Senior Service Designer

Job overview

Do you believe in improving lives through data and technology? Do you enjoy uncovering user needs to understand complex problems, and designing services which will help literally millions of people look after their health?

We have exciting opportunities for experienced service design professionals who are a key part of our user-centred design (UCD) family of roles, alongside interaction designers, user researchers and content designers. 

The work we do has a direct impact on millions of patients’ lives, helping them access the essential services they need and supports them to get appropriate care as quickly as possible.

We also have a direct impact on health professionals across the NHS by providing them with essential tools and services to reduce the burden and enabling them to spend more time treating people.

Our products and services are used by all communities across England, covering diverse and contrasting needs based on age, cultural and socio-economic background, ability, gender, and sexuality. It is important to us that we represent all communities in our working teams, therefore we greatly encourage people with experience of different backgrounds to apply.

We have several Senior Service Designer roles across the Digital Primary Care portfolio. See the assignment brief for descriptions of our Market Enablement and Digital Strategy and Innovation work areas.

Main duties of the job

Digital Primary Care delivers new capabilities to support the digital transformation of primary care and wider community pharmacy, optometry and dentistry. Ensuring patients and frontline staff have access to modern digital products and services that better meet their needs, leading to fully integrated care.

Some of the key skills and experience you’ll bring:

• Demonstrable knowledge of service design and user centred design practices for both public facing and internal services and applications

• Experience in a range of service design methods and sub-disciplines, for example, but not limited to user journey mapping, service blueprinting, service mapping, workshop facilitation, etc.

• Experience of leading cross-disciplinary teams and ensuring that the process for making design decisions is based on design knowledge, user research and knowing the user journey

• Proven ability to develop skills and transfer knowledge of service design and user-centred design into new areas of an organisation

• Experience of ensuring products and services adhere to, and are designed according to, the relevant user-centred design and accessibility standards, e.g.GOV.UK or NHS Service Standard, Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018, Equality Act 2010, WCAG 2.1 AA etc.

• Evidence of continuous professional development

Working for our organisation

The NHS England board have set out the top-level purpose for the new organisation to lead the NHS in England to deliver high-quality services for all, which will inform the detailed design work and we will achieve this purpose by:

• Enabling local systems and providers to improve the health of their people and patients and reduce health inequalities.
• Making the NHS a great place to work, where our people can make a difference and achieve their potential.
• Working collaboratively to ensure our healthcare workforce has the right knowledge, skills, values and behaviours to deliver accessible, compassionate care
• Optimising the use of digital technology, research, and innovation
• Delivering value for money.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

As a Senior Service Designer you will be responsible for:

• Development and oversight of the design of whole healthcare journeys, collaborating with product management to define a vision for services, and share it in a way others can understand across multiple products in your portfolio

• Collaborating with user researchers to ensure the needs of users, and organisational objectives are met

• Using research evidence, design knowledge and negotiation with senior stakeholders to improve health outcomes for the public and healthcare professionals

• Working with multi-disciplinary teams so they understand the role and purpose of service design, user-centred design, and how these help to meet the organisational goals

• Ensuring our products and services are inclusive, accessible, and equitable

• Coaching and line managing user-centred design professionals in your portfolio area, including service designers, interaction designers and content designers

You will be working as a key member of a multidisciplinary team in your portfolio, as well as becoming part of an active and supportive design community of practice, collaborating across the organisation, to ensure new and existing services are user-centred, provide outstanding experiences and work for the whole population. You will have the opportunity to analyse and rethink the delivery of health and care services and improve delivery at national scale.

Person specification

Knowledge / Experience

Essential criteria

• Demonstrable knowledge of service design and user centred design practices for both public facing and internal services and applications
• Experience in a range of service design methods and sub-disciplines, for example, but not limited to user journey mapping, service blueprinting, service mapping, workshop facilitation, etc.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of ensuring products and services adhere to, and are designed according to, the relevant user-centred design and accessibility standards, e.g.GOV.UK or NHS Service Standard, Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018, Equality Act 2010, WCAG 2.1 AA etc.

Skills / Abilities

Essential criteria

• Experience of working effectively with cross-disciplinary teams and ensuring that the process for making design decisions is based on design knowledge, user research and knowing the user journey
• Proven ability to develop skills and transfer knowledge in service design and user-centred design into new areas of an organisation

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Evidence of continuous professional development