Senior Service Designer

A senior service designer is an experienced designer who works with minimal support and can influence and mentor others.

At this role level, you will:

• work with service managers and programme directors to develop design concepts
• potentially have responsibility for complex services
• help set direction and embed good practice within teams
• make important decisions based on research and understand how this research impacts others

Here at the Department for Health and Social Care senior service designers will:

• Work with policy teams to understand users’ experiences and needs, and design services used by patients and front-line staff in health and social care.
• Work mainly on the discovery and alpha (prototyping) phases of a project. Our team does not run and maintain live services.
• Peer review work by other health and social care organisations designing and delivering digital services.
• Provide ad-hoc advice to teams on service design.
• Advocate for a user-centred and whole service mindset across the organisation.
• Work in an agile way with various disciplines, including user researchers, product managers and technical architects.
• Support a service design community across the health and care system to share knowledge and increase the standard of digital delivery;
• Provide guidance, mentoring and training in service design across the team and arms-length body network.
• Run and lead design workshops, feedback sessions, training and reflective sessions with stakeholders and local organisations.

Key skills and experience required for the role 

The ideal candidate will have experience in:

1. Selecting the right tools and methods to research and design an end-to-end service.
2. Designing complex end-to-end services, whilst also considering the wider context and impacts of the service.
3. Supporting difficult discussions within a team or with diverse senior stakeholders
4. Working collaboratively in a group and actively networking with others
5. Leading others to make good design decisions
6. Sharing best practice and coaching others
7. Using a variety of prototyping methods

It is desirable, but not essential candidates have:

1. Degree level qualification or equivalent work experience or training in design (such as service design, human-computer interaction or product design)
2. Experience creating prototypes
3. Experience in the health and care sector

Please apply if think you are a good fit for the role, even if you do not meet all the above criteria.

Your normal place of work will be your contractual primary workplace, usually either London or Leeds.  Within DHSC we offer non-contractual hybrid working. The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time spent in the office, enabling in person interaction and collaboration and enhancing team working, learning, and support.

You will be asked to express a location preference during the application process. Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas and some travel may be required across the DHSC estate.

Opportunities for some working from home may be available; other flexible working options may be discussed with the hiring manager in line with individual circumstances and business need.

There are a limited number of DHSC colleagues who have existing agreed homeworking contracts resulting from Our Future Estate Programme 2023-2024. Colleagues covered by these arrangements are eligible to apply for this role whilst continuing their agreed existing home working arrangement. Occasional travel to DHSC offices or other locations may still be required according to business need. Travel and subsistence will be provided in line with the pre-agreed homeworker arrangements.

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving
• Delivering at Pace
• Leadership

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• The interview will commence with a task intended to show your technical skills around User focus at ‘expert’ level