Senior Service Designer
SO1
Full Time
Permanent
Over the course of 2020 and into 2021 we have seen public services, businesses and communities come together to support each other in the face of unprecedented challenges. As we look ahead, we want to build on the inspirational collaboration and innovation seen in response to Covid-19 and work with partners, communities and local businesses to shape a hopeful and ambitious future for our Borough.
You will champion human-centred design, helping us to remain focused on the needs of our users – including internal business users and partners as well as end service users. You will be an advocate for working in the open to promote awareness and understanding. You will be able to communicate ideas and explain design decisions clearly to build consensus and gain support for design-oriented thinking.
The role requires extensive stakeholder management and relationship building expertise, including with colleagues who are new to user-centred design. But you won’t be doing this alone. You will be part of a small team of designers and will work collaboratively with business analysts, user experience designers and other change agents.
You will be part of a creative and supportive community of practice and will have the opportunity to make a real positive impact on the businesses and residents of Stockport. In return the council offers flexible working arrangements, local government pension scheme, 24 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising to 27 after 5 years’ service. Opportunity for personal development.
Responsible for:
working with stakeholders to understand their needs and manage their expectations when developing design concepts that will deliver better public services in Stockport
working strategically on end to end services to re-imagine and deliver improved service outcomes and costed savings
Working well as part of a small community of practice of service designers and business analysts
keeping up to date with and applying best practice approaches in service design
Skills, Knowledge and Experience
experience of working collaboratively within and across functions to create seemless user journeys
can translate research into insights that inform decision making and design concepts
Confident in running collaborative design activities using a wide range of tools to enable the discovery, definition and delivery of improved services and products
Expertise in developing ideas and design concepts using sketching, prototyping and iterative design
An inclusive thinker, ensuring accessibility is hard-wired into our design approach
Works effectively with stakeholders, understanding and documenting their needs in a way that helps them translate their issues and opportunities into how they can achieve the best possible outcomes
Experience of recognising unnecessary complexity in services and designing improvements, defining new business processes and assessing other factors necessary for their successful implementation
Ability to visualise, articulate and solve complex problems and concepts and move from analysis to synthesis and design intent.
Seeks opportunities to develop the practice of service design and the ability to bring others with them
Experience of working at pace using agile methods
Qualification or experience in a design related field
Desirable: Knowledge of the Government Digital Service standards and their application
Desirable: An understanding of how the digital economy is changing user behaviour and the local government landscape
Stockport Council – Valuing Diversity