Job Description

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.

Hey, g'day, mabuhay, kia ora, 你好, hallo, vítejte!

Thanks for stopping by. We know job hunting can be a little time-consuming, and you're probably keen to find out what's on offer, so we'll get straight to the point.

Where and how you can work

This role is based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

What you’d be doing in this role

Every month, more than 100 million Canva users create a design in one of the 100 languages other than English that Canva supports. The Localisation specialty is a small team of linguists, project managers, and engineers distributed throughout the company.

As the Localisation Lead for Africa, you'll bring your deep understanding of the African market and expertise in adapting marketing and products for regional growth. You will be the voice of African Canva users and a champion for a culturally relevant experience.

As the Africa Localisation Lead, you will:

• Evaluate and adapt global messaging and campaigns to resonate with African users
• Identify key opportunities for localisation improvements in Africa
• Collaborate with the local team on Product Growth initiatives
• Provide cultural insights and guidance to global teams
• Partner with the African Languages Manager to develop language style guides, tone of voice strategies for African languages, and localisation best practices

You're probably a match if

• You understand the needs of African customers and the opportunities to meet those needs effectively. We're open to candidates from a range of backgrounds, and valuable experience could include localisation or internationalisation work, content design for African audiences, product growth in African markets, or brand copywriting for African audiences.
• You're passionate about African cultures, and you understand how they can impact local users' experience of a product.
• Your analytical mindset helps you evaluate campaign effectiveness and recommend data-driven improvements for optimising African user experiences.
• You also love taking things from chaos to clarity — you’re a natural at understanding ambiguous, complex problems and communicating them simply to others.
• You also have the drive to see things through despite changes and setbacks.
• You’re equally comfortable discussing details with engineers and ideas with product managers and designers.
• You’re great with tech (Atlassian project management tools, basic web development) and you write a mean doc.
• Previous experience working for a SaaS or technology company is also highly valued.

Also, we’d love it if you had the following, but it’s not a prerequisite!

• Experience in marketing or advertising in the African market
• Knowledge of product growth strategies and user acquisition in Africa
• You’ve got a tertiary education in linguistics, literature, or localisation
• You have copywriting experience — you maintain a blog or, even better, you have experience in localisation for a SaaS product
• You showcase a solid understanding of organic growth (SEO and WordPress)
• You have some design experience
• You’re an expert with CAT tools (experience with Smartling gets full marks)

#LI-remote #LI-JRW

About the team

The Localisation group is responsible for the localisation of Canva’s product, marketing, and content, as well as the tools, processes, and assets that make this possible. We sit within the International Supergroup, but we work closely with stakeholders across the whole organisation. Our mission is to celebrate the diversity of our global users and make their interactions with Canva delightful by delivering a hyperlocalised experience.

What's in it for you?

Achieving our crazy big goals motivates us to work hard - and we do - but you'll experience lots of moments of magic, connectivity and fun woven throughout life at Canva, too. We also offer a range of benefits to set you up for every success in and outside of work.

Here's a taste of what's on offer:

• Equity packages - we want our success to be yours too
• Inclusive parental leave policy that supports all parents & carers
• An annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support your wellbeing, social connection, office setup & more
• Flexible leave options that empower you to be a force for good, take time to recharge and support you personally

Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.

Other stuff to know

We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills and passion, as well as how you can enhance Canva and our culture. When you apply, please tell us the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process.

We celebrate all types of skills and backgrounds at Canva so even if you don’t feel like your skills quite match what’s listed above, we still want to hear from you!

Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.