Service Design Lead - 6-Month Contract | £590/day | Inside IR35 | 3 Days/Week | Milton Keynes | Active SC Clearance Required We are seeking an experienced Service Design Lead to join a high-profile government programme for a 6-month contract. This role is inside IR35, based in Milton Keynes, and requires an Active SC Clearance. The role offers a flexible 3 days per week onsite and a competitive daily rate of £590/day. Key Responsibilities: Lead end-to-end service design for large-scale IT and digital services, translating business, user, and operational requirements into coherent, cost-effective Service Design Packages (SDPs). Provide direction, coaching, and professional development for Service Designers, building capability and excellence across the team. Deputise for senior technology leaders and engage with senior stakeholders and governance forums, providing clear, evidence-based service advice. Apply Agile, user-centred, and human-centred design principles, co-leading design workshops to solve strategic problems. Design secure or air-gapped platforms within government frameworks, ensuring alignment with NCSC, GDS, and UK government security standards. Develop service blueprints, operating models, SLAs, OLAs, business continuity, disaster recovery, and resilience solutions. Collaborate with Technical Architects, Service Owners, Product Owners, and delivery teams to create practical, supportable service models. Use operational data and metrics to identify optimisation opportunities and advise on time, cost, quality, and trade-offs. Essential Skills & Experience: Degree or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related discipline. Professional certifications such as ITIL (Foundation or higher), BCS Service Design, ISO/IEC 20000, SIAM, Lean Six Sigma, TOGAF, AgilePM, or equivalent experience. Proven experience leading service design, delivery, and governance of large-scale IT or digital services. Experience designing for government security classifications and knowledge of Secure by Design, Cloud Security Principles, Government Functional Standards, and the Technology Code of Practice. Strong leadership and stakeholder management skills, with experience managing and developing teams. In-depth understanding of service design principles, IT service management frameworks, and end-to-end service lifecycle management. Awareness of accessibility, inclusion, and usability standards within digital and operational services. Desirable: Membership of a recognised professional body such as BCS or IET. Experience designing for OFFICIAL and above government security classifications. Knowledge of AI technologies to improve operational efficiency and data-driven decision-making. Reasonable Adjustments: Respect and equality are core values to us. We are proud of the diverse and inclusive community we have built, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and perspectives. Our success is driven by our people, united by the spirit of partnership to deliver the best resourcing solutions for our clients. If you need any help or adjustments during the recruitment process for any reason, please let us know when you apply or talk to the recruiters directly so we can support you.