Lead Service Designer

83zero; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

83zero in Manchester is seeking a Lead Service Designer to join its Digital Customer Experience practice and lead complex transformation programmes across the UK. You will combine strategic leadership with hands-on design to shape AI-enabled, human-centered services.

You’ll mentor multidisciplinary teams, drive research, prototyping, and delivery, and influence senior stakeholders while developing service standards and scalable experiences across regulated environments.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading end-to-end service design through pilot and live operation
• Strong experience influencing senior stakeholders in complex or regulated environments
• Expertise in service blueprinting, journey mapping, systems mapping and proposition development
• Experience leading and developing multidisciplinary teams
• Excellent facilitation and workshop skills
• Bridge design and delivery in agile or hybrid environments
• Strong commercial awareness and the confidence to challenge constructively
• Experience with GDS Service Standard, accessibility, regulated industries or AI-enabled services would be highly desirable

Responsibilities

• Lead complex service and product design programmes end-to-end
• Define service strategies, future-state experiences and architectures
• Lead research, prototyping, testing and delivery
• Facilitate design sprints, workshops and co-creation sessions
• Create service blueprints, journeys and propositions
• Influence senior stakeholders and guide complex decisions
• Mentor and develop designers, helping build a high-performing design practice
• Contribute to proposals, client shaping and new business opportunities
• Help evolve design standards, methodologies and approaches to AI-enabled services

Skills

End-to-end service design

Stakeholder management

Facilitation

Team leadership

Service blueprinting

Journey mapping

Proposition development

Agile / hybrid delivery

Tools

GDS Service Standard

Accessibility standards

Job description

Lead Service Designer – Digital Customer Experience

Lead the design of services that shape the future.

We’re looking for an experienced Lead Service Designer to join a growing Digital Customer Experience practice and lead complex transformation programmes across the UK.

This is a high-impact role combining strategic leadership with hands‑on design. You’ll lead multidisciplinary teams, influence senior stakeholders and turn complex challenges into human-centred, scalable and AI‑ready services.

What you’ll do

• Lead complex service and product design programmes end-to‑end
• Define service strategies, future-state experiences and architectures
• Lead research, prototyping, testing and delivery
• Facilitate design sprints, workshops and co‑creation sessions
• Create service blueprints, journeys and propositions
• Influence senior stakeholders and guide complex decisions
• Mentor and develop designers, helping build a high‑performing design practice
• Contribute to proposals, client shaping and new business opportunities
• Help evolve design standards, methodologies and approaches to AI‑enabled services

What we’re looking for

• Proven experience leading end‑to‑end service design, through to pilot and live operation
• Strong experience influencing senior stakeholders in complex or regulated environments
• Expertise in service blueprinting, journey mapping, systems mapping and proposition development
• Experience leading and developing multidisciplinary teams
• Excellent facilitation and workshop skills
• The ability to bridge design and delivery in agile or hybrid environments
• Strong commercial awareness and the confidence to challenge constructively
• Experience with GDS Service Standard, accessibility, regulated industries or AI‑enabled services would be highly desirable

Why this role?

You’ll have the opportunity to shape major digital and organisational transformations, work alongside talented design and technology specialists, and play a key role in developing a growing Experience Design practice.

If you’re ready to lead from the front, influence at senior level and create services that genuinely make a difference, we’d love to hear from you.

Eligibility for SC level security clearance is required, with additional eligibility checks where applicable.