Lab (the “Lab”) and FINCA International’s overall global product strategy. This role leads the design and prototyping of inclusive solutions that advance FINCA’s mission to eradicate poverty. Working across FINCA subsidiaries, investments and our 361 digital platform, the HCD Service Design Lead ensures that every new product is grounded in customer needs, tested through iterative design, and ready to scale. The position bridges customer insight, design thinking, and operational execution, translating research into tangible, digital-first products that create measurable impact. This role combines applied product design and service design expertise with strategic leadership, guiding the product development process from concept through validated prototype, and aligning it with FINCA’s broader financial inclusion and sustainability goals.The HCD Service Design Lead plays a pivotal role in FINCA’s Poverty Eradication Lab (PEL), driving the design and validation of inclusive financial solutions across FINCA's Theory of Change—livelihoods, resilience, and education. The role bridges customer insight, design strategy, and operational execution, ensuring every innovation is grounded in user evidence, co-created with local partners, and ready to scale through the Lab’s pilot process.Operating across FINCA subsidiaries, the FINCA Ventures pipeline, and the 361 digital platform, the Lead translates research and human-centered insights into tangible products and service models that can be prototyped, tested, and integrated within FINCA’s operational and investment ecosystem. The role actively collaborates with subsidiaries to embed design-led approaches into product and service innovation; partners with FINCA Ventures and external innovators to co-design and test scalable solutions; and ensures that prototypes and learnings inform the evolution of FINCA’s digital-first portfolio through the 361 platform.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Insight Integration & Applied Research Management• Collaborate with team responsible for generative research to uncover emerging user needs and actionable design opportunities • Translate all synthesized research findings into design artefacts such as journey maps, personas, design principles, prototypes, and testable hypotheses.• Partner with the Global Product Lead and country product teams to integrate insights into scalable product roadmaps.Human-Centered Design & Prototyping• Lead the end-to-end design and testing of products, solutions, and services across target markets.• Develop customer journeys, service blueprints, and experience maps to ensure usability, adoption, and scale potential.• Translate user insights into actionable prototypes that inform digital product design • Facilitate iterative prototyping and field testing to validate user desirability, business viability, and technical feasibility.Cross-Functional Collaboration• Collaborate with program managers and the fundraising team to align prototypes with donor objectives and impact narratives.• Contribute to business case development and impact assessments for solutions moving from pilot to scale.• Work closely with subsidiary commercial, credit, marketing, financial and technology teams to ensure feasibility and readiness for pilot and scale-up.Capacity Building & Design Leadership• Champion HCD methodologies across FINCA’s global network through training, coaching, and facilitation.• Build shared design tools, templates, and processes to enhance team collaboration and learning.• Serve as a subject matter expert and advocate for customer-centered design in FINCA’s global product development efforts.Skills & Attributes• Mastery of HCD and service design methods, including journey mapping, prototyping, and user testing.• Strong synthesis, storytelling, and facilitation skills; able to translate complexity into actionable design.• Exceptional cross-cultural communication and collaboration skills.• Strategic systems thinker who balances customer empathy with business and technology realities.• Passion for inclusive innovation, financial inclusion, and poverty eradication.• Willingness to travel extensively across emerging markets.Education & Experience• Advanced degree in behavioral economics or science (professional certification) in Human-Centered Design, Service Design, Product Design, or related field.• Minimum 8+ years of experience leading design and product innovation projects, ideally in financial inclusion, fintech, or social impact sectors.• Proven record of accomplishment of turning customer insights into validated, scalable products or services.• Experience managing research consultants or teams conducting field-based human-centered research.• Familiarity with digital product delivery, UX principles, and agile product development cycles.

REQUIRED SKILLS

Stakeholder communication, User research, Systems design, Business strategy, Concepting and ideation, Research and development, Research planning, Qualitative methods, Theoretical frameworks, Economics and business

REQUIRED EDUCATION

Post-graduate education