Are you our new Service Design Lead?
Studio Notes | What We’ve Been Up To
At Context Studio we’re a purpose driven, people-centred service design studio. We work with great clients across the public and private sectors to help improve the services people in Ireland experience every day.
Over the past 5 years we’ve worked with clients like Dublin City Council, the Irish Heart Foundation, the National Museum of Ireland and the HSE, helping to develop understanding of complex contexts and catalysing meaningful change.
We are seeking an experienced Service Design Lead to join our dynamic team for a maternity leave cover position. This Contract of Employment will be a Specific Purpose Contract, for the purpose of Maternity Cover, for a minimum of 6 months, with the possibility of extension. The role will commence this October/November and will be integral to our continuing projects, particularly in healthcare, while also potentially contributing to work in other contexts.
The Role
As a Service Design Lead, you will be responsible for leading the design process across multiple projects, with a particular focus on healthcare and public services. You will collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, stakeholders, and end users to craft innovative and impactful service solutions that meet both client needs and user expectations.
Within the studio you will lead a team of 2-3 people, helping ensure that designers have what they need to deliver impactful design and to grow in their roles as service designers.
You and your team will plan and lead design workshops, conduct user research, map service journeys, and prototype solutions that tackle complex challenges. Your leadership will ensure that our projects align with the principles of human-centred design, placing the users at the heart of everything we do.
Key Responsibilities
Project Leadership
Lead and oversee the design process across various projects, ensuring alignment with client goals and user needs, particularly within the healthcare space. Manage and support a design team within our studio of up to 3 people.
Service Design
Apply service design methodologies such as user research, journey mapping, systems thinking, and prototyping to develop end-to-end service solutions.
Client Engagement
Collaborate closely with our clients and other stakeholders, facilitating co-design workshops, presentations, and discussions to gather insights and build trust.
User Research
Conduct qualitative and quantitative research, including interviews, field studies, surveys, user tests, and focus groups to understand user needs, behaviours, and pain points.
Journey Mapping
Create detailed user journey maps and service blueprints that identify gaps, opportunities, and design solutions.
Prototyping and Testing
Develop prototypes (both low-fidelity and high-fidelity), conducting testing of those prototypes and iterating in response to feedback from people.
Collaboration
Work closely with our team, and clients teams of designers, researchers, developers, and strategists, fostering a collaborative environment that values creativity and responds to the needs of service users and delivery stakeholders.
Stakeholder Management
Build strong relationships with key stakeholders, including public service clients, healthcare professionals, collaborating vendors and more, ensuring their needs and constraints are reflected in the design process. This will include the need to confidently communicate process and insight to director-level stakeholders.
Documentation & Communication
Ensuring accurate and exhaustive documentation of research insights and design solutions for our clients and their stakeholders who will utilise these important deliverables into the future.
Essential Skills and Experience
Proven Design Experience
Minimum of 5 years of experience in service design or a related design practice, with at least 2 years in a senior or lead role providing experience of managing a design team. Experience in the healthcare sector or public services is highly desirable.
Human-Centred Design Approach
Strong understanding and application of human-centred design principles, with demonstrated experience in conducting user research and involving end users in the design process.
Systems Thinking
Ability to think strategically and understand complex services, identifying opportunities for innovation and improvement.
Workshop Facilitation
Skilled in designing, and leading co-design workshops, discovery workshops, and stakeholder engagement sessions, in online and offline formats.
Prototyping Skills
Experience with various prototyping tools and methods to communicate design ideas effectively.
Collaboration and Communication
Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage effectively with diverse stakeholders, including public sector clients, healthcare professionals, and service users. This includes ability to confidently communicate process and insight to director-level stakeholders.
Problem Solving
Creative and critical thinker with the ability to navigate complex, ambiguous problems and propose practical, innovative solutions.
Project Management
Experience managing multiple design projects simultaneously, ensuring timely delivery of high-quality outcomes.
Desirable Skills
Health Sector Experience
Experience working on projects within healthcare systems, understanding the unique challenges of designing for healthcare environments.
Public Sector Knowledge
Familiarity with the public sector landscape in Ireland or other jurisdictions, including understanding of policy frameworks, regulatory environments, and service delivery structures.
Digital Service Design
Knowledge of digital service design principles, including experience with UX/UI design for digital products or services.
What We Offer
Meaningful Work
You will work on projects that directly impact public services and contribute to meaningful social change in Ireland.
Supportive Environment
Join a passionate and collaborative team that values creativity, innovation, and professional growth. We provide membership of the Institute of Designers in Ireland, with all associated benefits including discounts on training through Design Skillnet.
Hybrid Working
Flexibility to work both remotely within Ireland and from our Dublin studio, with a focus on achieving the best outcomes for our projects and clients. Attendance at the studio is encouraged for 3 days per week, but your regular attendance level can be agreed prior to commencement in the role. In-person attendance at certain internal or client workshops and meetings in Dublin area will be required as the need arises.
Professional Development
We encourage continuous learning and offer opportunities for professional development to keep your skills sharp and up to date.
Diverse Portfolio
Alongside core projects, experience and learn across a range of service design projects in sectors from local government, with a strong focus on healthcare but also including social services, local government, and community organisations.
How to Apply
Please send your CV, portfolio (or relevant work examples), and a cover letter outlining your experience and why you believe you’re a great fit for this role to work@contextstudio.ie with the subject line “Service Design Lead 2024”.
Applications close by Sunday 22nd of September at 5pm.
You must be based in Ireland, and have the right to work in Ireland, in order to apply.
—
This is an exciting opportunity to lead impactful service design projects, shaping the future of services in Ireland. If you’re a creative, strategic thinker with a passion for human-centred design and public sector innovation, we’d love to hear from you!
**No recruiters, thank you!**