Service Designer (Interim)

Salt Digital Recruitment; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 125,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work pattern

Local government experience preferred

Job summary

Salt Recruitment is seeking an experienced Interim Service Designer for a London-based Local Government Authority to support a major service transformation programme. You will map customer journeys, examine processes and identify practical improvements that reduce demand and save officer time.

The role is hybrid (2 days in the office, 3 days remote), £542.25 per day, initially three months with potential to extend to six months and possibly temp-to-perm. Applicants must be UK residents.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in service design, business analysis, process improvement or lean service improvement.
• Experience in local government or public sector is essential.
• Strong ability to map current and future journeys, processes and hand-offs.
• Experience turning research into practical recommendations with clear actions.

Responsibilities

• Understand existing customer journeys, workflows and pain points.
• Produce as-is and to-be journey maps and process maps.
• Identify avoidable demand, delays and costly hand-offs.
• Recommend high-impact improvements across processes, channels and guidance.
• Prioritise actions by impact, deliverability and cost savings.
• Translate findings into actionable recommendations with owners and benefits.
• Support integration of actions into delivery plans and benefits tracking.
• Facilitate discussions with managers, experts and frontline teams.

Skills

Service design

Business analysis

Process improvement

Lean thinking

User-centred design

Stakeholder facilitation

Data-informed decisions

Job description

Service Designer (Interim)

Service Designer (Interim) - Local Government

Location: London Rate: £542.25 per day Contract: Initial three months, with option to extend to six months Working pattern: Hybrid (2 days office, 3 days remote) Hours: 37.5 hours per week Start: September 2026 Client: Local Government Authority Opportunity: Potential temp-to-perm following a successful initial contract Urgent - Applications Closing ASAP

The Opportunity A London-based Local Government Authority is seeking an experienced Interim Service Designer to support a major customer experience and service transformation programme. Working with priority service areas, you will examine customer journeys, operational processes, pain points and demand drivers. You will identify practical, deliverable improvements that enhance the customer experience, reduce avoidable demand, save officer time and support the authority's wider efficiency and savings objectives. This is a broad service design assignment that extends beyond digital channels and access routes. You will consider the full range of factors affecting service delivery, including workflows, hand-offs, communications, data, forms, scripts, staff guidance, policy interpretation and operational practices.

Key Responsibilities

• Work with priority service areas to understand existing customer journeys, operational workflows and process pain points.
• Produce clear, high-level "as-is" and "to-be" journey and process maps.
• Identify avoidable demand, repeat contact, delays, rework, complaints, inefficient hand-offs and unclear ownership.
• Find low-effort, high-impact opportunities to improve services, reduce demand, save time and avoid unnecessary costs.
• Recommend improvements across processes, people, policy application, digital routes, staff guidance, data, content, forms, scripts, customer communications and management controls.
• Help services prioritise improvements according to customer and operational impact, deliverability, cost, benefits and potential savings.
• Use quantitative data and qualitative insight to understand customer needs, failure demand, officer effort and service pain points.
• Translate findings into practical recommendations, clearly defined actions, accountable owners and measurable benefits.
• Support the incorporation of agreed actions into programme delivery plans, benefits tracking and business-as-usual service improvement activity.
• Facilitate productive discussions with service managers, subject-matter experts and frontline teams.

Skills and Experience

• Proven experience in service design, business analysis, process improvement, Lean service improvement or user-centred design.
• Previous council, local government or public sector experience is essential.
• Strong experience mapping current and future customer journeys, processes, workflows and hand-offs.
• A track record of working with service managers, subject-matter experts and frontline staff to identify practical improvements.
• Experience combining service data with qualitative insight to identify customer needs, avoidable demand, rework and operational pain points.
• The ability to turn research and analysis into clear, achievable recommendations with defined actions, ownership and benefits.
• An understanding of digital channels, online forms, web content and accessibility, particularly where these affect customer experience or service demand.
• The ability to identify opportunities for demand reduction, officer-time savings, cost avoidance and wider financial efficiencies.
• Strong facilitation, stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• The ability to produce concise, visual and practical outputs that service teams can implement.

Important Information

• Previous council, local government or public sector experience is essential.
• Applicants must be UK residents.
• No visa sponsorship or options are available for this role.
• This is a hybrid position, with no fully remote option.
• Salt contact: Robert Sprigens - [e-mail] *Rates depend on experience and client requirements