Lead Service Designer

We are looking for an experienced Lead Service Designer to join our Service Design and Digital Adoption team.

You’ll lead the design of complex services, helping teams understand user needs, navigate competing priorities and identify opportunities for improvement. You’ll work across organisational boundaries, bringing together different perspectives and helping shape practical, achievable change.

You’ll work closely with senior stakeholders, service teams and multidisciplinary colleagues to tackle complex service challenges. You’ll be comfortable working in ambiguity, using evidence and insight to help teams make informed decisions.

As a Lead Service Designer, you’ll help strengthen service design practice across the council. You’ll support and coach colleagues, help develop ways of working, and create opportunities for teams to apply user‑centred design approaches more effectively.

• Experience leading the design of complex services across multidisciplinary teams, in a service design role.
• Comfortable working through ambiguity, balancing competing needs and helping others make informed decisions.
• Strong stakeholder management skills and experience influencing senior colleagues.
• Experience supporting or coaching colleagues and helping teams adopt service design approaches effectively.
• Confidence selecting and adapting service design methods to suit the context and challenge.
• Good understanding of local authority policies, procedures, and relevant legislation relating to service operation.
• Working knowledge of government design principles and standards.
• Educated to degree level (Level
  5) or equivalent experience.
• Evidence of ongoing commitment to continuing professional development (CPD).

The Transformation team at North Yorkshire Council is at the heart of all planned change programmes, driving efficiency and effectiveness to deliver better customer experiences and continuous improvements.

Our Service Design and Digital Adoption team is dedicated to designing council services that are accessible, efficient, and aligned with our operating model. We lead on user experience (UX) practice and deliver in‑house developed products and automation tools to support service transformation.

• Shopping discounts including home technology.
• Green car salary sacrifice schemes.
• Financial wellbeing and health assured and our employee assistance programme to assist with your health and wellbeing.
• A favourable local government pension scheme and flexible working options.

Closing date: 26th July 2026

Salary: £51,356 – £55,539

Location:

Northallerton, North Yorkshire