Principal Service Designer (we have office locations in Leeds, London & Cambridge)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Principal Service Designer

Company: Genomics England

Location: London, England, United Kingdom

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Service Design / GTM Operations

Date Posted: 2026-02-20

Experience Level: 10+ years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the end-to-end design and operationalization of the Adult Population Genomics Programme (APGP), a critical initiative for preventative healthcare and personalized medicine.

• Define and shape the service strategy, vision, and long-term direction in partnership with senior leadership and stakeholders.

• Drive user-centered design principles within complex, highly regulated environments, ensuring cohesive and impactful service experiences.

• Facilitate co-creation and decision-making across multidisciplinary teams, including product, delivery, data, and technology experts.

• Oversee the delivery of service design across multiple workstreams, ensuring alignment with organizational strategy and regulatory compliance.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is framed as a "Principal Service Designer" but its core responsibilities heavily involve the operationalization and strategic design of a large-scale healthcare program. For the purpose of this enhanced description, we'll align it with GTM Operations and Service Design principles, focusing on how service design translates into operational models and strategic execution within a complex, regulated environment. The emphasis on "operating model," "service delivery," and "cohesive end-to-end service experiences" points to significant operational responsibilities beyond traditional UX/UI design.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Spearhead the service design and operational model definition for the Adult Population Genomics Programme (APGP), from initial discovery to full-scale delivery.

• Establish and champion the service strategy, defining clear vision, measurable outcomes, program scope, and strategic future direction in collaboration with the Service Owner and executive leadership.

• Proactively navigate ambiguity and complexity to identify key priorities, guiding multidisciplinary teams towards impactful, outcome-focused solutions that serve both patients and healthcare providers.

• Oversee the consistent and high-quality delivery of service design across multiple workstreams within the APGP, ensuring seamless integration and alignment with overarching organizational strategy.

• Foster strong collaborative relationships with product, delivery, data, technology, and architecture teams to ensure services are technically feasible, scalable, secure, and future-ready within complex integration environments.

• Champion and actively participate in design research initiatives, gathering critical insights to inform evidence-based decision-making and iterative service improvements.

• Define and manage the scope of personal work, while also supporting and mentoring fellow designers in prioritizing their efforts and planning effectively across the program's service areas.

• Coach and mentor junior and peer designers, enhancing their capabilities and confidence in tackling complex service design challenges within regulated healthcare settings.

• Ensure all service designs adhere to regulatory compliance, ethical considerations, and data privacy standards inherent in healthcare and life sciences.

📝 Enhancement Note: The original job description highlights leadership in "design of our Adult Population Genomics Programme from strategy through to delivery" and "oversee service design delivery across multiple workstreams." This implies a significant operational oversight role, akin to a GTM Operations or Program Management function with a strong design foundation. The responsibilities have been expanded to reflect this operational leadership, emphasizing program execution and cross-functional coordination.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While formal education is noted as important, Genomics England emphasizes practical experience and a strong portfolio as primary indicators of capability. A degree in Design, HCI, Computer Science, Public Health, or a related field is often beneficial but not strictly mandated over demonstrable experience.

Experience: A minimum of 10+ years of relevant experience is expected, with a strong focus on delivering human-centered design within complex, highly regulated sectors.

Required Skills:

• Human-Centered Design Leadership: Proven track record of delivering human-centered design solutions in healthcare, life sciences, or similarly regulated and complex environments.

• Systems Thinking & Strategy: Strong capabilities in systems thinking, strategic planning, and the ability to define and evolve service strategy, vision, and organizational direction.

• Facilitation & Prioritization: Expertise in facilitating complex discussions, prioritizing initiatives, and guiding multidisciplinary teams through ambiguous and evolving contexts.

• Stakeholder Engagement & Influence: Demonstrated success in building trusted relationships and influencing senior leaders, service owners, and diverse multidisciplinary teams.

• End-to-End Service Ownership: A robust portfolio showcasing full ownership of complex service designs, demonstrating breadth, scale of impact, and strategic influence.

• Design Research Acumen: Ability to recommend, advocate for, and actively participate in design research to drive evidence-based decision-making.

• Mentorship & Coaching: Experience in coaching and mentoring design professionals to enhance their skills and confidence.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Ability to collaborate effectively with data, technology, and architecture teams in complex integration environments.

Preferred Skills:

• Government Digital Service (GDS) Standards: Experience working under and adhering to the Government Digital Service Standard.

• UK Healthcare Ecosystem Knowledge: Deep understanding of data, technology infrastructure, and integration within the UK healthcare landscape.

• Regulatory & Risk Awareness: Confidence operating in highly regulated, risk-sensitive contexts, with specific awareness of healthcare regulations for medical software.

• Ethical Design Practices: Sensitivity to and practical application of ethical, compliance, and regulatory considerations in service design and delivery.

• Advanced Storytelling: Exceptional ability to communicate complex problems, decisions, and outcomes to diverse audiences, influencing understanding and alignment across teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Skills and Experience for success" section has been re-categorized into "Required Skills" and "Preferred Skills" for clarity, aligning with standard job description formats. Emphasis has been placed on translating the descriptive elements into actionable skill requirements relevant to operations and GTM professionals.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• End-to-End Ownership Examples: Showcase projects where you've taken ownership of complex services from conception through to delivery, detailing your strategic influence and impact.

• Impact & Scale Demonstration: Evidence of delivering services with significant breadth and scale, clearly articulating the outcomes achieved and the positive impact on users and the organization.

• Strategic Design & Evolution: Examples demonstrating your ability to define, evolve, and iterate on service strategy based on research, user feedback, and evolving business needs.

• Process Design & Optimization: Portfolios should highlight your approach to designing and optimizing operational processes, workflows, and user journeys within complex systems.

• User-Centred Design Case Studies: Detailed case studies illustrating how user research informed your design decisions and contributed to a user-centered service experience.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Document your methodologies for mapping current-state processes, identifying inefficiencies, and designing optimized future-state workflows.

• Implementation & Automation Strategies: Showcase experience in translating service designs into implementable operational plans, including considerations for automation where appropriate.

• Performance Measurement & Analysis: Demonstrate your approach to defining key performance indicators (KPIs) for services and analyzing performance data to drive continuous improvement.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section is tailored to Operations roles, focusing on how a service designer's portfolio should reflect process design, operationalization, and measurable impact, aligning with GTM and RevOps expectations for demonstrable process ownership and efficiency.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Starting from £92,000 per annum.

Benefits:

• Generous Leave: 30 days' holiday plus bank holidays, with options for additional leave for long service and up to 30 days of remote working abroad annually (subject to approval).

• Family-Friendly Policies: Blended working arrangements, flexible working options, and enhanced maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave benefits.

• Pension & Financial Security: Defined contribution pension scheme with employer matching (Genomics England double-matches up to 10%), Life Assurance (3x salary), and a Give As You Earn scheme.

• Learning & Development: Individual learning budgets, dedicated support for training and certifications, and reimbursement for one annual professional subscription (subject to approval).

• Recognition & Rewards: A structured employee recognition programme and a referral scheme.

• Health & Wellbeing: Subsidised gym membership, a complimentary Headspace account, access to an Employee Assistance Programme, and provisions for eye tests and flu jabs.

Working Hours: 40 hours per week. The role operates under a blended working model, with an expectation of coming into the office a minimum of 2 times per month, varying by role and team agreement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary information is directly extracted. The benefits and working hours are detailed from the provided text, with an emphasis on flexibility and support relevant to professionals in demanding roles, particularly those bridging design and operations. The "blended working model" is clarified with the minimum office days, aligning with hybrid work expectations.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Healthcare Technology, Life Sciences, Genomics, and Bioinformatics. Genomics England operates at the intersection of cutting-edge scientific research, national healthcare infrastructure, and advanced digital systems, aiming to revolutionize medical practice through genomic insights.

Company Size: Genomics England is a medium-sized organization, enabling a balance between the agility of a smaller entity and the resources and impact of a national initiative. This size often fosters closer collaboration and a clearer line of sight between individual contributions and organizational goals.

Founded: Genomics England was established to deliver the 100,000 Genomes Project, a landmark initiative launched in 2012. Its ongoing mission is to embed genomics into routine healthcare and drive research innovation.

Team Structure:

• The Principal Service Designer will likely be part of a dedicated Design & Research department, potentially within a larger programme delivery unit.

• Reporting lines are expected to be to a Head of Design, Design Lead, or Programme Director, with close collaboration with Service Owners, Product Managers, and technical leads.

Methodology:

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Emphasis on using research, data analytics, and evidence to inform design choices and operational strategies.

• Agile & Iterative Development: Employing agile methodologies for service design and delivery, with a focus on iterative testing and refinement.

• User-Centred Design Principles: A core commitment to understanding and designing for the needs of patients, clinicians, and researchers.

• Systems Approach: Designing services as integrated components within a larger healthcare ecosystem, considering technical feasibility, scalability, and regulatory compliance.

Company Website: https://www.genomicsengland.co.uk/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company description and industry context have been elaborated to provide a clearer picture of Genomics England's mission and operational environment, highlighting the unique challenges and opportunities for a service designer in this space. The "Methodology" section extrapolates common practices in such organizations.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This "Principal" level role signifies a senior position with significant autonomy and strategic influence. It's a leadership role focused on shaping the fundamental design and operational framework of a major national health program. The responsibilities extend beyond traditional service design to encompass strategic operationalization, stakeholder management at senior levels, and guiding complex, multidisciplinary efforts.

Reporting Structure: The Principal Service Designer will report to senior leadership within the Design & Research function or directly to a Programme Director. They will work closely with various leads across product, engineering, and clinical operations, acting as a key strategic partner.

Operations Impact: The role has a direct and profound impact on the delivery of genomic medicine at a national scale. Successful service design and operationalization will:

• Improve preventative healthcare strategies.

• Enhance early disease detection capabilities.

• Enable more personalized and effective patient interventions.

• Contribute to groundbreaking genomic research and the development of targeted medicines.

Growth Opportunities:

• Strategic Leadership: Opportunity to shape the future of genomic healthcare services in the UK, potentially leading to broader strategic roles within Genomics England or the NHS.

• Domain Expertise: Deepen expertise in genomics, bioinformatics, and healthcare technology, becoming a leading authority in designing complex health systems.

• Mentorship & Team Building: Further develop leadership skills by coaching and mentoring a growing team of designers and contributing to the evolution of design practices within the organization.

• Industry Influence: Contribute to national policy and standards in genomic medicine and digital health design.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section provides a detailed analysis of the role's seniority, its strategic importance within the broader healthcare operations landscape, and clear pathways for career advancement, emphasizing the unique opportunities presented by Genomics England's mission.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Genomics England operates a blended working model, utilizing office spaces in London, Leeds, and Cambridge. These offices are designed to facilitate collaboration, innovation, and team engagement, supporting the hybrid work approach.

Office Location(s): London, England, United Kingdom. Specific office details, such as proximity to transport links or amenities, would typically be available upon inquiry or during the interview process.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hubs: Office spaces are likely equipped with modern meeting rooms, breakout areas, and flexible workspaces designed to encourage spontaneous interaction and planned collaborative sessions.

• Technology & Tools: Access to robust IT infrastructure, collaboration software, and design tools necessary for complex service design and project management.

• Cross-Functional Interaction: The environment fosters regular interaction with diverse teams, including scientists, clinicians, engineers, and data specialists, promoting a rich exchange of ideas and perspectives.

Work Schedule: The standard working hours are 40 per week, managed within a blended working model. While a minimum of two days per month in the office is expected, the precise pattern is flexible and agreed upon with the team leader, allowing for effective integration of remote work with in-person collaboration crucial for complex project delivery.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section clarifies the "blended working model" beyond just remote/on-site, detailing the office locations and the collaborative nature of the workspace, which is crucial for a role involving complex stakeholder management and co-creation.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of CV and cover letter, with particular attention to portfolio quality and relevance to complex, regulated environments.

• Portfolio Presentation & Discussion: Candidates will likely present a selection of their work, focusing on end-to-end service design, strategic influence, and operationalization of complex systems. Expect in-depth discussions on their process, decision-making, and impact.

• Case Study/Design Challenge: A practical exercise to assess problem-solving skills, strategic thinking, and ability to apply design principles to a specific challenge relevant to the APGP or Genomics England's mission.

• Stakeholder Simulation: Potential exercises or discussions to evaluate stakeholder engagement, facilitation, and communication skills in complex scenarios.

• Cultural Fit & Leadership Interview: Assessment of alignment with Genomics England's values, collaborative style, and leadership potential.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate for Impact: Select projects that best demonstrate end-to-end ownership, strategic leadership, and significant impact in regulated or complex environments.

• Showcase Operationalization: Highlight how your service designs translated into tangible operational models and successful delivery, not just conceptual designs.

• Quantify Results: Use metrics and data to demonstrate the impact and ROI of your work. Explain the "why" behind your decisions and the "how" of your implementation.

• Structure Your Narrative: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process undertaken, decisions made, challenges overcome, and the final outcomes.

• Tailor to Genomics England: Emphasize projects within healthcare, life sciences, or similar regulated sectors, and articulate how your experience can address the specific challenges of the APGP.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the APGP: Research the Adult Population Genomics Programme, its goals, and potential operational complexities.

• GDS Principles: Familiarize yourself with the Government Digital Service Standard, as it's a preferred skill.

• Systems Thinking Application: Be prepared to apply systems thinking to identify interdependencies, potential bottlenecks, and opportunities for optimization within a large-scale healthcare program.

• Stakeholder Mapping: Practice identifying key stakeholders in a complex healthcare ecosystem and strategizing engagement approaches.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section offers tactical advice for applicants, focusing on how to present their portfolio and prepare for interviews, specifically tailoring it to the demands of a Principal Service Designer role in a regulated health tech environment, emphasizing operationalization and strategic impact.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Service Design Toolkits: Proficiency with tools for service blueprinting, journey mapping, user flow diagrams, and process mapping (e.g., Miro, Mural, Lucidchart, Figma, Adobe XD).

• Prototyping & Wireframing: Experience with tools for creating low-to-high fidelity prototypes to test service concepts.

• Collaboration Platforms: Extensive use of tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Confluence for team communication, project management, and documentation.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Visualization Tools: Familiarity with tools for presenting data and insights to stakeholders (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, Looker), though direct analytics tool operation might be less critical than interpreting insights.

• User Feedback Platforms: Experience with tools for collecting and analyzing user feedback to inform service iterations.

CRM & Automation:

• While not explicitly a CRM/automation role, understanding how service designs integrate with and impact underlying systems (like patient record systems, research databases, or operational workflow tools) is key.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section extrapolates common tools and technologies used by Principal Service Designers and operational teams in complex, digital-first organizations, particularly those in regulated sectors. The focus is on collaboration, design, and understanding system integration.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Patient-Centricity: A deep commitment to ensuring all designs and operational decisions ultimately benefit patients, improving their healthcare journey and outcomes.

• Collaboration & Partnership: Valuing teamwork, open communication, and building strong relationships across diverse internal and external teams to achieve shared goals.

• Excellence & Rigor: Striving for high standards in design, execution, and strategic thinking, particularly within the demanding context of healthcare and genomics.

• Innovation & Adaptability: Embracing new ideas, technologies, and approaches to continuously improve services and adapt to evolving scientific and healthcare landscapes.

• Integrity & Responsibility: Upholding ethical standards, ensuring regulatory compliance, and acting responsibly with sensitive health data.

Collaboration Style:

• Co-Creation Focused: Encouraging participatory design workshops and collaborative sessions to involve stakeholders in the design process.

• Transparent Communication: Maintaining open and honest communication channels, sharing progress, challenges, and decisions proactively.

• Constructive Feedback Culture: Fostering an environment where feedback is welcomed, given constructively, and used for continuous improvement of both services and team dynamics.

• Cross-Functional Integration: Working seamlessly across different departments and expertise areas to ensure holistic service design and successful implementation.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section infers the likely cultural values and collaboration style based on Genomics England's mission, industry, and the nature of the Principal Service Designer role, emphasizing a patient-centric, collaborative, and high-integrity approach.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Ambiguity: The inherent complexity and evolving nature of genomic medicine and national health programs present significant challenges in defining clear pathways and operational models.

• Balancing Innovation with Regulation: Ensuring cutting-edge service designs are compliant with stringent healthcare regulations and ethical guidelines.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Achieving consensus and seamless collaboration among diverse stakeholders with potentially competing priorities (e.g., researchers, clinicians, IT, patients).

• Scalability & Integration: Designing services that are not only user-friendly but also technically scalable and integrate effectively with existing and future healthcare IT infrastructure.

• Communicating Complexity: Articulating complex technical and scientific concepts, and their service design implications, to varied audiences.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Dive into Genomics: Gain unparalleled expertise in the rapidly advancing field of genomics and its application in healthcare.

• Leading National Initiatives: Experience in shaping and delivering large-scale, high-impact national health programs.

• Mastering Regulated Design: Enhancing skills in designing for highly regulated sectors, a valuable asset in many industries.

• Strategic Leadership Development: Opportunities to hone strategic planning, stakeholder management, and leadership capabilities at a principal level.

• Industry Engagement: Potential to contribute to industry standards, attend key conferences, and engage with national health policy discussions.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section identifies potential challenges inherent in the role and the industry, framed as opportunities for growth and skill development, providing a realistic outlook for prospective candidates.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you led the design and operationalization of a complex service in a highly regulated environment. What were the key challenges, and how did you overcome them?"

• "How would you approach defining the service strategy and operating model for a national program like the APGP, considering its user groups and regulatory constraints?"

• "Walk us through your process for identifying and prioritizing design research needs for a new, large-scale healthcare initiative."

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you most about Genomics England's mission and the Adult Population Genomics Programme specifically?"

• "How do you see your role contributing to the company's vision of embedding genomics into everyday healthcare?"

• "Describe your experience working in or contributing to a blended/hybrid working environment. What are your strategies for effective collaboration?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem statement, your specific role and responsibilities, the methodology used, key design decisions, the operationalization plan, and measurable outcomes.

• Emphasize Impact & Strategy: Focus on how your design led to tangible improvements, strategic shifts, or operational efficiencies. Quantify results wherever possible.

• Demonstrate Process Rigor: Show your thought process, including how you navigated complexity, managed stakeholders, and iterated on designs based on feedback and research.

• Highlight Leadership: For this Principal role, emphasize instances where you took initiative, led teams, influenced strategy, and mentored others.

• Prepare for Q&A: Anticipate questions about your decision-making, trade-offs, and how your work aligns with the specific context of Genomics England and the APGP.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section provides concrete examples of interview questions and strategic advice for portfolio presentation, tailored to a Principal Service Designer role in a regulated health tech setting, focusing on strategy, operationalization, and impact.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Principal Service Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on SmartRecruiters.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight experience in complex, regulated environments (healthcare, life sciences) and showcase end-to-end service design with a focus on operationalization and strategic impact.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your years of experience, leadership in design, strategic contributions, and specific achievements relevant to service design, operational models, and stakeholder management. Use keywords from the job description.

• Cover Letter Crafting: Write a compelling cover letter that directly addresses how your skills and experience align with the role's requirements, particularly your ability to navigate ambiguity and lead design in a complex health program.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Genomics England's mission, the Adult Population Genomics Programme, and their commitment to culture and blended working. Understand their role within the UK healthcare ecosystem.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details, especially regarding salary, benefits, and specific interview processes, should be verified directly with Genomics England during the application or interview stages.