Service Designer - Customer Journey

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Service Designer - Customer Journey

Company: RS Group

Location: Hybrid (London, Corby, or Manchester), United Kingdom

Job Type: Permanent, Full-Time

Category: Customer Experience Design / Operations

Date Posted: April 30, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level (Estimated 5-10 years)

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• This role is pivotal in shaping and optimizing end-to-end customer journeys, bridging the gap between customer needs, business objectives, and technological capabilities within a complex B2B environment.

• The Service Designer will be instrumental in identifying and addressing friction points across both digital and offline channels, ensuring a seamless and intuitive customer experience.

• A core aspect of this position involves the critical analysis and mapping of cross-functional processes, systems, and tools that underpin these customer journeys, driving efficiency and integration.

• This is a highly collaborative role, requiring strong partnerships with various teams including Product Owners, Sales Effectiveness, and Service Effectiveness to deliver a unified and customer-centric vision.

📝 Enhancement Note: The job title "Service Designer - Customer Journey" and the responsibilities described strongly indicate a role focused on the operational aspects of customer experience, rather than purely creative design. The emphasis on connecting front-end experiences with back-end processes, systems, and operational realities positions this as a hybrid role that bridges design thinking with GTM operations, sales operations, and customer success operations. The target candidate is expected to possess a blend of analytical, process-oriented, and user-centric skills, with a deep understanding of how operational execution impacts the customer journey.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Support the comprehensive design, mapping, and continuous optimization of end-to-end omnichannel customer journeys, encompassing digital, offline, assisted, and self-service touchpoints.

• Proactively identify customer friction points and opportunities to simplify and enhance the overall customer experience through human-centered and service design principles.

• Analyze customer interactions across diverse channels, including digital platforms, physical touchpoints, and service environments, to gain actionable insights.

• Map intricate cross-functional processes, systems, and tools that support customer journeys, with a focus on identifying dependencies, inefficiencies, and potential areas for strategic improvement.

• Ensure seamless integration between front-end customer-facing elements and back-end operational processes, systems, and teams to deliver a cohesive and realistic customer experience.

• Contribute to the development and enhancement of the organization's service design capabilities, improving how systems and processes effectively support journey delivery.

• Collaborate with Product and Process Owners to refine and optimize journey capabilities, ensuring alignment with business goals and customer expectations.

• Partner with Sales Effectiveness and Service Effectiveness teams to ensure all aspects of the customer journey, including quoting and offline order placement, are holistically represented and optimized.

• Define key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics in collaboration with commercial insight teams to rigorously measure journey performance and its business impact.

• Stay abreast of industry best practices, emerging customer behaviors, and technological advancements to foster a culture of continuous improvement in customer journey design and delivery.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "connecting front-end customer experiences with the back-end processes, systems, and teams" and "mapping cross-functional processes, systems, and tools" strongly suggests that this role requires a deep understanding of GTM and operational workflows. The responsibilities extend beyond pure service design into operational process improvement and system integration, aligning with the core functions of Sales Operations and Revenue Operations.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's degree in Design, Business, Marketing, Operations, or a related field is advantageous.

Experience:

• Demonstrated experience in designing, mapping, and optimizing customer journeys within a complex organizational structure.

• Proven track record of connecting front-end customer interactions with back-end operational realities, including processes, systems, and team dependencies.

• Experience working within B2B organizations, preferably in a matrixed or multi-geographical environment.

Required Skills:

• Customer Journey Mapping: Expertise in creating detailed, insightful customer journey maps that encompass all touchpoints and channels.

• Service Design Principles: Proficient application of human-centered design, design thinking, and service design methodologies to create effective customer experiences.

• Process Analysis & Optimization: Ability to analyze complex processes, identify bottlenecks, and propose actionable solutions for simplification and enhancement.

• Stakeholder Management: Strong capability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders across different departments and levels, influencing outcomes through clear communication and data-driven insights.

• Analytical Thinking: Aptitude for dissecting complex problems, interpreting data, and translating insights into clear, visual, and actionable journey designs.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively across teams such as Product, Sales, Service, and Technology.

• B2B Environment Acumen: Understanding of the unique challenges and customer behaviors within a Business-to-Business context.

Preferred Skills:

• Lean / Six Sigma: Qualifications or practical experience in Lean or Six Sigma methodologies for process improvement.

• Project Management: Formal project management experience or certifications.

• Omnichannel Strategy: Experience in developing and implementing strategies for integrated customer experiences across multiple channels.

• Data Analysis & Visualization: Proficiency in using data to inform journey design and present findings effectively (e.g., using tools like Tableau, Power BI, or specialized journey mapping software).

• Workflow Automation Concepts: Familiarity with how automation can enhance customer journeys and operational efficiency.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "connecting front-end experiences with back-end processes, systems, and operational realities" and the mention of "Sales Effectiveness and Service Effectiveness teams" suggests that candidates with experience in Sales Operations, Customer Success Operations, or GTM Operations will have a significant advantage. The ability to translate design into operational reality is key.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Customer Journey Maps: Showcase examples of comprehensive customer journey maps, illustrating your ability to visualize the end-to-end customer experience across various touchpoints.

• Process Flow Diagrams: Include samples of your work detailing cross-functional processes, highlighting how you've identified dependencies, inefficiencies, and areas for improvement.

• Service Design Case Studies: Present case studies that demonstrate your application of human-centered design principles to solve complex customer problems and enhance experiences.

• Problem-Solution Examples: Provide examples of how you've connected front-end customer needs with back-end operational realities, illustrating the impact of your proposed solutions.

• Metrics & KPIs: If possible, include examples where you've defined or utilized KPIs to measure the success and impact of journey improvements.

Process Documentation:

• Demonstrate proficiency in documenting complex processes clearly and concisely, translating them into intuitive journey designs and actionable workflows.

• Evidence of creating documentation that bridges the gap between customer-facing elements and internal operational execution.

• Ability to articulate how designed processes integrate with existing systems and technology stacks to deliver the intended customer experience.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Service Designer role with strong operational ties, the portfolio should emphasize the implementation and operationalization of designs, not just the conceptualization. Applicants should be prepared to discuss how their designs translate into tangible process changes and system requirements that impact GTM and operational teams.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

Benefits:

• Annual performance bonus

• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave

• Private healthcare (UK & I)

• Health condition support (e.g., diabetes, asthma) with £500 annual allowance for monitoring & consultation.

• Neurodiversity support (needs assessment, diagnosis support for autism spectrum, ADHD, Tourette's syndrome).

• Women's health support (fertility support, endometriosis, menopause monitoring).

• LGBTQ+ community support (enhanced coverage for trans colleagues, including voice coaching, facial surgery, gender confirmation surgery).

• Enhanced Fertility coverage (including IVF for lesbian couples, surrogacy, and adoption support).

• Pension scheme

• Life assurance

• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

Working Hours:

• Standard full-time working hours are expected, likely around 37.5 to 40 hours per week, with flexibility offered due to the hybrid work arrangement.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary estimation is based on industry benchmarks for Service Designers and Customer Experience professionals in the UK, considering the hybrid work model and the company's FTSE listing. The benefits package is extensive and reflects a commitment to employee well-being and inclusivity.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Industrial Distribution and Services. RS Group operates as a global distributor of industrial components and MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Operations) products, serving a wide range of industries. This B2B focus means that customer journeys are often complex, involving procurement, technical support, and logistics.

Company Size: Large Enterprise (RS Group is a global FTSE-listed company with thousands of employees worldwide). This size implies established processes, a matrix organizational structure, and significant opportunities for cross-functional collaboration and impact.

Founded: 1937. With a long history, RS Group has evolved significantly, demonstrating adaptability and a commitment to innovation, which likely influences its approach to customer experience and operational efficiency.

Team Structure:

• The role likely sits within a broader Customer Experience, Digital, or Commercial Operations team.

• You will report to the Head of Customer Journeys, indicating a dedicated focus on this area.

Methodology:

• RS Group emphasizes a customer-centric approach, aiming to "make amazing happen for a better world."

• The company values curiosity, doing things differently, and empathy in its interactions.

• A data-driven approach is evident through the need to define KPIs and measure journey performance.

• Continuous learning and improvement are core to the company's ethos.

Company Website: https://www.rsgroup.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: RS Group's status as a major industrial distributor means that operational efficiency, supply chain, and robust GTM processes are critical to its success. A Service Designer role here will be deeply embedded in understanding and improving these operational underpinnings that directly affect B2B customers.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned at a mid-to-senior level, requiring demonstrable experience and the ability to work autonomously while collaborating across teams. It's a key contributor role focused on strategic operational improvements within customer journeys.

Reporting Structure: You will report directly to the Head of Customer Journeys, indicating a focused initiative and a clear line of accountability for journey design and optimization. This position will likely interact with various senior stakeholders.

Operations Impact: The Service Designer plays a crucial role in enhancing customer satisfaction, improving operational efficiency, driving customer retention, and potentially influencing sales effectiveness by creating smoother, more intuitive purchasing and support experiences. The impact is directly tied to the company's revenue and growth objectives through better customer engagement and reduced friction.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in service design, customer journey optimization, and B2B customer experience within a large, global organization.

• Leadership: Potential to move into a Senior Service Designer role, lead journey design initiatives, or transition into management roles within Customer Experience or Operations.

• Cross-functional Mobility: Opportunities to gain exposure to various departments such as Sales, Marketing, Product Development, and IT, opening doors to broader operational or strategic roles.

• Skill Development: Continuous learning opportunities through industry best practices, internal training, and potential external certifications (e.g., advanced Lean/Six Sigma).

📝 Enhancement Note: The role offers a clear path to becoming a subject matter expert in customer journey design within a large, established company. The emphasis on connecting design to operational reality provides a strong foundation for growth into roles with broader operational or strategic GTM responsibilities.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid work model. This implies a blend of remote work and in-office collaboration. Opportunities to work from London, Corby, or Manchester offices.

Office Location(s): London, Corby, and Manchester offer diverse working environments within the UK. These locations likely provide access to major business hubs and collaborative workspaces.

Workspace Context:

• The hybrid setup necessitates strong self-management and communication skills.

• Expect a collaborative environment where cross-functional teams regularly interact to solve problems and drive initiatives.

• Access to standard office technology and digital collaboration tools will be essential.

Work Schedule:

• Standard working hours are expected, with flexibility inherent in a hybrid arrangement. This allows for better work-life balance and accommodates the need for focused work and collaborative sessions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid nature of the role requires candidates to be comfortable with remote collaboration tools and self-directed work, while also valuing in-person interaction for key strategic discussions and team building.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your CV and portfolio to assess alignment with the core requirements, focusing on journey mapping and service design experience.

• Hiring Manager Interview: Discussion with the Head of Customer Journeys to delve into your experience, approach to customer journey design, and understanding of B2B operational complexities.

• Case Study/Presentation: You may be asked to present a portfolio piece or work through a hypothetical customer journey challenge, demonstrating your analytical skills, design process, and ability to connect front-end and back-end realities.

• Panel Interview: Interaction with key stakeholders from relevant departments (e.g., Sales Effectiveness, Product) to assess collaboration skills, stakeholder management, and cultural fit.

• Final Interview: Potentially with a senior leader to discuss strategic alignment and long-term potential.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Showcase End-to-End Thinking: Highlight projects where you've mapped entire customer journeys, from initial awareness to post-purchase support, emphasizing the integration of digital and offline touchpoints.

• Demonstrate Operational Linkage: Clearly articulate how your designs considered and integrated with back-end processes, systems, and operational teams. Use diagrams or descriptions to illustrate this connection.

• Quantify Impact: Where possible, include metrics or KPIs that demonstrate the positive outcomes of your work (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced customer effort, increased satisfaction scores).

• Focus on Problem-Solving: For each project, clearly define the customer problem or business challenge, your approach, the solutions you designed, and the results achieved.

• Tailor to B2B: If possible, include examples from B2B contexts, or clearly explain how your general design principles are applicable to RS Group's industry.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be ready to discuss how you would approach mapping a complex B2B customer journey for RS Group (e.g., the journey of a procurement manager ordering industrial components).

• Prepare to articulate how you would identify and address friction points in such a journey, considering both digital self-service and assisted (e.g., sales rep) interactions.

• Think about how you would collaborate with Sales Effectiveness and Service Effectiveness teams to ensure your designs are practical and deliverable.

• Review RS Group's business and industry to understand their customer base and operational context.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is likely to focus heavily on practical application and the ability to translate design concepts into operational improvements, especially given the B2B context and the need to bridge front-end and back-end processes.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Journey Mapping Software: Proficiency in tools like Miro, Mural, Lucidchart, or specialized journey mapping platforms (e.g., Smaply, Custellence) is expected for creating visual representations of customer journeys and processes.

• Process Modeling Tools: Experience with tools for mapping business processes (e.g., Visio, Bizagi, ARIS) to depict workflows and system interactions.

• Collaboration Platforms: Familiarity with platforms like Microsoft Teams, Slack, or similar for effective communication and collaboration in a hybrid environment.

Analytics & Reporting:

CRM & Automation:

• Understanding of how CRM systems (likely Salesforce given the company size) and marketing/sales automation tools support customer interactions and operational workflows.

• Familiarity with integration concepts between different systems that support the customer journey.

📝 Enhancement Note: While specific tool requirements are not detailed, candidates should highlight experience with standard design and process mapping tools. An understanding of how customer data flows through CRM and operational systems is crucial for this role.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer-Centricity: A deep commitment to understanding and meeting customer needs, driving all design and optimization efforts.

• Collaboration: A strong emphasis on working harmoniously across diverse teams to achieve shared goals and deliver integrated solutions.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Utilizing insights from data and analytics to inform design choices and measure the effectiveness of implemented changes.

• Continuous Improvement: A proactive mindset focused on identifying opportunities for enhancement, iterating on designs, and embracing new best practices.

• Empathy: Applying an empathetic approach to understanding customer pain points and stakeholder perspectives.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Expect to work closely with individuals and teams outside of your direct reporting line, requiring strong communication and relationship-building skills.

• Process-Oriented Dialogue: Discussions will often revolve around workflows, system integrations, and operational impacts, requiring clear articulation of design intentions and their practical implications.

• Feedback Exchange: A culture that values constructive feedback to refine designs and improve processes.

• Knowledge Sharing: Opportunities to share insights and best practices within the team and across the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's stated values (curiosity, doing things differently, human approach) combined with the operational nature of the role suggest a culture that balances innovation with pragmatic execution and strong interpersonal skills.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Complexity of B2B Journeys: Navigating the intricate and often lengthy customer journeys in a B2B industrial distribution context, involving multiple stakeholders and decision-makers.

• Bridging Digital and Offline: Effectively integrating and optimizing experiences across a diverse range of channels, from e-commerce platforms to direct sales interactions and physical touchpoints.

• System and Process Integration: Ensuring seamless flow and alignment between disparate back-end systems, processes, and front-end customer experiences in a large enterprise.

• Change Management: Driving adoption of new journey designs and process improvements across various departments and stakeholder groups within a matrix organization.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Service Design Mastery: Deepening expertise in advanced service design methodologies and tools.

• B2B Operations Insight: Gaining a comprehensive understanding of industrial distribution operations, supply chain, and the GTM strategies of a global leader.

• Cross-functional Expertise: Developing a broad understanding of Sales, Marketing, Product, and Service operations through close collaboration.

• Industry Best Practices: Staying current with evolving customer expectations and digital trends in B2B commerce and service design.

• Potential Certifications: Opportunities to pursue Lean/Six Sigma certifications or other relevant professional development.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are typical for a role that bridges design with complex operational realities in a large enterprise. Overcoming these challenges offers significant opportunities for professional growth and development.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a complex customer journey you have mapped and optimized. What were the key challenges, your approach, and the measurable outcomes?" (Focus on demonstrating end-to-end thinking and impact).

• "How do you ensure that a customer journey design is not only user-friendly but also operationally feasible and aligns with business objectives?" (Prepare to discuss the connection between front-end design and back-end processes).

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What do you know about RS Group's business and its customers? How would that inform your approach to customer journey design?" (Research the company's industry, products, and customer base).

• "How do you approach working within a matrix organization and managing diverse stakeholder expectations?" (Prepare examples of successful cross-functional collaboration).

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Storytelling: Structure your portfolio presentation around the "story" of each project: the problem, your process, the solution, and the results.

• Visual Clarity: Use clear, well-designed visuals for your journey maps and process diagrams. Ensure they are easy to understand quickly.

• Focus on Impact: Emphasize the tangible benefits and ROI achieved through your work, linking design decisions to business outcomes.

• Operational Connection: Explicitly highlight how your designs considered and integrated with operational realities, systems, and teams.

• Interactive Elements: Be prepared to walk through your process, answer detailed questions, and potentially engage in a brief design exercise if requested.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interviewers will be looking for a candidate who can blend creative problem-solving with a pragmatic, operational mindset, demonstrating an understanding of how design translates into real-world execution within a large B2B context.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations-adjacent position:

• Submit your application through the RS Group careers portal via the provided URL.

• Tailor your CV: Highlight experience in customer journey mapping, service design, B2B environments, process analysis, and cross-functional collaboration. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare your portfolio: Curate 2-3 key projects that best demonstrate your skills in journey mapping, process design, and connecting front-end experiences with back-end operations. Be ready to articulate the business impact.

• Research RS Group: Understand their business model, target customers, and industry. Consider how their specific operational context might influence customer journeys.

• Practice your pitch: Be ready to articulate your experience and approach clearly and concisely, focusing on how you drive tangible improvements to customer experiences and operational efficiency.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

---