Senior Service Designer - Public Sector (SC Clearance)

Sanderson Government and Defence; Guildford; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Sanderson Government and Defence is seeking a Senior Service Designer to lead service design workstreams from discovery through delivery for public sector programmes. You will shape user-centred services, outputs and outcomes, ensuring alignment with client objectives in a fast-paced multidisciplinary environment.

The role requires at least 5 years in service design, strong GDS knowledge, and the ability to mentor colleagues while supporting business development. Active SC clearance is required.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years' experience designing services and products.
• Proven experience leading service design workstreams across multiple projects.
• Strong expertise in Government Digital Service (GDS) standards and principles.
• Experience tailoring service design methods to client needs and maturity.
• Strong workshop facilitation and design sprint experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end service design activities from ideation to solution development and testing.
• Define and tailor service design approaches to client needs and maturity.
• Develop and oversee high-quality service design artefacts with impact.
• Apply GDS standards, accessibility and inclusive design to support assessments.
• Facilitate workshops, co-design sessions and stakeholder engagement.
• Communicate complex ideas through clear storytelling and visualization.
• Manage stakeholders, balancing perspectives while advocating for user-centred design.
• Identify priorities, risks, dependencies and delivery requirements.
• Mentor junior colleagues and support business development activities.
• Contribute to tool development and stay current with industry trends.

Skills

Service design

GDS standards

Stakeholder facilitation

Workshop facilitation

Mentoring

Agile cross-functional teams

User-centered design

Storytelling & visualization

Job description

Sanderson Government and Defence is seeking a Senior Service Designer to lead service design workstreams from discovery through delivery for public sector programmes. You will shape user-centred services, outputs and outcomes, ensuring alignment with client objectives in a fast-paced multidisciplinary environment.

The role requires at least 5 years in service design, strong GDS knowledge, and the ability to mentor colleagues while supporting business development. Active SC clearance is required.