Senior Service Designer

Hard Problems; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 69,000 - 79,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension plan (up to 6% double contrib)

28 days annual leave + club holidays

Westfield Health Cash Plan

Life assurance

Volunteering days

Employee Assistance Programme

Job summary

L&Q is seeking a Senior Service Designer to lead the experiential view of the Target Operating Model, owning end-to-end journeys and services. You will guide a team of six and partner with the Senior Business Architect to align operating models with change across the organisation.

Based in London or Manchester, the role supports hybrid working and requires strong stakeholder influence, multi-disciplinary collaboration, and a passion for social housing transformation.

Qualifications

• Substantial experience leading end-to-end, multi-channel service design in complex organisations.
• Strong user-centered research and inclusive design practice.
• Experience influencing senior leaders and cross-disciplinary delivery.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of service designers, including a Lead Service Designer, managing performance and quality-assuring external partners.
• Own the design and continuous improvement of target journeys, service blueprints, patterns and design principles guiding change across the group.
• Lead service design on priority transformation work from discovery through to delivery, represent design in Design Assurance for regulatory compliance.
• Grow user-centred and systems thinking capability across L&Q among business analysis and operational leaders.

Skills

Leadership

Service design

User research

Stakeholder management

Job description

# Senior Service DesignerL&Q, London, UKPublic servicesNonprofit## Why this work mattersL&Q provides affordable and social-rented homes to around 250,000 people across London and the South East, directly tackling the UK housing crisis for lower-income residents.View the full listing and apply →Listed 13 Oct 2026 · **Apply by 21 Oct 2026**Applications are handled by L&Q, not by Hard Problems.## About the roleL&Q is one of the UK's largest housing associations and providers of social and affordable homes, housing around 250,000 people primarily across Greater London and Greater Manchester. Its transformation and change portfolio is service design led, spanning full operating model change across ways of working, processes, team structures, systems, data and reporting. L&Q is in a multi-year, multi-million pound programme of transformation.### The roleThe Senior Service Designer leads the experiential view of L&Q's Target Operating Model, owning the target end-to-end journeys and the services that enable them. This sits alongside the Senior Business Architect, who holds the structural view; together the two disciplines give L&Q one coherent picture of how it works today and how it needs to work. You would report to the Head of Business Design and Architecture and lead a team of six (two direct and four indirect reports), as well as working with external service design partners. Business Design and Architecture brings together business architecture, service design and business analysis, forming a core part of Group Transformation and Change.### What you would do* Lead and develop a team of service designers, including a Lead Service Designer, managing performance and building a high-performing practice, and directing and quality-assuring external service design partners.* Own the design and continuous improvement of target journeys, service blueprints, service patterns and the service design principles that guide change across the Group.* Lead service design on priority transformation work from discovery through to delivery, and represent service design in Design Assurance to ensure change meets regulatory obligations and moves L&Q towards its target state.* Grow user-centred and systems thinking capability across L&Q, including within the Business Analysis practice and among operational leaders.* Work closely with the Senior Business Architect, Business Analysis leads, programme teams, technology and data experts, and resident involvement colleagues to deliver joined-up change.### What they are looking for* Substantial experience leading end-to-end, multi-channel service design in complex organisations.* Demonstrable user-centred research and inclusive design practice, including with people in vulnerable circumstances.* Experience designing services as part of wider operating model or organisational change.* Experience leading design professionals and building design capability in others.* Demonstrable experience influencing senior leaders and working across disciplines to deliver change.* Experience in social housing or another regulated, resident or citizen-facing sector (desirable, not essential).### Working arrangementsThe role is based at either London (Stratford) or Manchester (Trafford). It is an agile/hybrid working arrangement, with 20–40% of contractual hours worked from the reporting office. The standard working week is 35 hours.### Pay and benefitsThe salary starts from £78,544 per annum (London weighted) or £68,571 per annum (regional), depending on experience. Benefits include an excellent pension plan (up to 6% double contribution), 28 days annual leave rising to 31 days with length of service plus bank holidays, Westfield Health Cash Plan, non-contributory life assurance, up to 21 hours paid volunteering days, lifestyle benefits and an Employee Assistance Programme.## DetailsLocation: London, UKOn-site or remote: Hybrid (London)Salary: £68,571 - £78,544Sector: Public servicesRole: Service designSeniority: SeniorOrganisation: Charity## About L&QL&Q (London & Quadrant Housing Trust) is one of the UK's largest charitable housing associations, owning and managing over 120,000 homes across London, the South East, East Anglia, and the North West. It provides affordable and social-rented housing, shared ownership, supported and sheltered housing, and community investment through the L&Q Foundation.www.lqgroup.org.uk