Are you passionate about designing clear, user‑centred services that make a real difference to people’s lives?
Join us as a Service Designer and help shape high‑quality, inclusive services that support users end‑to‑end.
About the Role
As a Service Designer, you will take responsibility for defined workstreams, leading design for less complex services and escalating exceptions where appropriate. You’ll translate problems into clear, measurable service outcomes, working closely with Product Managers to align on baselines, targets and organisational goals. Through hands on practice, coaching and collaboration, you’ll apply and refine your skills in blueprinting, journey mapping, prototyping and user testing.
You’ll build a strong understanding of how services operate end‑to‑end, connecting frontstage user touchpoints with the backstage systems, processes and policies that support them. You’ll contribute to organisational insight by tagging and curating your work so it can be easily found and reused. As an active member of the Design community, you’ll share work early, participate in shared sessions and contribute to a culture of openness, learning and continuous improvement.
Key Responsibilities
* Design user‑centred services collaboratively within multi‑disciplinary product teams, engaging the whole team in the design process and working from discovery through to live.
* Create clear service maps, journey maps and blueprints that show end‑to‑end experiences, exposing pain points, handoffs and opportunities for improvement.
* Work with user researchers to understand user needs and use evidence, research and analytics to inform design decisions and validate assumptions.
* Prototype and test service interactions at appropriate fidelities (from sketches to interactive prototypes) to validate ideas and learn quickly.
* Apply service design standards and principles, particularly the GOV.UK Service Standard and The School of Good Services principles, to ensure quality and accessibility.
* Design and facilitate workshops using a variety of techniques to bring teams together, surface insights and drive outcomes.
* Champion accessibility and inclusion, ensuring designs meet WCAG 2.2 AA standards and work for users with diverse needs and lowest digital skills.
* Work effectively within Agile product teams, contributing to ceremonies, planning and delivery while balancing design rigour with speed.
* Communicate designs and decisions clearly to team members and stakeholders at all levels, adapting your approach for different audiences.
* Support and learn from colleagues, contributing to knowledge sharing within the Design community of practice.
* Keep up to date with developments in service design, sharing learning with the team and applying emerging practices appropriately.
About You
* Education: A degree in Design, Service Design, Interaction Design or related field, or equivalent professional experience demonstrating service design capability.
* Professional experience: Some experience in service design, UX or related disciplines, with demonstrable understanding of user‑centred design principles and service design fundamentals.
* Service design skills: Experience creating journey maps and service blueprints; ability to scope and design services based on user needs; competence with prototyping at different fidelities.
* Research & evidence: Ability to work with user researchers to understand needs; experience using research insights, data and analytics to inform design decisions.
* Collaboration: Strong collaborative approach, working effectively with Product, Engineering, Content, Research and Operations colleagues in multidisciplinary teams.
* Communication: Excellent communication skills with ability to explain ideas clearly to diverse audiences through presentations, diagrams, and workshops.
* Workshop facilitation: Experience designing and facilitating workshops using participatory techniques to drive outcomes and build alignment.
* Agile experience: Understanding of Agile delivery methodologies (Discovery → Alpha → Beta → Live) and ability to work iteratively within product teams.
* Standards: Understanding of accessibility principles (WCAG 2.2 AA) and commitment to designing inclusive services for all users.
* Technical awareness: Ability to design for digital channels; understanding of technical constraints as design inputs.
* Learning mindset: Curiosity about how services work and why; willingness to ask questions, challenge assumptions and learn from colleagues and from delivery.
Support with your application
If you have any questions, or need support or adjustments relating to your application, the recruitment process, or the role, please contact us on 01908 541111 or email careers@open.ac.uk quoting the advert reference number.
Why Join The Open University?
At The Open University, we’re proud to lead the way in accessible education and digital transformation. As Service Designer, you’ll help shape services that improve real user outcomes while growing within a supportive Design community. Expect open collaboration, opportunities to share and learn, and the chance to make a meaningful impact across end‑to‑end service delivery.
Our benefits include:
* 33 days annual leave, on top of bank holidays and a three‑day Christmas closure period.
* Access to a leading pension scheme for UK higher education with generous employer contributions.
* Staff Fee Waivers for OU study, meaning you could earn a degree for free.
* Hybrid working, with limited requirement to attend the office in‑person, with agile working and family friendly policies.
* Discounts, wellbeing support, and development opportunities.
Ready to make an impact?
Apply now and help us design inclusive, evidence‑based services that work for everyone here at one of the UK’s most respected institutions
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