Lead Service Designer

If you are a Service Designer who enjoys untangling complex problems and turning insight into services that genuinely work better for people, this is a role worth exploring.

At Cognizant, you will help shape meaningful transformation across public and private sector organisations. Working with users, senior stakeholders and multidisciplinary teams, you will connect research, strategy, operations and technology to create inclusive, end-to-end services across digital and non-digital channels.

You will have the space to bring ideas, challenge assumptions and see your thinking move from discovery into delivery—while developing your career within a collaborative global organisation that invests in learning, design capability and progression.

What you’ll be doing:

· Plan and lead user research with internal and external users, turning evidence into clear needs, insights and design opportunities.

· Facilitate co-creation workshops that bring stakeholders and multidisciplinary teams together around practical, user-centred solutions.

· Create customer journey maps, service blueprints, service visions and other design artefacts that make complexity visible and actionable.

· Design end-to-end experiences that connect front-stage user journeys with the people, processes, policy and technology behind them.

· Use qualitative research, data and feedback to test assumptions, refine concepts and improve services over time.

· Work across agile discovery and delivery with researchers, product teams, content designers, business analysts, engineers and delivery colleagues.

· Communicate design decisions through clear storytelling, helping clients understand trade-offs and align around a shared direction.

· Champion accessibility, inclusive design and customer-centred design principles throughout the service lifecycle.

· Support and mentor less experienced designers, contributing to a visible, collaborative and high-quality design culture.

What you’ll bring:

· Strong Service Design experience gained in a consultancy, agency or client-side environment.

· A compelling portfolio showing your approach, design thinking and impact across end-to-end digital and non-digital services.

· Confidence planning and conducting user research, usability testing and stakeholder engagement.

· Practical expertise in journey mapping, service blueprinting, empathy mapping, systems thinking and workshop facilitation.

· The ability to translate research, business needs and data into strategic recommendations and deliverable service improvements.

· Experience working in agile teams, including familiarity with user stories, backlogs and acceptance criteria.

· Strong communication and storytelling skills, with the confidence to influence stakeholders at different levels.

· A sound understanding of accessibility and usability standards, including WCAG, and inclusive design practice.

· Experience using relevant collaboration and design tools such as Figma, Miro, Sketch, Adobe XD, Axure or equivalent.

· An independent, adaptable and pragmatic working style, balanced with a collaborative and people-centred approach.

These will help you stand out:

· Knowledge of Government Digital Service standards, GOV.UK design patterns or the GOV.UK Design System.

· Experience supporting or participating in GDS service assessments.

· Experience leading a design workstream, mentoring others or strengthening design practice within a team.

· Prototyping experience and the ability to use early concepts to learn quickly and build alignment.