Location
London (based at London Fire Brigade’s Head Office, Union Street SE1 0LL)

Hours
Full Time

Salary
£67,715 per annum

About the Role
This is a leadership role within the User Centred Design (UCD) team, part of the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) Digital Experience Unit (DEU). You will lead the DEU’s Service Design team, setting strategic direction, guiding and inspiring teams, and championing service design across the organisation to ensure digital services enable users to achieve their goals and support GLA policy delivery.

You will collaborate with policy teams, stakeholders, and other digital and design colleagues to explore challenges, test ideas, and deliver improved outcomes for users. This includes creating or refining internal and external processes, services, products, and content across both digital and offline channels within the GLA and its group.

Your work will span the entire design and delivery process: framing problems, understanding and visualising service landscapes, improving and reimagining end-to-end services, visualising processes and products, and supporting their implementation.

Day-to-day, you will lead and mentor a talented Service Design team, working closely with the Head of UCD, senior managers, and other team leads to embed service design best practices and align team objectives with UCD priorities.

You will manage multiple high-profile projects, collaborating to design and iterate services that meet user needs while embedding inclusive, accessible, and environmentally sustainable design principles.

Using research and evidence, you will shape service design decisions to align user needs with organisational goals and develop high-quality artefacts such as journey maps, service blueprints, and prototypes to communicate design intent and test ideas.

Experience
- Proven leadership of service design in complex organisations, ideally within government or large-scale digital transformation.
- Demonstrated use of design systems to solve challenges across multiple services, selecting the simplest, evidence-backed approaches.
- Skilled in mentoring and coaching teams to adopt iterative design processes focused on user needs and outcomes.
- Experience leading strategic use of data in service design to drive innovation and effectiveness.
- Expertise in inclusive design best practices, ensuring services meet legal, ethical, and user requirements.
- Commitment to embedding accessibility and inclusive design into organisational culture and policies.

About You
- Strategic thinker who understands the bigger picture and translates it into actionable plans.
- Motivational leader who sets high standards, inspires teams, and fosters a positive, inclusive culture.
- Effective planner and organiser who manages time, priorities, and risks to deliver high-quality work.
- Stakeholder-focused, able to understand diverse needs and manage expectations.
- Strong communicator and influencer who presents clear, compelling arguments and negotiates effectively.
- Decisive, making sound evidence-based judgements and taking accountability.
- Creative problem solver who challenges the status quo and supports innovation.
- Skilled in research and analysis, ensuring intelligence is high quality and practical.

Qualifications
No specific qualifications are stated as mandatory; however, extensive experience in service design leadership and related competencies is essential.