Head of Service Design

Salary: £80,000 per annum, plus company benefits

Location: 18 Central Avenue, St Andrews Business Park, Norwich NR7 OHR

Contract: Permanent, full time

Hours: 37.5 hours per week

Shifts: Monday through Friday 9am-5:30pm with a 1-hour unpaid lunch break

Work model: Fully remote

Williams Lea seeks a Head of Service Design to join our team!

Williams Lea is the leading global provider of skilled, technology-enabled, business-critical support services, with long-term trusted relationships with blue-chip clients across investment banks, law firms and professional services firms. Williams Lea employees, nearly 7,000 people worldwide provide efficient business services at client sites in often complex and highly regulated environments, from centralised Williams Lea onshore facilities, and through best cost company offshore locations.

Purpose of role 

Your role will involve shaping and evolving both existing and new digital services and products for TSO. You will have the opportunity to work on two best-in-class digital services of national and historical significance, which collectively attract 30 million visitors annually.

As an experienced service designer, you will work with minimal supervision and be a key influence within your team, providing mentorship to others. You will lead a small service design team, including a UX/UI Designer, while collaborating closely with product owners, marketing teams, and development teams to bring service enhancements and innovations to life. You will engage with stakeholders to improve current offerings and introduce new services to the market.

Your team will be responsible for crafting seamless, engaging user experiences across digital platforms, and you will oversee the design process from start to finish. This includes conducting user research, synthesizing insights, and creating interactive prototypes and final designs. You will work in partnership with technical teams to deliver solutions that are user-centred, accessible, and aligned with business objectives. This role requires a strong ability to balance stakeholder needs with user demands, driving projects to successful completion.

This role is focused on leading the design and development of user-centred digital services for TSO’s existing and new solutions. You will guide a service design team, collaborating with product owners, marketing, and development teams to create seamless and engaging user experiences across high-traffic digital platforms. With a strong emphasis on research, innovation, and accessibility, you'll drive the design process from user insights to final implementation, ensuring that services meet both user needs and business objectives. Your leadership will be pivotal in enhancing the usability and impact of critical public-facing digital services.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership

Lead the Service Design team, ensuring that user needs, business objectives, and technology translate into effective, scalable digital services.Develop frameworks and processes that align service design, user experience, product development, and technologyLead design efforts across multiple projects, driving progress and ensuring deadlines are metBalance project goals, timelines, and resource constraints while maintaining the highest design qualitySupport the development of roadmaps and strategic plans for design-related initiatives

User Research & Insights

Conduct user research using qualitative and quantitative methods, such as interviews, surveys, usability testing, and data analysis, to uncover user behaviours, needs, and pain pointsSynthesise research findings into actionable insights to inform design decisionsSupport the development of user personas, journey maps, and other artefacts to communicate insights effectively to stakeholdersAdvocate for evidence-based decision-making, ensuring insights and research inform service-wide strategies

Experience Design (UX)

Translate user insights into effective, data-driven design solutions that enhance the overall experienceCollaborate with stakeholders to define user and business requirements, balancing both effectivelyTest and iterate on designs based on usability testing and feedback, ensuring continuous improvement

Interface Design (UI)

Design intuitive, accessible, and visually engaging interfaces that adhere to brand guidelines and align with the Government Digital Service (GDS) standards where requiredEnsure designs are responsive, user-friendly, and optimised for a variety of devices, including mobile and web platformsProvide detailed design specifications and artefacts for developers and collaborate during implementation to ensure fidelity to the design vision

Collaboration and Communication

Work closely with cross-functional teams, including product managers, developers, and researchers, to deliver cohesive solutionsPresent design concepts and rationales to stakeholders at all levels, ensuring alignment and buy-inAdvocate for user-centred design principles across the organisation and promote best practices

Qualifications and Skills

Bachelor's degree or equivalent5+ years of experience as a Service Designer with a proven track record of delivering impactful digital products, preferably for public sector or regulatory clients or in a public sector or professional services environment. Strong understanding of user-centred design (UCD) principles, design thinking, and data-driven designExpertise in conducting user research and usability testing, with the ability to translate findings into actionable insightsExcellent communication and collaboration skills, with experience working closely with cross-functional teamsStrong knowledge of accessibility standards (e.g. WCAG) and inclusive design practicesFamiliarity with GDS frameworks, Service Assessments and the Technology Code of Practice

Rewards and Benefits

We believe in supporting our employees in both their professional and personal lives. As part of our commitment to your well-being, we offer a comprehensive benefits package, including but not limited to:

25 days holiday, plus bank holidays(pro-rata for part time roles)Salary sacrifice schemes, retail vouchers – including our TechScheme which can be used on a range of gadgets such as Smart TV’s, laptops and computers or household appliances.Life AssurancePrivate Medical InsuranceDental InsuranceHealth AssessmentsCycle-to-work schemeDiscounted gym membershipsReferral Scheme

You will also have the opportunity to work for a global employer who is dedicated to offering each and every employee an enjoyable, challenging and rewarding career with future career development prospects!

Equality and Diversity

The Company values the differences that a diverse workforce brings to the organisation and will not discriminate because of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race (which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation (each of these being a “protected characteristic” in discrimination law). It will not discriminate because of any other irrelevant factor and will build a culture that values openness, fairness and transparency.

If you have a disability and would prefer to apply in a different format or would like to make a reasonable adjustment to enable you to make an interview please contact us at careersatWL@williamslea.com(we do not accept applications to this email address).

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