Contract - Lead Service & Product Designer

Lead Service & Product Designer – Health Data and Technology

• Contract: 6 months
• Rate: £800 PD (Outside IR35)
• Location: London / Hybrid x2 days onsite

Overview

We are seeking an experienced Senior / Lead Service & Product Designer to help shape the future of health data across the UK. This is a unique opportunity to join a health data programme that is transforming how researchers, clinicians, NHS organisations and industry partners access and use health data to improve outcomes and accelerate innovation.

Operating at the intersection of healthcare, research, government and technology, you will play a critical role in designing user-centred services that enable secure, trusted and efficient access to health data at scale. Working closely with technical teams, stakeholders and end users, you will lead the design of complex services from discovery through to delivery, ensuring user needs remain at the heart of everything we build.

This role would suit a highly collaborative designer who thrives in complex environments and enjoys turning challenging governance, policy and operational requirements into intuitive, accessible user experiences.

Role & Responsibilities

Service Design

• Lead the design of complex, multi-stakeholder services, translating user needs and governance requirements into actionable service blueprints
• Map and optimise end-to-end user journeys across research access, governance processes and stakeholder interactions
• Identify pain points, opportunities and service improvements across the user experience
• Collaborate with engineering teams to ensure solutions are technically feasible and aligned to iterative delivery approaches
• Embed governance, compliance and consent considerations into service design from the outset

Product Design

• Design digital products and services that support users in discovering, accessing and publishing research assets
• Create and iterate wireframes, prototypes and interaction designs at varying levels of fidelity
• Establish and maintain a scalable design system and component library
• Contribute to the development of a trusted and user-focused digital brand experience
• Validate design concepts through testing and continuous user feedback

User Research

• Plan and conduct research with diverse user groups including researchers, healthcare professionals, data custodians and governance specialists
• Analyse and synthesise findings into clear, actionable insights
• Champion evidence-based design decisions across the organisation
• Help establish scalable user research practices and standards

Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration

• Work closely with technical teams throughout the product lifecycle to ensure design quality is maintained through delivery
• Engage with stakeholders across healthcare, academia, research and partner organisations
• Advocate for accessibility, inclusive design and service excellence
• Present recommendations and influence decision-making at senior stakeholder level

Skills & Experience

Essential

• Significant experience in Service Design, Product Design or a hybrid Service/Product Design role
• Strong portfolio demonstrating end-to-end delivery across discovery, research, service blueprinting, prototyping and interaction design
• Proven experience designing services that span multiple organisations, systems or stakeholder groups
• Expertise in service blueprinting, journey mapping and user-centred design methodologies
• Strong proficiency with industry-standard design and prototyping tools
• Experience planning, conducting and synthesising user research
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence senior audiences
• Comfortable working in evolving environments with ambiguity and changing priorities

Desirable

• Experience working within healthcare, NHS, life sciences, research, higher education or public sector environments
• Understanding of information governance, data access processes, consent frameworks or regulated environments
• Experience designing products and services within complex governance or compliance landscapes
• Strong knowledge of accessibility standards and inclusive design principles
• Experience collaborating closely with engineering teams delivering data, platform or research infrastructure products