Consultant (Service Designer)

Location London, Birmingham or Milton Keynes (minimum of two days a week in the office. You can do more than two days if preferable)

Reporting to Head of Regional and Local Growth Design and Analysis

Working hours Full time (9day Fortnight companywide)

Contract type/duration Permanent

Band: 2.1

Salary: £32,850 to £47,442

Closing date 9am 17th June 2025

The Role

Within Connected Places Catapult, our Design and Analysis team leads the strategic application of design, human insights and economics to create demonstrable outcomes. We use research, analysis and design to shape how we interact with each other, the places we live in, and the innovative organisations that drive change through their products and services. 

We are looking for a brilliant consultant Service Designer to join our team. You will bring design thinking, service design and real-world testing methods to some of today’s most complex challenges in the built environment, cities, local economic growth and transport. 

You will have a strong design background and be able to apply service design principles to place-based challenges. You are committed to turning ideas into tangible outcomes that work for people and society. You are excited by experimentation, and by the opportunity to bring together design and technology in new and innovative ways. 

You will have a keen interest in emerging technologies, along with hands-on experience in applying service design through prototyping, testing and the development of new approaches. You will work on a wide range of projects alongside engineers, data scientists, urban planners, analysts and user researchers. 

Your work will be varied and dynamic. One day you might support a local authority in designing new approaches to market engagement using testbeds and living labs. The next, you could be facilitating ideation workshops on the underpinning service design for carbon accounting, or developing innovative ways to run competitions that help grow new SMEs. 

If you are ready to use your design skills to make a meaningful impact on people, places and the planet, we would love to hear from you. 

• Service design - Apply service design tools in multiple projects and translate (design) research into insights, design opportunities and eventually ideas and concepts. Qualification or experience in a design discipline (e.g. product design, service design, industrial design, strategic design) or equivalent.

• Design Research - Being able to independently perform qualitative design research, applying design ethnography using methods such as contextual interviews, observation, card sorting etc. 

• Design of live trial environments – Creating methodologies and processes to determine how a variety of different solutions can be tested in the real world.

• Workshop design – Planning, design and delivery of different types of workshops that involve a variety of stakeholders within our established program of projects. 

• Stakeholder management - Working closely with team members to ensure relationships with all project partners are managed successfully. 

Responsibilities

• Support revenue targets​.
• Spot opportunities.
• Contribute to bids and proposals.
• Support client confidence in and building credibility of CPC.
• Ensure CRM system is updated with stakeholder contact and any other account information.
• Support scoping and delivery of streams of work​.
• Deliver plans as designed​.
• Implement effective project management process​.
• Organise your own contribution to the work stream.
• Collaborate effectively across the work streams/project team​.
• Provide excellence in delivery​.
• Meet (or exceed) utilisation targets​.
• Promote innovative and professional delivery focus across project team.
• Support buy in across a range of stakeholders through professional and technical expertise​.
• Accountable for timely and high-quality actions/tasks and updates​.
• Update CRM system with contact of client information

• ·Maintain own professional development.
• Ensure an ethos of equity, inclusivity and diversity underpin your work activity, contribute to inclusive innovation across all Catapult activities.
• You may be required to undertake any other reasonable duties to support the Catapult in achieving its strategic outcomes and ensure effective business operations.

Requirements

• Identify new methodologies or approaches.
• Identify solutions beyond the tried and tested methods.
• Collaborate effectively across teams and disciplines.
• Influence effectively in projects and tasks.
• Customer perspective is understood and applied.
• Uses multi-channel communication to ensure clarity and connection on activities.
• Able to plan and deliver on multiple activities.
• Respond to and learns from change with ease.
• Embed inclusive and sustainability practices in planning and delivery.

Benefits

• 9 day fortnight for everyone, we have a full company shutdown every other Friday.
• 23.5 holiday entitlement for everyone, with pro-rata calculations for part-time employees, along with a Christmas shutdown period for additional days off.
• Competitive pension, up to 10% company contribution to help you save for your future.
• Two paid days of volunteering leave per year (pro-rata for part-time employees) to support charitable activities.
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) providing 24/7 confidential work/life support services to you and your immediate family members.
• Cycle to Work Scheme encouraging a healthy and sustainable commute.
• Cash Health Plan, offering reimbursement for a wide range of essential and everyday healthcare expenses, promoting your well-being.
• Payroll Giving scheme, allowing regular charitable contributions from pre-tax income, maximizing the impact of your donations.
• Discounts and offers from a wide variety of retailers , enhancing your purchasing power and providing savings opportunities.
• Mortgage Advice benefit, delivered in partnership with Charles Cameron & Associates – provides employees with free, expert mortgage advice and end-to-end mortgage support from the application process through to completion.

Employment here is based solely upon individual merit and qualifications directly related to professional competence. We strictly prohibit unlawful discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, colour, religion, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy status, sex, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, mental or physical disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, or any other characteristics protected by law. We also make all reasonable accommodations to meet our obligations under laws protecting the rights of the disabled.