Are you somebody with an interest in digital transformation?
Do you care about making digital services a positive experience for every user?
Would you like to work alongside a talented team dedicated to making a real impact on the lives of North Yorkshire's customers?

If the answer is yes, then we want to hear from you! 

About North Yorkshire Council and Transformation Services

Following a Local Government Reorganisation less than 2 years ago, we are a relatively new organisation coming together from 8 councils to being a single council. It’s an exciting time of change, evolution and transformation where using data and digital capability is critical in our desire to be more efficient and best in class in all service areas.

Transformation Services is an innovative, fast paced and large team providing digital and data services as well as delivering change management and innovation initiatives. We enable the organisation and its partners to achieve their outcomes and continually improve and evolve the services we deliver to the people of North Yorkshire and beyond.

About the role

With the role internally known as the Lead Service Designer, we are looking to add another member of staff into our Service Design and Digital Adoption (SDDA) team within Transformation Services.

The SDDA team are responsible for designing and helping improve a wide range of services, looking for opportunities to utilise digital capabilities across council and partner services. 

Reporting directly to the head of service, you will work alongside other SDDA team members including another lead service designer and a senior service designer, as well as the business analysis team who lead on the analysis and benefits work for the organisation.

This is a unique opportunity to lead in the design and evolution of our services and drive best practice approaches, looking for innovative approaches that can be applied to multiple services across the council. You will help create service blueprints based on the corporate operating vision, working closely with various stakeholders, including employees, customers, and third parties, as well as NYC’s centralised support teams such as legal, property, procurement, technology, and HR.

About the SDDA team

As part of a multi-disciplinary team, we're changing how the council manages their digital products for the better. Recent projects the team have delivered include:

·       Digital council services – these include online services such as highway fault reporting, Blue Badge applications, and waste and parking permits. We have also implemented a comprehensive 'Contact Us' solution and developed a location checker to help direct users to area-specific web content.

·       Household support fund – delivering a digital process that allows eligible residents to apply for financial support quickly and easily.

·       Self-service IT portal – an online platform that allows staff to find answers to their questions and resolve issues independently, without needing to contact a support agent.

·       Chatbot - an interactive tool that allows users to get answers to their questions and resolve issues through automated conversations, without needing to contact a support agent.

·       Robotic Process Automation (RPA) - a technology that automates repetitive tasks and processes, enhancing user experience by reducing manual effort and increasing efficiency.

About you

We are looking for a passionate and experienced individual to join our team as a Lead Service Designer. You should have a deep understanding of service design principles, practices, and methods, gained through formal education, professional training, or hands-on experience. You may have come from a background in service management or Business analysis discipline with experience in designing and delivering service changes, or managing service design projects in large organizations.

The successful candidate will:

· Be educated to degree level (Level 5) or equivalent experience.

· Have evidence of ongoing commitment to continuing professional development (CPD).

· Have significant experience in leading the design of complex and interdependent services, ensuring alignment with user needs and organizational objectives.

· Possess a strong background in stakeholder engagement, with the ability to build positive relationships and influence senior leaders to adopt user-centred design principles.

· Have experience in coaching and mentoring team members, fostering a culture of learning and continuous improvement.

· Be skilled in utilizing a range of service design tools and techniques, such as user journeys, prototyping, and user research.

· Have a good understanding of local authority policies, procedures, and relevant legislation relating to service operation.

· Be knowledgeable about UX analysis techniques, including user stories, customer journey mapping, personas, and service blueprints.

· Have experience working to Government Digital Service Standards.

What can we offer you?

As a North Yorkshire Council employee, you will have access to some great benefits via our everybody benefits scheme such as shopping discounts, home technology and green car salary sacrifice schemes, financial wellbeing and health assured and our employee assistance programme to assist with your health and wellbeing. You will also have access to a favourable local government pension scheme and flexible working options.

Please note that:

·       As this role has arisen from a restructure, an immediate start date is possible.

Contact:

For more information about our role please contact Anne-Louise Arkle, anne-louise.arkle@northyorks.gov.uk, 01609 533050.

Key Dates:

Closing Date: midnight, 19^th February 2025

Interview Date: week commencing 3^rd March 2025

Key Documents:

Job description.pdf

To apply please click the Apply Now link below.