Chief Specialist | Service Design

Knowledge & Human Development Authority; Dubai; On-site; AED 260,000 - 460,000; Full time

Job summary

Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) seeks a strategic, customer‑focused leader to head service design and transformation across Dubai's education ecosystem.

The role designs, improves, and implements human‑centred services, aligning customer needs with policy, operations, and technology to deliver measurable outcomes and sustained value.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Business Administration, Business Analytics, Service Design, Innovation Management, Engineering, or related discipline.
• Professional certifications in Service Design, Customer Experience, Design Thinking, Business Analysis, Lean Six Sigma, Agile, or Project Management are preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end service design initiatives from discovery through implementation and continuous improvement.
• Conduct customer research, stakeholder interviews, journey mapping, service blueprinting, prototyping, and testing.
• Translate customer insights and strategic priorities into innovative service solutions.
• Identify pain points and opportunities for service enhancement across journeys and processes.
• Drive service transformation projects to improve experience, efficiency, and effectiveness.
• Design future-state service models aligned with organisational objectives.
• Develop roadmaps, define ownership, manage milestones, and monitor outcomes.
• Establish success measures and benefits realisation frameworks.
• Lead cross-functional collaboration to achieve service improvement objectives.
• Facilitate workshops, design sprints, and stakeholder engagements for alignment.
• Influence senior leadership with recommendations and business cases.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder management

Facilitation

Communication

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Business Administration, Business Analytics, Service Design, Innovation Management, Engineering, or related discipline

Professional certifications in Service Design, Customer Experience, Design Thinking, Business Analysis, Lean Six Sigma, Agile, or Project Management (preferred)

Job description

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) is seeking a strategic and customer-focused professional to lead service design and transformation initiatives that enhance the experiences of learners, educators, investors, and stakeholders across Dubai's education ecosystem.

This role is responsible for designing, improving, and implementing human-centred services, ensuring that customer needs, operational requirements, policies, and technology solutions are seamlessly integrated to deliver meaningful, measurable outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Service Design & Transformation

• Lead end-to-end service design initiatives, from discovery and requirements gathering through to implementation and continuous improvement.
• Conduct customer research, stakeholder interviews, journey mapping, service blueprinting, prototyping, and testing.
• Translate customer insights, business requirements, and strategic priorities into innovative and practical service solutions.
• Identify pain points, opportunities, and areas for service enhancement across customer journeys and internal processes.

Service Improvement & Delivery

• Drive service transformation projects that improve customer experience, operational efficiency, and service effectiveness.
• Simplify processes and design future-state service models that align with organisational objectives.
• Develop implementation roadmaps, define ownership, manage milestones, and monitor progress against agreed outcomes.
• Establish success measures, service performance indicators, and benefits realisation frameworks.

Stakeholder Engagement & Leadership

• Lead cross-functional collaboration across sectors, support functions, and external partners to achieve service improvement objectives.
• Facilitate workshops, design sprints, co-creation sessions, and stakeholder engagements to gather insights and build alignment.
• Influence decision-making by presenting recommendations, business cases, and strategic service solutions to senior leadership.
• Foster a collaborative and customer-centric approach to service design across the organisation.
• Anticipate emerging customer needs, sector trends, and opportunities for innovation.
• Challenge conventional approaches and identify new ways of delivering value through service redesign and transformation.
• Support the development of a culture of continuous improvement, experimentation, and evidence-based decision-making.
• Leverage design thinking, business analysis, and service design methodologies to drive lasting impact.

Qualifications & Experience

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Business Administration, Business Analytics, Service Design, Innovation Management, Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Professional certifications in Service Design, Customer Experience, Design Thinking, Business Analysis, Lean Six Sigma, Agile, or Project Management are preferred.

Experience

• Minimum 7-10 years of experience in service design, business transformation, customer experience, process improvement, organisational development, or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience leading end-to-end transformation or service redesign initiatives.
• Proven track record of delivering measurable improvements in customer experience, operational efficiency, or service performance.
• Experience engaging senior stakeholders and facilitating cross-functional initiatives.

Preferred Backgrounds

We encourage applications from professionals with experience in:

• Service Design and Customer Experience
• Business Analysis and Transformation
• Process Excellence and Continuous Improvement
• Digital Transformation
• Organisational Transformation Programmes
• Public Sector, Government, Education, or Regulatory Environments
• Service Design & Customer Journey Mapping
• Design Thinking & Human-Centred Design
• Business Process Improvement
• Stakeholder Management & Facilitation
• Project & Change Management
• Strategic Thinking & Problem Solving
• Data-Driven Decision Making
• Communication and Influencing Skills

What We Are Looking For

The ideal candidate combines strategic thinking with execution excellence. They are passionate about improving customer experiences, comfortable navigating complexity, and able to translate ambitious ideas into practical, sustainable solutions that create measurable value.

If you are an Industrial Engineer, Service Designer, Transformation Specialist, Customer Experience Professional, or Business Analyst with a strong track record in driving organisational change and service improvement, we encourage you to apply.