Local UX Research Collaborator

Position: Local UX Research Collaborator

Status: Project-based Contract | 1 Position

Contract Duration: June, 6-18, 2026

Work location

KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Willingness to travel to programme sites across

KwaZulu-Natal is required.

Our Company

zen8labs is a global technology consultancy founded in 2019 by our talented

founders - coming from prestigious backgrounds such as Google, Facebook, and

Planday... We specialize in three main areas - customer experience design, enterprise

modernization, and digital transformation. Despite the short period of time, zen8labs’

portfolio of previous successes includes big names, from Vietnam corporates such as

Vingroup to worldwide businesses such as Invitae (US), ClinikNote (Australia), and

WebProof (Denmark)...

Learn more about zen8labs at: https://www.zen8labs.com/

About the Project

zen8labs is leading the UX Research & Design phase for the KuyaKhanya Platform, a

* Early Childhood Development (ECD)

* Mental Health (MH)

* Community Engagement (CE)

* Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E)

The platform supports programme teams, field practitioners, caregivers, and

community stakeholders across KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

To support Discovery and field research activities, zen8labs is seeking one South

Africa-based Local UX Research Collaborator to assist with onsite research, workflow

validation, and field engagement activities.

Role Overview

The Local UX Research Collaborator will act as zen8labs’ onsite research partner in

KwaZulu-Natal, helping bridge the gap between remote UX research activities and

real-world programme operations. The role focuses on collecting contextual insights,

validating workflow assumptions, and documenting field realities to support

Discovery deliverables. Support the collection of field insights, validation of

operational workflows and documentation of real-world programme practices toinform Discovery deliverables such as personas, pain points, journey maps and

workflow documentation.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct onsite observations and contextual research at programme locations.

• Engage with frontline programme participants including Community Play Facilitators

(CPFs), caregivers, community workers, and Lay Mental Health Counsellors (LMHCs)

to understand how programme activities are delivered in practice.

• Observe and document programme activities and operational workflows.

• Validate workflow assumptions, pain points, constraints and exception cases.

• Collect and document field notes, observations and user feedback.

• Support persona development, journey mapping and workflow analysis.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in UX Research, Community Research, Social Research, Programme

Evaluation or related fields.

• Experience with NGOs, education, public health, mental health or community

development programmes.

• Strong interviewing, observation and communication skills.

• Familiarity with field research in rural or low-resource environments.

• Familiarity with KwaZulu-Natal communities and local context.

If you are interested in this vacancy, please send your application or contact us directly via:

Email: ***email_hidden***