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Service designer

Find out what a service designer in government does and the skills you need to do the job at each level.

Last updated 30 August 2022 — See all updates

What a service designer does

Service designers design the end-to-end journey of a service. This helps a user complete their goal and government deliver a policy intent. In this role, your work may involve the creation of, or change to, transactions, products and content across both digital and offline channels provided by different parts of government.

Service designer role levels

There are 6 service designer role levels, from associate service designer to head of service design.

The typical responsibilities and skills for each role level are described in the sections below. You can use this to identify the skills you need to progress in your career, or simply to learn more about each role in the Government Digital and Data profession.

1. Associate service designer

As a trainee in an entry-level position, working under supervision, you will need design aptitude, potential and an understanding of the role.

This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:

  • AO (Administrative Officer)
  • EO (Executive Officer)
Skill Description

Agile working

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • show an awareness of Agile methodology and the ways to apply the principles in practice
  • take an open-minded approach
  • explain why iteration is important
  • iterate quickly

Communicating between the technical and non-technical

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • show an awareness of the need to translate technical concepts into non-technical language
  • understand what communication is required with internal and external stakeholders

Community collaboration

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • understand the work of others and the importance of team dynamics, collaboration and feedback

Digital perspective

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • show an awareness of design, technology and data principles
  • demonstrate engagement with trends in design and can set relevant priorities
  • understand the internet and the range of available technology choices

Evidence- and context-based design

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • show an awareness of the value of evidence-based design, and that design is a process

Leadership and guidance

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • show commitment to agreed good practice for the team, teaching new starters and challenging substandard work by peers
  • recommend decisions and describe the reasoning behind them
  • identify and articulate technical disputes between direct peers and local stakeholders
  • show an understanding of the importance of team dynamics, collaboration and feedback

Managing decisions and risks

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • identify technical disputes and describe them in ways that are relevant both to direct peers and to local stakeholders
  • work collaboratively while recommending decisions and the reasoning behind them

Prototyping

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • explain what prototyping is, and why and when to use it
  • understand how to work in an open and collaborative environment (by pair working, for example)

Prototyping in code

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • demonstrate a basic knowledge of how the internet works
  • use tools and change text
  • edit existing code and reuse it

Strategic thinking

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • explain the strategic context of your work and why it is important
  • support strategic planning in an administrative capacity

User focus

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • identify and engage with users or stakeholders to collate user needs evidence
  • understand and define research that fits user needs
  • use quantitative and qualitative data about users to turn user focus into outcomes

2. Junior service designer

Junior designers are graduates with a degree in a relevant subject or relevant work experience.

At this role level, you will:

  • explain design decisions, work collaboratively and have responsibility for a service
  • work independently after being given direction by more senior designers
  • independently identify user issues and important needs

This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:

  • EO (Executive Officer)
  • HEO (Higher Executive Officer)
Skill Description

Agile working

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • show an awareness of Agile methodology and the ways to apply the principles in practice
  • take an open-minded approach
  • explain why iteration is important
  • iterate quickly

Communicating between the technical and non-technical

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders
  • support and host discussions within a multidisciplinary team, with potentially difficult dynamics
  • be an advocate for the team externally, and can manage differing perspectives

Community collaboration

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • contribute to the work of others
  • motivate and empower teams
  • create the right environment for teams to work in, and can identify the best team makeup depending on the situation
  • recognise and deal with issues

Digital perspective

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • demonstrate responsiveness to changes in technology, adapting your approach accordingly
  • make decisions to meet user needs in the government context
  • understand the importance of assisted digital and can design services and make decisions to meet user needs

Evidence- and context-based design

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • generate and test multiple solutions to a problem

Leadership and guidance

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • show commitment to agreed good practice for the team, teaching new starters and challenging substandard work by peers
  • recommend decisions and describe the reasoning behind them
  • identify and articulate technical disputes between direct peers and local stakeholders
  • show an understanding of the importance of team dynamics, collaboration and feedback

Managing decisions and risks

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • identify technical disputes and describe them in ways that are relevant both to direct peers and to local stakeholders
  • work collaboratively while recommending decisions and the reasoning behind them

Prototyping

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • understand when to use a specific prototyping technique or method
  • show the value of prototyping to your team

Prototyping in code

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • demonstrate a basic knowledge of how the internet works
  • use tools and change text
  • edit existing code and reuse it

Strategic thinking

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • work within a strategic context and communicate how activities meet strategic goals
  • contribute to the development of strategy and policies

User focus

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • identify and engage with users or stakeholders to collate user needs evidence
  • understand and define research that fits user needs
  • use quantitative and qualitative data about users to turn user focus into outcomes

Working within constraints

Level: awareness

Awareness is the first of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • understand the value of policy, legislative, regulatory and operational constraints and can find the simplest, shortest and fastest solution for users

3. Service designer

A service designer is a confident and competent designer who can develop designs based on evidence of user needs and organisational outcomes.

At this role level, you will:

  • be trusted to make good decisions
  • recognise when to ask for further guidance and support
  • contribute to the development of design concepts
  • interpret evidence-based research and incorporate this into your work

This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:

  • HEO (Higher Executive Officer)
  • SEO (Senior Executive Officer)
Skill Description

Agile working

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • demonstrate experience working in Agile, and an awareness of Agile tools and how to use them
  • advise colleagues on how and why Agile methods are used and provide a clear, open and transparent framework in which teams can deliver
  • adapt and reflect and be resilient
  • see outside of the process

Communicating between the technical and non-technical

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • listen to the needs of technical and business stakeholders, and interpret them
  • effectively manage stakeholder expectations
  • manage active and reactive communication
  • support or host difficult discussions within the team or with diverse senior stakeholders

Community collaboration

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • work collaboratively in a group, actively networking with others
  • adapt feedback to ensure it’s effective and lasting
  • use your initiative to identify problems or issues in the team dynamic and rectify them
  • identify issues through Agile ‘health checks’ with the team, and help to stimulate the right responses

Digital perspective

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • demonstrate responsiveness to changes in technology, adapting your approach accordingly
  • make decisions to meet user needs in the government context
  • understand the importance of assisted digital and can design services and make decisions to meet user needs

Evidence- and context-based design

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • absorb large amounts of conflicting information and use it to produce simple designs

Leadership and guidance

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • contribute to best practice guidelines
  • understand the sustainability and consequences of your decisions and can make decisions characterised by managed levels of risk and complexity
  • resolve technical disputes between wider peers and indirect stakeholders, taking into account all views and opinions

Managing decisions and risks

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • generate multiple solutions to a problem and test them

Prototyping

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • approach prototyping as a team activity, actively soliciting prototypes and testing with others
  • establish design patterns and iterate them
  • use a variety of prototyping methods and choose the most appropriate

Prototyping in code

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • write HTML and add new tags

Strategic thinking

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • define strategies and policies, providing guidance to others on working in the strategic context
  • evaluate current strategies to ensure business requirements are being met and exceeded where possible

User focus

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • collaborate with user researchers and can represent users internally
  • explain the difference between user needs and the desires of the user
  • champion user research to focus on all users
  • prioritise and define approaches to understand the user story, guiding others in doing so
  • offer recommendations on the best tools and methods to use

Working within constraints

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • identify, communicate and work within constraints
  • challenge the validity of constraints
  • ensure standards are being met

4. Senior service designer

A senior service designer is an experienced designer who works with minimal support and can influence and mentor others.

At this role level, you will:

  • work with service managers and programme directors to develop design concepts
  • potentially have responsibility across complex services
  • help set direction and embed good practice within teams
  • make important decisions based on research and understand how this research impacts others

This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:

  • SEO (Senior Executive Officer)
  • G7 (Grade 7)
Skill Description

Agile working

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • identify and compare the best processes or delivery methods to use, including measuring and evaluating outcomes
  • help the team to decide the best approach
  • help teams to manage and visualise outcomes, prioritise work and adhere to agreed minimum viable product (MVP), priorities and scope

Communicating between the technical and non-technical

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • listen to the needs of technical and business stakeholders, and interpret them
  • effectively manage stakeholder expectations
  • manage active and reactive communication
  • support or host difficult discussions within the team or with diverse senior stakeholders

Community collaboration

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • work collaboratively in a group, actively networking with others
  • adapt feedback to ensure it’s effective and lasting
  • use your initiative to identify problems or issues in the team dynamic and rectify them
  • identify issues through Agile ‘health checks’ with the team, and help to stimulate the right responses

Digital perspective

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • apply a digital understanding to your work
  • identify and implement solutions for assisted digital

Evidence- and context-based design

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • design systems for use across multiple services and can identify the simplest of a variety of approaches

Leadership and guidance

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • make decisions characterised by medium levels of risk and complexity and recommend decisions as risk and complexity increase
  • build consensus between services or independent stakeholders
  • identify problems or issues in the team dynamic and rectify them
  • engage in varying types of feedback, choosing the right type at the appropriate time and ensuring the discussion and decision stick
  • bring people together to form a motivated team and help create the right environment for a team to work in
  • facilitate the best team makeup depending on the situation

Managing decisions and risks

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • work with consequential or complex risks
  • build consensus between services or independent stakeholders
  • lead others to make good design decisions
  • apply different risk methodologies in proportion to the risk

Prototyping

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • use a variety of prototyping methods
  • share best practice and coach others
  • look at strategic service design end to end

Prototyping in code

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • create static HTML and CSS prototypes
  • code for different screen sizes
  • version and host a prototype

Strategic thinking

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • lead the design and implementation of strategy, directing the evaluation of strategies and policies to ensure business requirements are being met

User focus

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • give direction on which tools or methods to use
  • demonstrate experience in meeting the needs of users across a variety of channels
  • bring insight and expertise in how user needs have changed over time to ensure they're met by the business
  • apply strategic thinking to provide the best service for the end user

Working within constraints

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • identify, communicate and work within constraints
  • challenge the validity of constraints
  • ensure standards are being met

5. Lead service designer

A lead service designer is an expert practitioner who influences and mentors others.

At this role level, you will:

  • work with service managers and programme directors to develop design concepts
  • set direction and assure the quality of design delivery across teams
  • lead multiple or highly complex services

This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:

  • G7 (Grade 7)
  • G6 (Grade 6)
Skill Description

Agile working

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • coach and lead teams in Agile and Lean practices, determining the right approach for the team to take and evaluating this through the life of a project
  • think of new and innovative ways of working to achieve the right outcomes
  • act as a recognised expert and advocate for the approaches, continuously reflecting and challenging the team

Communicating between the technical and non-technical

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • mediate between people and mend relationships, communicating with stakeholders at all levels
  • manage stakeholder expectations and moderate discussions about high risk and complexity, even within constrained timescales
  • speak on behalf of and represent the community to large audiences inside and outside of government

Community collaboration

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • work collaboratively in a group, actively networking with others
  • adapt feedback to ensure it’s effective and lasting
  • use your initiative to identify problems or issues in the team dynamic and rectify them
  • identify issues through Agile ‘health checks’ with the team, and help to stimulate the right responses

Digital perspective

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • apply a digital understanding to your work
  • identify and implement solutions for assisted digital

Evidence- and context-based design

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • design systems for use across multiple services and can identify the simplest of a variety of approaches

Leadership and guidance

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • change organisational structures to fixable and sustainable designs
  • lead on the strategy for the whole organisation, marrying business needs with innovative analysis
  • make and justify decisions characterised by high levels of risk, impact and complexity
  • build consensus between organisations (private or public) or highly independent and diverse stakeholders
  • solve and unblock issues between teams or departments at the highest level
  • understand the psychology of a team and have strong mediation skills
  • coach the organisation on team dynamics and conflict resolution

Managing decisions and risks

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • make and justify decisions characterised by high levels of risk, impact and complexity
  • build consensus between organisations (private or public) or highly independent and diverse stakeholders
  • be trusted by senior risk owners as an expert in security
  • apply risk methodologies at the most complex levels of risk
  • guide others in applying risk methodologies in proportion to the risk

Prototyping

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • use a variety of prototyping methods
  • share best practice and coach others
  • look at strategic service design end to end

Prototyping in code

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • write HTML and add new tags

Strategic thinking

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • lead the design and implementation of strategy, directing the evaluation of strategies and policies to ensure business requirements are being met

User focus

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • give direction on which tools or methods to use
  • demonstrate experience in meeting the needs of users across a variety of channels
  • bring insight and expertise in how user needs have changed over time to ensure they're met by the business
  • apply strategic thinking to provide the best service for the end user

Working within constraints

Level: practitioner

Practitioner is the third of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • work with and challenge senior stakeholders
  • prioritise and mitigate constraints, and turn them into an advantage
  • adapt the approach depending on the constraints

6. Head of service design

A head of service design is an expert practitioner with broad industry experience, who can define and assure best practice while influencing, leading and mentoring others.

At this role level, you will:

  • influence both design and organisational strategy and priorities
  • collaborate with counterpart colleagues across government
  • focus on ensuring the right conditions and environment for designers to work effectively

This role level is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:

  • G6 (Grade 6)
Skill Description

Agile working

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • coach and lead teams in Agile and Lean practices, determining the right approach for the team to take and evaluating this through the life of a project
  • think of new and innovative ways of working to achieve the right outcomes
  • act as a recognised expert and advocate for the approaches, continuously reflecting and challenging the team

Communicating between the technical and non-technical

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • mediate between people and mend relationships, communicating with stakeholders at all levels
  • manage stakeholder expectations and moderate discussions about high risk and complexity, even within constrained timescales
  • speak on behalf of and represent the community to large audiences inside and outside of government

Community collaboration

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • solve and unblock issues between teams or departments at the highest level
  • understand the psychology of the team and have strong mediation skills
  • coach the organisation on team dynamics and conflict resolution, while also building and growing the community

Digital perspective

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • demonstrate knowledge of the wider digital economy and advances in technology, and understand how these impact in a government context
  • make decisions that set the standards for others to follow
  • understand working using Agile methodology at an organisational level
  • create an environment for success

Evidence- and context-based design

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • design systems for use across multiple services and can identify the simplest of a variety of approaches

Leadership and guidance

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • change organisational structures to fixable and sustainable designs
  • lead on the strategy for the whole organisation, marrying business needs with innovative analysis
  • make and justify decisions characterised by high levels of risk, impact and complexity
  • build consensus between organisations (private or public) or highly independent and diverse stakeholders
  • solve and unblock issues between teams or departments at the highest level
  • understand the psychology of a team and have strong mediation skills
  • coach the organisation on team dynamics and conflict resolution

Managing decisions and risks

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • make and justify decisions characterised by high levels of risk, impact and complexity
  • build consensus between organisations (private or public) or highly independent and diverse stakeholders
  • be trusted by senior risk owners as an expert in security
  • apply risk methodologies at the most complex levels of risk
  • guide others in applying risk methodologies in proportion to the risk

Prototyping

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • use a variety of prototyping methods
  • share best practice and coach others
  • look at strategic service design end to end

Prototyping in code

Level: working

Working is the second of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • write HTML and add new tags

Strategic thinking

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • lead the design and implementation of strategy, directing the evaluation of strategies and policies to ensure business requirements are being met

User focus

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • give direction on which tools or methods to use
  • demonstrate experience in meeting the needs of users across a variety of channels
  • bring insight and expertise in how user needs have changed over time to ensure they're met by the business
  • apply strategic thinking to provide the best service for the end user

Working within constraints

Level: expert

Expert is the fourth of 4 ascending skill levels

You can:

  • influence, challenge and coach
  • anticipate how constraints might change and know where to challenge or remove constraints
Role Shared skills
Graphic designer

Agile working

Communicating between the technical and non-technical

Community collaboration

Digital perspective

Evidence- and context-based design

Leadership and guidance

Prototyping

Prototyping in code

Strategic thinking

User focus

Working within constraints

Interaction designer

Agile working

Communicating between the technical and non-technical

Community collaboration

Digital perspective

Evidence- and context-based design

Leadership and guidance

Prototyping

Prototyping in code

Strategic thinking

User focus

Working within constraints

Content strategist

Agile working

Prototyping

Strategic thinking

User focus

Technical writer

Agile working

Prototyping

Strategic thinking

User focus

Product manager

Agile working

User focus

Working within constraints

Updates

Published 7 January 2020

Last updated 30 August 2022

30 August 2022

  • The ‘communicating information’ skill has been renamed ‘communicating between the technical and non-technical’ to ensure consistency across the DDaT Profession Capability Framework.

7 January 2020

  • First published.