Job Description
Service Designer - Hybrid working, 2 days in the Gateshead Office Civic Centre
Design Better Experiences. Deliver Better Outcomes.
Who we are & what we stand for
Do you want to help make Gateshead a place where everyone thrives? If that sounds like you, keep reading - we might be the perfect match.
We’re delighted that you’re interested in working with us. You’d be joining us at a very exciting time.
We pride ourselves on our ambitious and forward-thinking approach to taking care of Gateshead and its people, and we passionately believe that our employees reflect that spirit in truly enabling Gateshead to thrive.
At Gateshead Council you’d be a highly valued member of a team that recognises and respects the skills that you bring to your role, encourages creativity and passionately advocates a great work / life balance. Our actions speak louder than words, and with flexi-time and hybrid working available across many of our roles, as well as a full suite of outstanding employee benefits, we’re confident that it isn’t just the salary that attracts our staff.
Designing Services That Work for Everyone.
Our Customer Experience and Digital service sits at the heart of transforming how Gateshead Council delivers modern, user-focused public services. You’ll be joining a forward-thinking Digital Team that fosters a culture of creativity, collaboration and continuous improvement who are developing solutions to improve customer contact.
We design with our residents, not just for them - and we work closely with services across the Council to make public services easier to use, more inclusive, and better value for money.
Join us and Put People at the Heart of Service Design.
Do you enjoy solving problems, working with data, and improving how services work for people? As a Service Designer (Service Redesign Analyst), you’ll work on end-to-end service design projects to improve user experience, increase efficiency, and support transformation across the Council.
You’ll be part of a highly motivated, multi-disciplinary team using tools like service blueprints and process mapping - helping services make lasting changes that matter.
We're now expanding our team with this exciting career-graded role. At Gateshead Council, a career grade is a structured pathway that lets you grow within your role. As you gain experience, qualifications, and meet performance goals, you can progress through pay grades - without needing to apply for a new job. It’s designed to support your development, reward increasing responsibility, and provide a clear route for advancement. Not only that, but experienced candidates may also start at a higher grade - recognising your skills, impact, and readiness to lead.
This is a fixed term contract role for 2 years, subject to extension as required and agreed.
What you'll get to do:
- Gather insights through user research, analyse service data, run co-design workshops, and map service journeys to spot pain points and improvement opportunities.
- Apply a structured, evidence-led approach to help redesign services that are inclusive, accessible and work for everyone, ensuring service and solution designs meet accessibility standards and comply with legal requirements.
- Apply business and process analysis techniques to understand operational needs, constraints and service challenges.
- Apply a user-centred, end-to-end design approach to create joined-up services across digital, phone and face-to-face channels.
- Apply structured analytical approaches to support discovery work, transformation planning and service reviews.
- Communicate findings through clear visualisations and compelling evidence-based narratives to aid decision-making and help define success measures and identify metrics to evaluate service outcomes.
- Support the development, testing and iteration of digital and service solutions, including prototypes, translating user and business needs into documented requirements, acceptance criteria and scenarios for delivery teams.
- Build trusted relationships with stakeholders, influencing and constructively challenging them to adopt user-centred, evidence-led ways of working.
What you'll bring:
- Experience in conducting user research using both qualitative and quantitative methods and analysing user research findings to inform service or product design
- Confidence in designing and facilitating collaborative workshops and stakeholder engagement sessions
- Success in mapping and analysing end-to-end services and business processes to identify improvement opportunities, producing evidence-based recommendations and presenting them to diverse audiences
- Experience in working with performance metrics to evaluate services and identify success measures and translating user needs into clear functional and non-functional requirements
- Knowledge in user-centred design principles and practices and service design methods including journey mapping, co-design, and prototyping
- Understanding of inclusive and accessible service design standards and legislation
- Expertise in process and business analysis techniques, utilising data analysis concepts and data-informed decision making
- Effective communication of research and analytical findings through storytelling and visualisation
What’s in it for you
- Competitive Salary: We offer fair and transparent pay that reflects your skills and experience.
- Outstanding Pension Scheme: We don’t just offer a great salary – we invest in your future too. Find out what benefits a Local Government Pension provides: https://twpf.info
- Generous Annual Leave: Enjoy 28 days of annual leave, rising to 32 days after 5 years (2 of which can be fixed by the Council), plus the option to buy up to 10 extra days.
- Flexible Working Hours: Benefit from up to 26 flexi days per year (subject to business needs), giving you more control over your time.
- Hybrid & Flexible Working: We support a healthy work-life balance with flexible and hybrid working options.
- Learning & Development: Access a wide range of training, development, and progression opportunities to help you grow your career.
- Health & Wellbeing Support: From discounted gym memberships through our partner GLL to mental health resources, we care about your wellbeing.
- Cycle to Work Scheme: Save money and stay active with our tax-efficient cycle to work programme.
- Exclusive Discounts & Salary Sacrifice: Through our VIVUP employee benefits platform, enjoy discounts on shopping, travel, and services – plus salary sacrifice options on white goods, electronics, and more, helping you spread the cost of essential purchases.
Our commitment to you
We are an equal opportunities employer and aim to have a culture and a workplace where our people feel a sense of belonging, are respected and empowered to do their best work. At Gateshead Council we are an employer who embraces, and welcomes diversity, who's truly inclusive and who demonstrates equality for all. We'll go the extra mile so that our approach is representative of the communities we serve and each other. We welcome applications from suitably qualified people from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
How to apply
You can apply online using the apply now button below. Within the form, you’ll be asked for details about you, your career history, skills, experiences and qualifications.
We advise you to be as detailed and specific as possible, paying particular attention to any of the above which are relevant to the role to which you are applying.
If you have any questions about your application, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our recruitment team via recruitment@gateshead.gov.uk
Please note: As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role. However, in high-volume recruitment situations, it may not always be practicable to interview every eligible candidate. In such cases, we may need to prioritise those who best meet the essential criteria, based on the information provided in the application.
Additionally, the Council reserves the right to close this vacancy early or adjust the shortlisting criteria, including the pass mark for interview selection, to ensure a fair and manageable recruitment process. We encourage early applications.