Full time | Permanent | UK, Rwanda or Kenya | £22,000 to £30,000 per annum
Deadline: 9am GMT +1, 4th September 2023
Brink is privileged to work on some of the world’s most interesting and important challenges with partners ranging from globally recognised institutions like UCL, FCDO, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and University of Cambridge, to small grassroots innovators across Africa, S. Asia and the Middle East. Together, we’re able to push the boundaries of what’s possible and imagine new futures, using design to support bold new thinking and ambitions to make lasting change.
We’re looking for a Junior Designer to use their skills to deliver outputs across a diverse range of programmes, using design to supercharge the impact teams are creating in the world.
The role
You’ll get the opportunity to apply your design skills to all the programmes that Brink works on, as well as the individual ventures within them, and receive mentoring from Brink’s senior Designer, as well as other leads commissioning your skills across our work.
In particular you’ll work closely with our Storytelling practice team who continuously explore how design can support Brink’s work to tell compelling stories which inspire change. Together you’ll continue to explore and experiment with how design can be used as a tool for impact within storytelling and beyond.
At Brink designers work on a range of projects. You could be creating infographics to communicate evidence in an accessible way, using partner brand guidelines to create compelling social media content, designing a website which tells the human stories behind our projects, or designing the odd t-shirt for an event.
We operate on an internal creative studio model, where briefs for design will come in from across the organisation. It’s likely that no two days are the same, and you’ll hone your skills based on the opportunities we’re spotting across Brink’s portfolio. We’re looking for someone who’s excited to hone their skills in this way and who enjoys that variety of projects.
Regardless of where you are now, or where you’ve been before, if you’re a designer who is looking to use their skills to make a positive dent in the world, then we want to hear from you.
What we’re looking for
You’re likely a Graphic Design graduate with a couple of years experience in internships or design roles within organisations or studios, with a good understanding of what an organisation values and needs from a designer.
Your skills include editorial design, working with brand guidelines, formatting and UX in particular, and would love to see evidence of (or interest to learn more about) animation, video editing and HTML/CSS coding, or any other design-related skills (go on, surprise us!)
You’ll be fluent in Adobe CC including Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator and possibly AfterEffects, Figma, Premiere Pro and FinalCut, but won’t shy away from a Google Slides deck should this be the most appropriate way of communicating for the job.
You are eager to learn not only technical skills related to their craft, but also the ways of being we know are intrinsic to being part of a functioning and motivated team. You will be working with non-designers on a daily basis, understanding and defining their needs and developing design briefs with them. We need you to actively make a connection between people and sometimes quite complex ideas, with the goal of mobilising real world action.
You hold high standards for design excellence, noticing the things that non-designers don’t, but you also understand when to embrace the most pragmatic solution. Projects will require attention to detail on both creative briefs and everyday jobs (such as formatting documents).
We also look for these interpersonal skills (being a ‘Brinkster’)
- Growth mindset: keen and eager to experiment and learn, comfortable with not knowing all the answers yet and happy to let stuff go when it doesn’t quite hit the mark
- Is ‘interoperable’: quickly establishes rapport with all kinds of people
- Enjoys ‘making others shine': Brink is a low-ego zone that thrives on making our colleagues, clients and collaborators shine
- Self-starter, proactive, can 'get on with it', has a sense of agency and a point of view
- Global outlook: understands the global nature of our work and relishes the challenge of designing for such a broad range of audiences
In addition to your annual salary you’ll have access to extra things to support you to be your best self, in and out of the office.
🐙 A role that isn’t available for anyone else and shaped around you and your interests
🏖 ‘Take what you need’ annual leave
🐣 16 weeks full pay parental leave
🧠 Dedicated coaching and therapy for your mental health and wellbeing from platform partner Oliva
🎒 Brink retreats and away days
📚 Kindle with unlimited books
🎓 Generous training budget
🏡 Workspace expense budget for working from home
🚴♀️ Access to a cycle to work scheme (if in UK)
How we work:
- A team of around 30 (and growing) that genuinely enjoy spending time together, online and in person where possible
- Remote-first approach
- If based in the UK, you can work outside of the UK for a maximum of 100 days within the tax year. If based elsewhere, local tax laws regarding working abroad apply.
- Flexible working hours; you take ownership over how you get your work done
- Dedicated learning time at our ‘Dojo Days’
- Certain set days over the year where we require the team to be together in real life. This is usually for around one week in mid January and for another week in mid July. It may also include travel and overnight stays.
How to apply
If you’re interested in joining us, please click on the ‘apply here’ button below. This will take you to an online application form where we will ask you to upload your CV and portfolio as well as a response to the following questions:
- Please write us a one page letter that includes...
- Your story and why you believe this is the right role for you.
- A case study or piece of work you’re proud of - include links out to websites, videos or other places where we can see your work. Ideally this work will be ‘live’ and out in the world.
- Offer us a recommendation for a book, article, podcast or something else that’s shaped your thinking lately, and briefly tell us what made this so special for you
- Answer one of these 36 questions in a 2 minute video, 500 words, voice recording or any other format which you would prefer - we’re open to the weird and wonderful.
You are encouraged to be as creative as you are comfortable with and choose any structure or layout to present your information, as long as you keep it under 50mb.
📅 The deadline for this application is 9am GMT +1, Monday 4th September 2023. You will receive an email from the system to confirm your application has been received and we will be in touch (we aim for within 2 weeks) to let you know if we’ll be taking it further. If you have any questions please email [email protected] and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.
💻 We’ll be hosting a Virtual Hiring Open Day on Tuesday 29th August at 1pm BST (GMT+1). This is your chance to hear more about Brink and what it's like to work here. The session will also include space to join individual breakout rooms to learn more about the specific role you are interested in applying for, where you'll have the chance to ask any questions you have. Sign up now.
🔗 Our commitment as Brink
Diversity is in our DNA at Brink and we’re proud of the broad range of Brinksters we have on board. We also know there is always room for improvement which is why we track diversity in all its guises to see how we’re doing, and make efforts to cast our hiring net as wide as possible. Our latest survey shows we could do better in some areas, so we’re particularly encouraging applications from people of the Global Ethnic Majority, people over 50, parents, neurodiverse people and/or those living with a disability.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability or age. We are happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments individuals may require in the recruitment process, on commencement, or once in post.
❓❗ Questions that people often ask us
How many years of experience do I have to have?
We don’t score people based on the “number of years” or higher education qualifications such as a university degree. This is a remarkable opportunity to work with some of the best changemakers in the world and the right person will have an opportunity to establish their career.
Where is this role based?
Brink is a remote team and we work all over the place from London, Nairobi, Cape Town, Amsterdam and Kigali. For this role our preference is for UK, Rwanda or Kenya based applicants only.
Please note that we are unable to employ anyone that does not have the right to work in the country they live in and work from. If you plan to work on an existing visa, there is a section on the application form where you can let us know the type and expiry date.
