Senior Service Designer
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Tēnei tūranga – About the role
The Senior Service Designer is a key member of the Discovery and Service Design team within the wider System Improvement and Engagement team at New Zealand Government Procurement (NZGP). Each year, the New Zealand Government spends more than $50 billion on goods and services that are essential for the delivery of public services and infrastructure, economic growth, and the wellbeing of New Zealanders. The Government and the New Zealand public expect this spend to deliver value. NZGP is tasked with leading the settings, outcomes and performance of the procurement system managing this expenditure.
The Senior Service Designer is crucial in supporting NZGP to convert strategy and policy into effective operational services that reflect the needs of the various service users.
Reporting to the Manager Discovery and Service Design, the Senior Service Designer will apply their expertise in user-centred design from initial concept through to design, test, integration, and implementation. As the team transitions and delivers change, the Senior Service Designer will work in collaboration with the wider team to identify user needs to support change implementation and transition users to new ways or working.
Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role
Personal specifications
- Can advocate for the voice of user from across the government procurement system.
- Applies a customer-centric lens to solve problems and identify opportunities to improve key interactions and turn user insights into actionable experience changes.
- Demonstrable knowledge, experience and passion for user-centred design practices.
- Knowledge and experience of business change practices and user-centred change management.
- Confidence in both verbally and digitally presenting design artefacts and communicating design decisions to business leaders.
- Prior experience working as part of a large-scale transformation.
- Proven experience in design facilitation, running workshops and design challenges.
- Experience across web content, tools and transactional services, especially those with complex user journeys.
- Comfortable working with data, from gathering and analysis through to design and presentation.
- Superb attention to detail and problem solving skills, including the ability to communicate complex information in a clear and engaging way.
- Excellent analytical skills and the ability to quickly develop recommendations based on quantitative and qualitative evidence.
- Confidence in explaining user needs to senior leaders and acting as a persuasive advocate for those needs both within the team and the wider organisation.
- Must have the legal right to live and work in New Zealand.
Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables
Operational business requirements
- Lead the development and use of innovative user and user-centred design tools, methods, artefacts and approaches that generate effective service solutions, and share these with others.
- Create visual artefacts that effectively convey complex requirements, design thinking and related design/business recommendations and customer insights to senior decision makers.
- Lead the design of improvement solutions including process design/redesign and continuous improvement interventions.
- Coach and mentor stakeholders including workshop facilitation throughout the design, integration and implementation phases to support ongoing insight gathering sessions and development.
- Design simple and elegant solutions to complex operational, service and technology challenges and take a hands-on approach to user testing.
- Actively involve all stakeholders to deliver outcomes through collaboration that achieves better results for users.
Product delivery support
- Collaborate across MBIE and with stakeholders and take a holistic view of business needs ensuring they are incorporated into the delivery of the work programme.
- Explain complex concepts in a clear and compelling manner to all stakeholders.
- Continually develop self and coach and mentor others in user-centred design and design thinking approaches, methodologies and industry trends.
Wellbeing, health and safety
- Displays commitment through actively supporting all safety and wellbeing initiatives
- Ensures own and others safety at all times
- Complies with relevant safety and wellbeing policies, procedures, safe systems of work and event reporting
- Reports all incidents/accidents, including near misses in a timely fashion
- Is involved in health and safety through participation and consultation
Tō tūranga i roto i te Manatū – Your place in the Ministry
The Senior Service Designer reports into the Manager Discovery and Service Design within the System Improvement and Engagement team. The team sits within New Zealand Government Procurement. The branch sits within the Building, Resource and Markets group.
To mātou aronga – What we do for Aotearoa New Zealand
Hīkina Whakatutuki is the te reo Māori name for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Hīkina means to uplift. Whakatutuki means to move forward, to make successful. Our name speaks to our purpose, Grow Aotearoa New Zealand for All.
To Grow Aotearoa New Zealand for All, we put people at the heart of our mahi. Based on the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi, we are committed to upholding authentic partnerships with Māori.
As agile public service leaders, we use our breadth and experience to navigate the ever-changing world. We are service providers, policy makers, investors and regulators. We engage with diverse communities, businesses and regions. Our work touches on the daily lives of New Zealanders. We grow opportunities (Puāwai), guard and protect (Kaihāpai) and innovate and navigate towards a better future (Auaha).
Ngā matatau – Our competencies
Cultivates innovation We create new and better ways for the organisation to be successful by challenging the status quo generating new and creative ideas and translating them into workable solutions.
Nimble learning We are curious and actively learn through experimentation when tackling new problems by learning as we go when facing new situations and challenges.
Customer focus We build strong customer relationships and deliver customer-centric solutions by listening and gaining insights into the needs of the communities we serve and actively seeking and responding to feedback.
Decision quality We make quality and timely decisions that shape the future for our communities and keep the organisation moving forward by relying on an appropriate mix of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgement to make valid and reliable decisions.
Action oriented We step up, taking on new opportunities and tough challenges with purpose, urgency and discipline by taking responsibility, ownership and action on challenges, and being accountable for the results.
Collaborates We connect, working together to build partnerships with our communities, working collaboratively to meet shared objectives by gaining trust and support of others; actively seeking the views, experiences, and opinions of others and by working co-operatively with others across MBIE, the public sector and external stakeholder groups.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi
As an agency of the public service, MBIE has a responsibility to contribute to the Crown meeting its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Te Tiriti). Meeting our commitment to Te Tiriti will contribute towards us realising the overall aims of Te Ara Amiorangi – Our Path, Our Direction, and achieve the outcome of Growing New Zealand for All. The principles of Te Tiriti - including partnership, good faith, and active protection – are at the core of our work. MBIE is committed to delivering on our obligations as a Treaty partner with authenticity and integrity and to enable Māori interests. We are committed to ensuring that MBIE is well placed to meet our obligations under the Public Service Act 2020 (Te Ao Tūmatanui) to support the Crown in strengthening the Māori/Crown Relationship under the Treaty and to build MBIE’s capability, capacity and cultural intelligence to deliver this.
Mahi i roto i te Ratonga Tūmatanui – Working in the public service
Ka mahitahi mātou o te ratonga tūmatanui kia hei painga mō ngā tāngata o Aotearoa i āianei, ā, hei ngā rā ki tua hoki. He kawenga tino whaitake tā mātou hei tautoko i te Karauna i runga i āna hononga ki a ngāi Māori i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ka tautoko mātou i te kāwanatanga manapori. Ka whakakotahingia mātou e te wairua whakarato ki ō mātou hapori, ā, e arahina ana mātou e ngā mātāpono me ngā tikanga matua o te ratonga tūmatanui i roto i ā mātou mahi.
In the public service we work collectively to make a meaningful difference for New Zealanders now and in the future. We have an important role in supporting the Crown in its relationships with Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi. We support democratic government. We are unified by a spirit of service to our communities and guided by the core principles and values of the public service in our work.
What does it mean to work in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Public Service?(external link) — Te Kawa Mataaho The Public Service Commission
