Salary: Full Time Salary: £49,765 - £53,817, pro rata for part time hours
Grade: N
Contract: Permanent
Hours: 37 (though part-time working over 30 hours/week may be considered)
Location: Hybrid / Office location can be at one of our 4 NYC hubs – Northallerton, Scarborough, Harrogate and Selby – typically 2 days/week in the office
Immediate start possible
As England’s largest county and the region’s largest employer with a workforce exceeding 15,000 staff, can you help us to make a difference?
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, 19th February 2025
Interview Date: week commencing 3rd March 2025
Key Documents:
NYC are committed to directly recruiting staff and will not accept applications nor services from agency suppliers in respect of our vacancies.
We are committed to meeting the needs of our diverse community and aim to have a workforce reflecting this diversity. We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
North Yorkshire Councils’ purpose is to deliver services and facilities to the diverse residents and visitors of North Yorkshire. To ensure we deliver inclusive services we strive to have a diverse workforce where everybody can be themselves by respecting differences and embedding equality of opportunity. We celebrate diversity and recognise each other’s contributions, we therefore welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds.
North Yorkshire Council (NYC) advertise vacancies on behalf of schools and external organisations (third parties) in North Yorkshire. NYC are not responsible for the recruitment/employment practices of third parties and accept no liability in relation to the vacancy and any subsequent recruitment/employment processes. Enquiries regarding the vacancy or practices should be made directly with the third party.
North Yorkshire Council are committed to the health and safety of our employees and of others including the general public. It has a responsibility to ensure employees who hold a position that is deemed to be safety critical as it requires the performance of duties which are directly related to the safe operation or security of a facility, piece of equipment or vehicle, handling of chemicals or work at height or in confined spaces and which, if not performed properly, could result in a serious safety risk or environmental hazard to employees, a facility or the general public , do not attend work whilst under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Individuals offered employment with North Yorkshire Council will be subject to the Workplace Substance Misuse policy. For safety critical roles as detailed above, random alcohol and drug testing may take place during the course of employment.
It is a criminal offence for people who are barred from working in Regulated Activity (under the Safeguarding and Vulnerable Groups Act 2006) to apply for roles that require them to work unsupervised with adults at risk.
We are committed to the inclusion, safeguarding and promoting the welfare of adults at risk*