Service Designer Lead
| Posting date: | 23 June 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £54,994 to £62,777 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 05 July 2026 |
| Location: | Crewe, Cheshire |
| Remote working: | On-site only |
| Company: | Cheshire East |
| Job type: | Contract |
| Job reference: | 3634 |
Summary
This is a key senior role at the heart of an ambitious transformation programme in Cheshire East Council. As a Lead Service Designer, you will lead multi-disciplinary teams on some of our most complex and exciting service redesigns. Working collaboratively with colleagues you will help us redesign our services to improve outcomes for our residents and businesses, whilst ensuring services are designed to deliver efficiently and effectively. You will help us shape the future of service design in the organisation. You will be part of our Transformation and Improvement Service, which provides capacity to deliver change in the council.
Cheshire East Council is entering a significant period of transformation and renewal. The council has recently embarked on a programme of organisational change aimed at strengthening leadership stability, modernising services and ensuring long-term financial resilience. At the same time, Cheshire East is preparing to work closely with the emerging Combined Authority, creating new opportunities to shape regional growth and collaboration.
The council is committed to building a cohesive and resilient senior leadership team capable of delivering sustainable improvement and delivering lasting impact for residents, communities and businesses across the borough.
About the role
The Service Design Lead is an expert practitioner who influences and mentors others. You will:
• Lead and manage a multi-disciplinary service design function.
• Be responsible for directing complex and potentially high-risk redesign programmes.
• Provide expert advice to Corporate Leadership, Directors and Members.
• Work with service managers and programme directors to develop design concepts.
• Set direction and assure the quality of design delivery across teams.
About you
We are seeking an experienced lead service designer with a track record of delivering complex, end to end service redesign, preferably with some experience in the public sector. You will be someone who wants to make a difference and enjoys working collaboratively with colleagues. You will bring expertise in user centred service design, complex programmes, and working in a multi-disciplinary environment, with strong leadership and influencing skills and the ability to operate credibly at senior levels within a large and complex organisation.
You will be collaborative and influential, able to build relationships across organisational boundaries, negotiate effectively and bring people with you through the service redesign process. Experience of leading large-scale transformation in the public sector or similarly complex environments will be highly valued, alongside a clear understanding of how to balance financial outcomes with service improvement.
Above all, you will be motivated by the opportunity to shape the future of a major local authority – delivering meaningful, lasting change that improves outcomes for communities.
To find out more about the essential and desirable criteria for the role please view the attached job description specification document.
In return we are able to offer:
• Enhanced annual leave - Start with an impressive 34 days of annual leave (including bank holidays) from day one, and watch it grow to 39 days after just five years of service
• Purchase of annual leave – Want more time off? You can purchase up to 10 extra days of annual leave each year, giving you the flexibility to balance work and life just the way you want (Pro-rata for part-time staff)
• Enhanced public pension - Secure your future with our career average pension, where contributions are built at a rate of 1/49th of your yearly pensionable pay
• Employee assistance programme - Access a completely free and confidential assistance service to help manage, reduce, and overcome life’s challenges, both at work and in your personal life
Join us and experience a workplace that truly values and supports you!
Cheshire East is an amazing place to live and work. As one of the largest employers in the borough, we are able to offer you a wide range of challenging and rewarding career opportunities.
We are working for a brighter future – together and our commitment to you is that our workplace culture will provide a shared purpose, a well-led organisation with valued people succeeding together as one team and one council to deliver the best service for our customers and communities.
If you want to be part of our award-winning council and contribute to our ongoing success, have the flexibility and drive to enable us to innovate, are committed to working as part of a team and striving to deliver exceptional service wherever you can, we would especially like to hear from you.
As an equal opportunities employer, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds and want our workforce to reflect the diversity of our local communities so that we can all work for a brighter future - together.
To apply for the role please click apply for this job at the bottom of the page, or, for or an informal chat about the role please contact Sam Pittam-Smith, Interim Head of Transformation and Improvement, sam.pittam-smith@cheshireeast.gov.uk.
Applicants should ensure all sections of the application form are completed as failure to do so will result in their application being rejected. Please ensure you check the email account (including junk/spam boxes) from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.
If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date then it is likely that you have not been shortlisted on this occasion, however, please do not be discouraged from applying again.
For any technical enquiries please email sourcingteam@ecwip.co.uk
Please quote job reference number in all correspondence.
Cheshire East Council is entering a significant period of transformation and renewal. The council has recently embarked on a programme of organisational change aimed at strengthening leadership stability, modernising services and ensuring long-term financial resilience. At the same time, Cheshire East is preparing to work closely with the emerging Combined Authority, creating new opportunities to shape regional growth and collaboration.
The council is committed to building a cohesive and resilient senior leadership team capable of delivering sustainable improvement and delivering lasting impact for residents, communities and businesses across the borough.
About the role
The Service Design Lead is an expert practitioner who influences and mentors others. You will:
• Lead and manage a multi-disciplinary service design function.
• Be responsible for directing complex and potentially high-risk redesign programmes.
• Provide expert advice to Corporate Leadership, Directors and Members.
• Work with service managers and programme directors to develop design concepts.
• Set direction and assure the quality of design delivery across teams.
About you
We are seeking an experienced lead service designer with a track record of delivering complex, end to end service redesign, preferably with some experience in the public sector. You will be someone who wants to make a difference and enjoys working collaboratively with colleagues. You will bring expertise in user centred service design, complex programmes, and working in a multi-disciplinary environment, with strong leadership and influencing skills and the ability to operate credibly at senior levels within a large and complex organisation.
You will be collaborative and influential, able to build relationships across organisational boundaries, negotiate effectively and bring people with you through the service redesign process. Experience of leading large-scale transformation in the public sector or similarly complex environments will be highly valued, alongside a clear understanding of how to balance financial outcomes with service improvement.
Above all, you will be motivated by the opportunity to shape the future of a major local authority – delivering meaningful, lasting change that improves outcomes for communities.
To find out more about the essential and desirable criteria for the role please view the attached job description specification document.
In return we are able to offer:
• Enhanced annual leave - Start with an impressive 34 days of annual leave (including bank holidays) from day one, and watch it grow to 39 days after just five years of service
• Purchase of annual leave – Want more time off? You can purchase up to 10 extra days of annual leave each year, giving you the flexibility to balance work and life just the way you want (Pro-rata for part-time staff)
• Enhanced public pension - Secure your future with our career average pension, where contributions are built at a rate of 1/49th of your yearly pensionable pay
• Employee assistance programme - Access a completely free and confidential assistance service to help manage, reduce, and overcome life’s challenges, both at work and in your personal life
Join us and experience a workplace that truly values and supports you!
Cheshire East is an amazing place to live and work. As one of the largest employers in the borough, we are able to offer you a wide range of challenging and rewarding career opportunities.
We are working for a brighter future – together and our commitment to you is that our workplace culture will provide a shared purpose, a well-led organisation with valued people succeeding together as one team and one council to deliver the best service for our customers and communities.
If you want to be part of our award-winning council and contribute to our ongoing success, have the flexibility and drive to enable us to innovate, are committed to working as part of a team and striving to deliver exceptional service wherever you can, we would especially like to hear from you.
As an equal opportunities employer, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds and want our workforce to reflect the diversity of our local communities so that we can all work for a brighter future - together.
To apply for the role please click apply for this job at the bottom of the page, or, for or an informal chat about the role please contact Sam Pittam-Smith, Interim Head of Transformation and Improvement, sam.pittam-smith@cheshireeast.gov.uk.
Applicants should ensure all sections of the application form are completed as failure to do so will result in their application being rejected. Please ensure you check the email account (including junk/spam boxes) from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.
If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date then it is likely that you have not been shortlisted on this occasion, however, please do not be discouraged from applying again.
For any technical enquiries please email sourcingteam@ecwip.co.uk
Please quote job reference number in all correspondence.