Senior Service Designer

The Senior Service Designer is responsible for designing the ideal future state of Allied Solutions’ proprietary service offerings, including both internal processes and client-facing interactions. The role requires the ability to think big picture while meticulously documenting the details. This person has an innate curiosity and can identify process pain points, connecting them to business objectives while understanding technological boundaries. They will drive growth and influence the improvement of the customer experience.

This individual combines an in-depth knowledge of company objectives, business acumen, technical familiarity, and continued education in Service Design standards and best practices to deliver effective recommendations. They use exemplary critical thinking to uncover impactful insights by directing qualitative and quantitative research, scope development, project execution, and generating buy-in.

“How do you transform an organization from the inside out? We need an experienced Senior Service Designer to help us do just that. If you enjoy untangling complex problems and creating simple, efficient, human-centered solutions, you might be the person to join our team of experts trying to strategically reinvent the way we serve our clients.

We’re looking for someone who is creatively analytical – who can think inside the box, and then blow the box up. The ideal candidate is part scientist, part sociologist. You’ll be selected for your exceptional ability to collaborate and facilitate thought-provoking Service Design activities. You probably have a bit of a reputation for your strategic thought process and passion for improving the customer experience.

You ask why before asking how.

Your empathy, passion, and energy are infectious, and you communicate rock-solid rationales to support your ideas – all of which help you create buy-in and generate impactful change.”

Job Duties and Responsibilities:

Understanding Business Goals and Technology Landscape (25%)

• Achieve a deep understanding the problem space including business goals and market needs / desires
• Speak the language of the business, translating Service Design concepts into relatable and actionable business outcomes
• Speak the language of the technology team, mapping Service Design concepts and outcomes to technical solutions and boundaries
• Establishes achievable, relevant goals and KPIs at the outset of projects with the intent of providing data-backed performance analysis and reporting upon completion
• Develop a deep understanding of Allied Solutions’ internal technical landscape, business areas, operational processes, and cultural mental models
• Collect and organize data from a variety of sources to understand and visualize workflow across the finance and insurance industries
• Prioritize and reprioritize tasks based on varying criteria to achieve optimal speed-to-insight while managing multiple initiatives
• Collaborate with a cross-functional team of researchers and experts to translate opportunities into transformational solutions

Plan Service Design Research Methods and Timing (30%)

• Achieve a deep understanding the problem space including business goals, technical landscape, and market needs / desires
• Determine the appropriate mix of Service Design methods, both qualitative and quantitative, and service design prototyping experiments for a given scenario.
• Evaluate previous work efforts to determine approximate scope for future initiatives
• Collaborate on scoping efforts that result in cost/benefit analysis, approval, and prioritization of UX-related work
• Document the planned methods in a research plan, including method names / descriptions, intent quantity of each method, expected timeline for plan execution, intended target of research methods.
• Collaborate with team members to finalize the appropriate research methods, timing, and research participant
• Recruit participants for service design workshops, interviews, and other methods
• Schedule methods with research subjects and team collaborators

Execute Service Design Methods (20%)

• Lead Design Thinking and Service Design activities like stakeholder interviews, collaboration sessions, ecosystem mapping, task analysis, business model canvassing, service blueprinting, observational sessions, and field research in order to understand the context in which business areas operate
• Maintain execution of the timeline outlined in the research plan
• Inform stakeholders of progress, clearly setting and re-setting expectations when needed
• Pivot from original research plan when key learnings and insights suggest there is additional / different research to conduct
• Demonstrate industry best practices for conducting each service design method
• Document and organize data resulting from the conducted research
• Collaborate with other designers, strategists, and business teams to create a greater shared understanding of the current service experience, future vision, and interim steps required to get there

Analyze Service Design Research and Create Artifacts (15%)

• Analyze qualitative and quantitative data from analytics tools, interviews, whiteboarding sessions, and other research methods to develop themes and insights that inform Service Design recommendations
• Identify and articulate insights that provide opportunity for new and differentiated experiences
• Collaborate with strategists, designers, technical architects, and business teams to map research findings to business goals and objectives
• Translate insights and “light-bulb moments” into actionable recommendations
• Create visual frameworks like journey maps, storyboards, service blueprints, ecosystem maps, etc., that help bring clarity to complex challenges within an ecosystem and drive decision-making
• Measure research data, interpret data, and translate data into findings that relate directly to concrete goals for the project, product, or business area
• Consider the big picture while diving in to capture necessary details
• Influence the measurement of experience from qualitative and quantitative perspectives, clearly connecting data to strategic and process design solutions
• Adapt reports and artifacts for different audiences throughout the business as necessary

Generate Buy-In around Service Design Practice and Recommend Process Improvement (10%)

• Be a champion for Service Design as a practice, including pitching new methodologies to better understand business processes, supporting technologies, and cross-functional relationships
• Collaborate with management to support the build out of Allied’s Service Design practice, identifying needs and gaps required to achieve business objectives
• Propose and champion process and service improvements based on research, serving as the advocate of the service design while thoroughly understanding the ecosystem and business objectives
• Develop strong, trusting relationships between the Service Design team and business units, providing leadership and support during strategy, ideation, and execution of complex large-scale changes
• Position themselves as a thought leader by self-educating and demonstrate that knowledge to teammates and stakeholders
• Educate Allied Solutions team members on the evolving world of Service Design tactics and strategies, and convey why they matter to Allied’s greater business goals
• Lead narrative-based, strategic planning presentations to internal stakeholders, adapting the narrative for the appropriate audience
• Use creative storytelling abilities to connect the current experience and to a vision for improvements that meets both user and business needs
• Demonstrate Situational Adaptability: The ability to evaluate and pivot based on new information to meet the needs of the situation
• Inform stakeholders of research progress, clearly setting and re-setting expectations when needed
• Produce measurable and attributable ROI

Qualifications (Education, Experience, Certifications & KSA):

• High School Diploma or GED required
• Master’s degree, or equivalent combination of education and experience, preferred. Field of Study: Human Computer Interaction, Data Science, Interaction Design, Experience Design, Cognitive Science, Psychology, or related field.
• 5 – 7 years related work experience