This review offers an in-depth look at the Service Designer – Financial Wellbeing position, a 12-month fixed-term contract or secondment opportunity with a competitive salary range of £70,929 - £78,810. We'll guide potential candidates through the advantages and key considerations for this role, helping you assess its fit within your career trajectory.
About the Opportunity: Making a Tangible Impact
This role presents a unique chance to leverage your service design expertise within a team dedicated to crafting human-centred digital experiences for customers facing financial difficulties. The core mission of the Financial Wellbeing team is to transform moments of worry into hope, by providing empathetic and effective support across both human and digital channels. This focus on vulnerable customers and behavioural insights differentiates this role from many within the financial services sector, offering a deeply meaningful work experience.
Key Advantages for Candidates:
- Meaningful Work: Directly contribute to improving the lives of vulnerable customers and making a positive societal impact.
- Advancing Service Design: Play a pivotal role in advocating for and evolving the practice of Service Design across a large organisation, sharing your knowledge and influencing new ways of working.
- Collaborative Environment: Work closely with agile teams, product owners, and engineers, fostering cross-functional collaboration.
- Strategic Influence: Shape critical initiatives by bringing user insights and market understanding to the forefront, influencing the creation and enhancement of propositions and services.
- Professional Development: Engage in a role that encourages knowledge sharing and continuous improvement within a dedicated design community.
- Flexible Working: The role supports hybrid working, allowing for a blend of office-based and remote work, with at least two days per week (or 40% of time) spent in the London office.
What They're Looking For: Skills and Experience
The ideal candidate will possess a strong blend of creative and analytical skills, with a proven ability to translate complex ideas into tangible outcomes. Experience in areas like health, mental health, or behavioural design will be highly valued, given the sensitive nature of the customer base.
Essential Skills and Experience:
- Visual Design Proficiency: Ability to create compelling artefacts, from concepts to prototypes. Experience with generative AI tools is a plus.
- Strategic Innovation: The capacity to combine creative vision with analytical thinking to identify and shape opportunities.
- Proactiveness and Drive: A motivated individual with a results-oriented approach, who can foster an innovative and continuously improving environment.
- Relationship Building: Strong interpersonal skills to effectively engage with stakeholders at all levels, including senior audiences, and provide constructive challenge.
- Resilience and Risk Management: The ability to remain calm under pressure and proactively identify and respond to emerging risks and priorities.
- Communication Excellence: Skilled in articulating ideas, issues, and implications to diverse audiences, both technical and non-technical.
- Research and Design Thinking: Proven experience in research methodologies, design thinking, trend research, signal observation, and strategic foresight.
Key Considerations for Your Career Path:
- Fixed-Term Contract: While a 12-month FTC offers a focused period to make a significant contribution, candidates should consider how this aligns with their long-term career goals and search for permanent roles. This could be an excellent opportunity for those seeking to gain specific experience in a new area or contribute to a defined project.
- Specialised Domain: The focus on financial wellbeing and vulnerable customers provides a deep dive into a specialised and impactful area of service design. This could be a stepping stone to further roles within social impact, financial inclusion, or empathetic design practices.
- Organisational Culture: Lloyds Banking Group emphasizes inclusivity, diversity, and a purpose-led culture. Candidates who value these aspects will find this environment particularly appealing and conducive to growth.
- Location and Flexibility: The hybrid working model in London offers a balance of in-office collaboration and remote flexibility. Assess if this working pattern suits your personal and professional needs.
This Service Designer role is an exceptional opportunity for a passionate and skilled individual looking to apply their craft in a way that genuinely benefits others. It offers a chance to grow professionally within a supportive and forward-thinking organisation, while making a tangible difference in the lives of customers.