Lead Service Designer at MOD, London/Remote, 6 Months, £Contract Rate

SC Clearance is an essential requirement for this role, as a minimum you must be willing & eligible to undergo checks. Please note, due to the exceptional requirements of this position (short-term nature of this role and speed at which we require a postholder in situ) preference may be given to candidates who meet all of the essential criteria and hold active SC clearance. 

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is a central government department with a mission to protect our country and provide the ultimate guarantee of its security and independence, as well as helping to protect its values and interests abroad.

The MOD is one of the biggest public procurement organisations in Europe and the single largest customer for UK industry. It currently manages approximately £20 billion of spend on capital investments in equipment and infrastructure every year. Over the next decade the MOD is committed to spending over £190 billion on equipment and support. The MOD’s customers include both the armed forces and national security agencies, and it has a diverse range of requirements, including military fighting vehicles, education services, nuclear submarines and facilities management.

The MOD’s aim is to provide its armed forces with the best capabilities to enable them to protect the UK’s security and advance national interests, both now and in the long term.

To do this the MOD has an annual budget of almost £53 billion and a workforce comprising 197,000 people. of which 54,000 are civilians working for the UK MOD.

The work really matters; the MOD offers a range of engaging roles which have a direct impact on the quality of services they provide, in many locations across the UK. We support teams working in HR, Primary Health Care, Corporate Services, and many others.

As a Lead Service Designer , your main responsibilities will be:

• Lead the design of end-to-end HR services, taking a holistic view across people, processes, technology and operations.
• Define and shape service strategy, establishing the approach, standards and direction for service design across DefHRS.
• Build and evolve service journeys, blueprints and operating models from the ground up to support a large-scale transformation programme.
• Use user research, service data and operational insight to inform design decisions and challenge assumptions.
• Drive service improvements across complex environments, identifying opportunities to reduce friction, duplication and service failure.
• Collaborate with senior stakeholders, multidisciplinary teams and delivery partners to align service design with wider Corporate Services Modernisation objectives.
• Ensure accessibility, inclusion and usability are embedded throughout the service lifecycle.
• Translate complex business, policy and technical challenges into clear, user-centred service solutions.
• Work closely with Oracle specialists to understand how Oracle Fusion capabilities and constraints impact the overall service experience.
• Influence programme decisions through evidence-based design, balancing user needs, organisational priorities and technical considerations.
• Support service assurance activities, ensuring services meet GOV.UK Service Standard and Defence expectations.
• Mentor and coach colleagues, helping to strengthen service design capability across the programme.

We're looking for someone who has:

• Significant experience leading service design on large, complex transformation programmes.
• A strong track record of designing end-to-end services across digital and non-digital channels.
• Expertise in service blueprinting, journey mapping and evidence-based design.
• Experience influencing senior stakeholders and multidisciplinary teams without direct authority.
• Strong understanding of accessibility, inclusion and user-centred design principles.
• Experience working within complex enterprise technology environments.
• Ideally, experience of Oracle Fusion HCM or similar large-scale enterprise platforms.
• Experience within government, defence, HR services, shared services or other large-scale public sector environments would be advantageous.