Senior Service Designer Lead

About the role

We are seeking a Senior Service Designer Lead to drive the transformation of public services for a major council. In this strategic role you will influence senior stakeholders, lead a multidisciplinary design team and deliver user‑centred services that improve outcomes for residents and staff.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the council’s service design function and establish best practice across the organisation.
• Manage and develop a team of Service Designers, providing coaching, direction and support.
• Lead complex service redesign and transformation programmes from discovery through to implementation.
• Collaborate with senior leaders, Heads of Service and programme teams to identify improvement opportunities.
• Use user research, data and evidence to develop innovative service solutions.
• Facilitate workshops and co‑design activities with stakeholders.
• Develop service blueprints, customer journeys, operating models and service specifications.
• Produce business cases and recommendations supported by evidence, benefits and financial analysis.
• Ensure service designs are legally compliant, financially sustainable and focused on delivering better outcomes.

Required profile

• Significant experience leading service design and transformation programmes.
• Experience managing or mentoring service design teams.
• Strong background in user‑centred design within complex organisations.
• Proven ability to work with multidisciplinary teams and senior stakeholders.
• Excellent workshop facilitation, communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Experience using service design methods such as journey mapping, service blueprinting, prototyping and iterative design.
• Ability to influence strategic decision‑making and drive organisational change.
• Experience within local government or the wider public sector is highly desirable.
• Full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle for travel to council sites across Cheshire East.

Required skills

• Journey mapping
• Service blueprinting
• Prototyping
• Iterative design
• User research
• Data analysis
• Financial analysis

What we offer

• £36.49 per hour (37 hours per week) on a fixed‑term contract until April 2027.
• Hybrid working based from Crewe (CW1) with flexibility.
• Opportunity to lead high‑profile transformation projects that make a real difference to public services.
• Collaborative and supportive work environment.