Senior Service Designer

UCL Eastman Dental Institute; London; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

UCL Eastman Dental Institute is seeking a Senior Service Designer to enhance their service delivery for students and staff. This pivotal role involves leading design initiatives, conducting user research, and collaborating across teams to build impactful services that align with UCL's strategic priorities. The opportunity offers a chance to shape user experiences and contribute directly to transforming the university's services.

Benefits

41 Days holiday

Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme

Cycle to work scheme

On-site gym

Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay

Qualifications

• Proven experience in shaping and delivering user-centred services.
• Deep expertise in service design processes and methodologies.
• Ability to collaborate effectively in multi-stakeholder environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design of inclusive, user-centered services.
• Conduct user research to inform service design decisions.
• Champion service design practices across key initiatives.

Skills

Service Design

User Research

Journey Mapping

Prototyping

Collaborative Design

Education

Degree in Design or related field

Job description

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As a Senior Service Designer, you will play a pivotal role in shaping how UCL delivers its most critical services to students and staff. Sitting within the Strategic Change team, you’ll lead the design of services that are intuitive, inclusive, and aligned with UCL’s strategic priorities-transforming how people experience the university every day.

This is a high-impact role at the heart of UCL’s transformation agenda. You’ll collaborate across complex systems and structures to design services that connect people, processes, and technology, whether that’s improving student enrolment, streamlining staff onboarding, or enhancing access to core university functions.

You’ll help us to grow UCL’s internal service design capability- coaching colleagues, sharing best practice, and utilising tools and methods that embed user centred design at every stage of transformation. Championing the voice of the user, you will support us to build a culture of design-led improvement that will shape UCL’s future.

You will:

• Lead the design of end-to-end services that are seamless, inclusive, and user-centred.
• Conduct deep user research to uncover insights and drive meaningful change.
• Collaborate with users, academic and professional teams to co-create impactful services.
• Ensure alignment across operating models, organisational structures, and processes.
• Champion service design in strategic change initiatives, from discovery through to delivery.
• Define success metrics and demonstrate the tangible value of your work.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, influencing decisions at the highest levels.

About you

You are a confident and curious designer with a strong track record of shaping and delivering user-centred services in complex, multi-stakeholder environments. You bring deep expertise in service design, from research and journey mapping to prototyping and testing, and you thrive on turning complexity into clarity. You also understand how operating models can shape service delivery and ensure they support seamless, scalable, and sustainable experiences.

You’re skilled at navigating large organisations and understand how to design services that work across digital, physical, and organisational boundaries. You know how to engage diverse voices and translate their needs into great services.

You lead with empathy and evidence, facilitating collaborative design and supporting delivery teams to bring ideas to life. You’re as comfortable in a workshop as you are advising senior leaders, and you know how to build trust, influence decisions, and embed sustainable design practices that leave a lasting legacy.

In return, you’ll have the opportunity to make a significant impact in our new Service Design team, working alongside visionary leaders and talented colleagues. We offer a collaborative environment where your ideas are valued, your growth is supported, and your work directly contributes to the university’s bold strategic goals. Our people really are our greatest asset and we invest in them so that they can fulfil their potential. Equity, diversity and inclusion is important to us. We are committed to creating an environment where everyone is encouraged to give their best in a place where their unique experiences, perspectives and skills are seen as valuable assets.

Please ensure that you attach a portfolio with your application and use the cover letter to demonstrate how you meet the person specification and the desired criteria for this role.

We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible, as we may close applications early if we receive a high volume of interest.

We regret to inform you that we cannot currently sponsor or support visa applications for this role. Applicants must possess the legal right to work in the UK.

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:

• 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)
• Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme
• Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
• Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan
• Relocation scheme for certain posts
• On-site gym
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
• Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service
• Discounted medical insurance

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer great benefits.