Lead Service Designer

Government Recruitment Service; Sheffield; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A government department in the United Kingdom is seeking a Lead Service Designer to shape the future of services that support millions across the UK. The role involves leading service design efforts, facilitating collaboration among teams, engaging senior stakeholders, and producing high-quality design outputs. Candidates should be passionate about user-centred design and capable of mentoring others, making significant contributions to the development of design capability within the department.

Qualifications

• Experience in leading service design projects.
• Ability to manage and mentor other designers.
• Strong analytical skills for research and data interpretation.

Responsibilities

• Lead service design, aligning user needs with policy.
• Facilitate collaboration across departments.
• Engage senior stakeholders to influence decisions.
• Produce high-quality design outputs.
• Analyse research to find improvement opportunities.
• Use prototyping to test ideas.
• Build a strong design culture.
• Contribute to team recruitment and development.

Skills

User-centred design

Facilitation skills

Collaboration

Influencing decision-making

Prototyping

Job description

Are you passionate about designing services that support millions across the UK?

Interested in driving some of the country’s most significant transformational changes?

If so, this could be the role for you!

At DWP Digital & Transformation, we offer meaningful careers for those who want to use their skills to improve lives. As part of the UK’s largest government department, we deliver vital services, support and payments to people at key moments.

We’re looking for a Lead Service Designer to help shape the future of DWP services. You’ll work with design teams and stakeholders to explore problems, test ideas and deliver better outcomes for users.

We’re seeking confident facilitators who can unite teams, provide clarity, and foster collaboration. Experience of working with policy and strategy teams is especially valuable.

You’ll join a supportive community of user-centred design professionals, committed to accessibility and excellence. As a Lead Service Designer, you’ll also mentor others and help grow our service design capability.

As a Lead Service Designer, you’ll shape the future of DWP services by aligning emerging policy and business strategy with user needs, evolving services to better support millions of users.

You’ll champion collaboration across digital, policy, legal and other teams, ensuring services are designed with people at the heart.

You’ll be a confident facilitator and expert practitioner, advocating for user-centred design and driving improvements that deliver real outcomes.

What you’ll do:

• Lead service design, aligning user needs with policy, service and product strategy.
• Facilitate collaboration across departments to define and deliver effective user journeys.
• Engage senior stakeholders and influence decision-making at departmental level.
• Produce high-quality design outputs including journey maps, experience maps, service blueprints and user flows.
• Analyse research and data to identify pain points and improvement opportunities.
• Use prototyping to test ideas and communicate concepts with users.
• Promote best practice and build a strong, open design culture across the Department.
• Mentor designers and support capability building within the service design community.
• Contribute to recruitment and development of the DWP Digital design team.

This is a leadership role where you’ll set direction, guide teams and help embed service design across the organisation. If you’re passionate about designing services that truly meet people’s needs, we’d love to hear from you.