About SHONA

SHONA exists to Build Prosperity by Identifying, Guiding, Backing and Connecting entrepreneurs, helping them grow Good Businesses.

We identify high-potential, ambitious entrepreneurs and give them the knowledge, tools, capital, and networks they need to build the skills and capacity to grow well-run businesses that are good for customers, employees, owners, value chain partners, the environment and the local communities where they are based. These are Good Businesses.

We believe Good Businesses create good jobs, create high-quality products and services that improve quality of life, generate wealth, build industries, protect and regenerate the environment and invest in their local communities, building prosperity.

By growing a diverse range of Good Businesses across all sectors, we are contributing to an East Africa in which everyone has the opportunity to thrive by fulfilling their unique potential and playing their part in strengthening the region. We focus our work on locally led dynamic businesses that are highly competitive with high growth potential to create many jobs and contribute to economic development.

By 2030, our goal is to be a community of at least 1,000 Good Businesses positively benefitting at least 35 million people.

As part of our work, we build strategic partnerships where we design and implement initiatives to build Good Businesses. One of our thematic areas is Sustainable Food Systems where we are implementing several strategic partnerships that are helping entrepreneurs build Good Businesses contributing to a sustainable food system in East Africa.

About this role

SHONA Group seeks to engage a highly skilled and adaptable graphic designer on a retainer basis. The selected designer will serve as a dedicated visual communication partner, responsible for upholding and evolving SHONA Group's brand identity across all platforms and materials. This role requires a blend of creative prowess, technical proficiency, and strategic thinking to translate business objectives into compelling visual solutions.

The primary objective is to ensure consistent, high-quality, and strategically aligned graphic design support for SHONA Group's ongoing marketing, communication, and operational needs. This engagement aims to enhance SHONA Group's brand presence, improve visual communication effectiveness, and support various business initiatives through professional design services.

The designer will work on a hybrid basis

Scope of services and key responsibilities

The retained graphic designer will be responsible for, but not limited to, the following key areas:

Brand management and visual identity development

• Brand guardian: Act as the primary custodian of SHONA's visual brand identity, ensuring strict adherence to established brand guidelines (logo usage, colour palettes, typography, and imagery style) across all internal and external communications.
• Brand guideline management: Maintain and evolve comprehensive brand guidelines, including usage policies for all visual assets.
• Logo and identity application: Create and manage applications of SHONA’s brand identity across various touchpoints, including sub-brands, event branding, and corporate stationery.
• Visual strategy & consultation: Provide expert advice and recommendations on visual trends, best practices, and innovative design approaches to elevate SHONA’s brand perception and achieve strategic communication goals.

Digital design

• Digital marketing collateral: Create engaging visual assets for all digital marketing channels, including:
  • Social media: Graphics for posts, stories, advertisements, profile banners, and campaign-specific visuals across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
  • Email marketing: Design visually appealing and conversion-focused templates for newsletters, promotional emails, and automated campaigns.
  • Digital advertisements: Develop banner ads, display ads, and other digital ad creatives optimized for various platforms and targeting objectives.
  • Animated and motion graphics: Develop compelling motion graphics for video content, social media, presentations, and other digital platforms, enhancing visual storytelling and engagement.

Print and offline collateral design

• Marketing and promotional materials: Design high-impact print materials, including brochures, flyers, posters, banners, exhibition stands, and promotional signage.
• Corporate and editorial design: Create professional layouts for business cards, letterheads, stationery, reports, whitepapers, internal newsletters, and corporate presentations.
• Merchandise and environmental graphics: Design visual representations for brand elements on brand collateral materials (e.g., shirts, caps, promotional items) and for environmental graphics in office spaces or at events (e.g., wall art and directional signage).
• Print production management: Prepare accurate, print-ready files (selecting appropriate formats, ensuring correct colour profiles, managing bleeds, and addressing technical requirements) and liaise with print vendors to ensure high-quality production.

Content and information design

• Infographics: Transform complex data, processes, or information into clear, concise, and visually engaging infographics.
• Data visualization: Design effective charts, graphs, and other visual representations of data for reports, presentations, and marketing materials to aid comprehension and decision-making.

Collaborative work and project management

• Communication and collaboration: Effectively communicate with the SHONA Group team (through the Brand Manager) to understand design requirements, objectives, and project expectations, ensuring seamless integration of design elements.
• Feedback integration: Proactively solicit, interpret, and incorporate feedback, making necessary revisions to achieve design alignment and meet project goals while maintaining design integrity.
• Time management and prioritisation: Manage workload effectively to meet multiple project deadlines simultaneously, prioritising tasks based on project urgency, business impact, and client requirements. Provide timely deliverables in accordance with agreed-upon schedules.
• Quality assurance: Deliver designs that consistently meet or exceed agreed-upon quality standards, ensuring accuracy, creativity, and strategic alignment with SHONA Group's brand and objectives. Be responsive to client feedback and incorporate revisions as necessary.

Technical proficiency and professional development

• Software proficiency: Demonstrate advanced proficiency in industry-standard graphic design software, including but not limited to Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects), Figma, Sketch, or other relevant tools necessary for the completion of design tasks.
• Continuous learning: Stay abreast of the latest industry trends, design software advancements, and emerging visual communication technologies, continuously expanding skills and knowledge to deliver cutting-edge and high-quality designs.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree or diploma in graphic design, visual communication, or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years' professional experience.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating branding, motion visuals, print, and digital design.
• Experience working with NGOs, development organisations or startups is an advantage.
• Experience designing for social media campaigns and reports.
• Excellent command of Adobe Creative Suite or equivalent.

Personal competencies

• Self-motivated and proactive working style
• Capacity to self-organise
• Attention to detail
• Listening and learning attitude
• Willingness to do the "legwork"

• Act as the primary custodian of SHONA's visual brand identity, ensuring strict adherence to established brand guidelines (logo usage, colour palettes, typography, and imagery style) across all internal and external communications.
• Maintain and evolve comprehensive brand guidelines, including usage policies for all visual assets.
• Create and manage applications of SHONA’s brand identity across various touchpoints, including sub-brands, event branding, and corporate stationery.
• Provide expert advice and recommendations on visual trends, best practices, and innovative design approaches to elevate SHONA’s brand perception and achieve strategic communication goals.
• Create engaging visual assets for all digital marketing channels, including social media graphics, email marketing templates, and digital advertisements.
• Develop compelling motion graphics for video content, social media, presentations, and other digital platforms.
• Design high-impact print materials, including brochures, flyers, posters, banners, exhibition stands, and promotional signage.
• Create professional layouts for business cards, letterheads, stationery, reports, whitepapers, internal newsletters, and corporate presentations.
• Design visual representations for brand elements on brand collateral materials and for environmental graphics.
• Prepare accurate, print-ready files and liaise with print vendors to ensure high-quality production.
• Transform complex data, processes, or information into clear, concise, and visually engaging infographics.
• Design effective charts, graphs, and other visual representations of data for reports, presentations, and marketing materials.
• Effectively communicate with the SHONA Group team to understand design requirements, objectives, and project expectations.
• Proactively solicit, interpret, and incorporate feedback, making necessary revisions to achieve design alignment and meet project goals.
• Manage workload effectively to meet multiple project deadlines simultaneously, prioritising tasks based on project urgency, business impact, and client requirements.
• Provide timely deliverables in accordance with agreed-upon schedules.
• Deliver designs that consistently meet or exceed agreed-upon quality standards, ensuring accuracy, creativity, and strategic alignment with SHONA Group's brand and objectives.
• Be responsive to client feedback and incorporate revisions as necessary.
• Demonstrate advanced proficiency in industry-standard graphic design software.
• Stay abreast of the latest industry trends, design software advancements, and emerging visual communication technologies.

• Graphic design
• Visual communication
• Brand management
• Brand identity development
• Logo usage
• Color palettes
• Typography
• Imagery style
• Digital design
• Social media graphics
• Email marketing templates
• Digital advertisements
• Animated and motion graphics
• Print design
• Infographics
• Data visualization
• Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects)
• Figma
• Sketch
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Feedback integration
• Time management
• Prioritization
• Quality assurance
• Technical proficiency
• Continuous learning

• Bachelor's degree or diploma in graphic design, visual communication, or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years' professional experience.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating branding, motion visuals, print, and digital design.
• Experience working with NGOs, development organisations or startups is an advantage.
• Experience designing for social media campaigns and reports.
• Excellent command of Adobe Creative Suite or equivalent.
• Self-motivated and proactive working style
• Capacity to self-organise
• Attention to detail
• Listening and learning attitude
• Willingness to do the "legwork"