Lead Service Designer

Company Description

A best-in-class city that attracts best-in-class talent, Philadelphia is an incredible place to build a career. From our thriving arts scene and rich history to our culture of passion and grit, there are countless reasons to love living and working here. With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia offers boundless opportunities to make an impact.

As an employer, the City of Philadelphia values inclusion, integrity, innovation, empowerment, and hard work above all else. We offer a vibrant work environment, comprehensive health care and benefits, and the experience you need to grow and excel. If you’re interested in working with a passionate team of people who care about the future of Philadelphia, start here.

What we offer

• Impact - The work you do here matters to millions. 
• Growth - Philadelphia is growing, why not grow with it? 
• Diversity & Inclusion - Find a career in a place where everyone belongs.
• Benefits - We care about your well-being.

Agency Description

The PHL Service Design Studio (SDS) is an office within the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and leads service improvement initiatives at the City of Philadelphia.

We, SDS, believe we’re closer to creating a more just city when residents and colleagues—who have and continue to be marginalized by government actions—can access and deliver government services with ease and agency. To support this belief, we collaborate with community members and staff at all levels of government to design accessible, equitable, and trauma-responsive services that honor the diverse needs of Philadelphians. 

We lead service improvement projects by providing design research and evaluation, strategic service design, participatory and collaborative design, implementation and change management support, strategic planning, and project management.  
 
We help our partners and collaborators: 

• • Build a shared understanding of service challenges and outcomes. 
  • Define strategic approaches for improvements—particularly those that reimagine City services and programs to be more equitable, accessible, and trauma responsive. 
  • Define project scopes to drive improvements forward in the short and long term. 
  • Create and test prototypes of service concepts to ensure effective delivery. 
  • Plan and support the implementation of service improvements at scale. 
  • Coach and consult on applying participatory service design approaches and building deeper relationships with communities. 

As a team, we value:

• • Lived experience and dignity: We center the needs and voices of the people who stand to be the most impacted by our work.
  • Interdependence and solidarity: We center practices and outcomes that are mutually beneficial, use research to understand historical and cultural contexts, and build on existing efforts. 
  • Collaboration and accountability: We build and nourish relationships based on care, honesty, and reciprocity, and take responsibility for the intended and unintended consequences of our actions.  
  • Transformation and impact: We assess root causes of inequity and dysfunction and develop plans, strategies, and tools that help people move through change. 

For more information,

• • Visit our website at phila.gov/service-design-studio and Twitter @DesignStudioPHL.
  • Read our yearly reports.

Job Description

As a Lead Service Designer, you’ll:

• Report to the Service Design and Delivery Practice Lead.
• Contribute to service improvement projects—from beginning to end.
• Lead projects with the support of Practice Leads and Strategists.
• Collaborate with colleagues to build and grow SDS Practice Areas for long-term sustainability.
• Lead skill-share sessions with colleagues to help them apply service design methods to their work.
• Contribute to the field of service design.

Essential functions

Below are the primary duties of this position:

Researching

• Contribute to the design and facilitation of thoughtful and ethical qualitative research to understand the service-related n