Service Designer - Credit Cards

The Design Project; Chester; Hybrid; GBP 59,000 - GBP 67,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial institution is seeking a Service Designer to enhance customer service journeys within their Credit Cards division. This role requires strong skills in service design methodologies and agile collaboration, requiring a hybrid work model with 2 days in the office. Candidates should have a Bachelor's degree and proven experience in a customer-centric role. The competitive salary ranges from £59,850 to £66,500 per annum with a comprehensive benefits package, highlighting a commitment to employee well-being and professional development.

Benefits

Generous pension contribution

Performance-related bonus

Share schemes

Discounted shopping

30 days of annual leave

Generous parental leave policies

Qualifications

• Proven experience in service design and customer-centric roles.
• Demonstrated experience in agile development environments.
• Strong research and design skills with a user-centric approach.

Responsibilities

• Lead research programs to inform service design.
• Develop customer journey maps and service blueprints.
• Facilitate workshops with diverse stakeholders.
• Translate customer needs into actionable design specifications.
• Participate in agile ceremonies and contribute to design leadership.

Skills

Service Design Methodologies

Agile Collaboration

Workshop Facilitation

Prototyping & Storyboarding

User Insight & Analysis

Communication & Stakeholder Management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Design or related field

Tools

Figma

Jira

UserTesting.com

Job description

Service Designer - Credit Cards (12 Month FTC/Secondment)

Lloyds Banking Group

Job Title: Service Designer - Credit Cards (12 Month FTC)Company: Lloyds Banking GroupLocation: Chester Cawley House, Chester, England, United Kingdom / Manchester, England, United KingdomJob Type: FULL_TIMECategory: Service Design / Customer Experience OperationsDate Posted: 2026-01-21Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level (5-10 years)Remote Status: Hybrid (2 days in office per week)

• Drive the design and enhancement of customer service journeys within the Credit Cards division, focusing on improving user experience and business outcomes.
• Collaborate within agile teams to translate customer insights and business needs into tangible service improvements and product enhancements.
• Lead and execute research initiatives to gather critical market and customer feedback, ensuring a data-driven approach to service development.
• Facilitate cross-functional workshops and discussions to align stakeholders, define scope, and make informed decisions on service propositions.
• Actively contribute to the broader design community, sharing knowledge and embedding design principles across the organization to foster a culture of user‑centricity.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role, while titled "Service Designer," has significant overlap with operations roles focused on customer journey optimization and process improvement within a regulated financial environment. The emphasis on agile teams, product owners, and defining scope suggests a strong connection to GTM (Go‑To‑Market) operational readiness and customer experience strategy. The mention of "Credit Cards" implies a need to understand complex financial products and regulatory environments.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Champion the user perspective by leading and executing comprehensive research programs (e.g., contextual inquiry, interviews, diary studies) to inform service design.
• Develop and refine customer journey maps and service blueprints to visualize current and future state experiences, identifying key pain points and opportunities for optimization.
• Facilitate collaborative workshops with diverse stakeholders, including product owners, business analysts, behavioural scientists, and fellow designers, to co‑create solutions and drive consensus.
• Translate complex customer needs and business requirements into actionable design specifications and prototypes for new or enhanced services.
• Actively participate in agile ceremonies, providing design leadership and contributing to sprint planning, backlog refinement, and scope definition.
• Mentor and coach junior designers and team members, fostering their development in user research, design thinking, and service design methodologies.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of design processes and standards within the organization, sharing best practices and insights across product, service, and customer journey initiatives.
• Ensure that all service designs align with business objectives, regulatory requirements, and risk management frameworks specific to the financial services industry.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic design thinking and tactical execution within an agile framework. The emphasis on research, journey mapping, and blueprinting is crucial for operations professionals to understand the foundational work that underpins process improvements and customer experience initiatives. The "Lead others" and "coaching" aspects point towards a mid‑to‑senior level role with potential leadership responsibilities in project execution.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Design, Human‑Computer Interaction, Psychology, Business, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience:

• Proven experience in service design, UX design, or a similar customer‑centric role, with a portfolio showcasing successful end‑to‑end service design projects.
• Demonstrated experience working within agile development environments and collaborating effectively with cross‑functional teams.

Required Skills:

• Service Design Methodologies: Expertise in a range of research and design methods including contextual enquiry, interviews, diary studies, questionnaire design, customer journey mapping, service blueprinting, co‑creation, and persona development.
• Agile Collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively within agile teams, contributing to prioritization, visualization of outcomes, and scope definition.
• Workshop Facilitation: Strong skills in facilitating creative workshops and discussions with diverse groups of collaborators and partners.
• Prototyping & Storyboarding: Experience in creating paper prototypes, storyboards, and other visual aids to communicate service concepts and user flows.
• User Insight & Analysis: Ability to shape and deliver research programs, translating colleague, customer, and market insights into actionable design decisions.
• Communication & Stakeholder Management: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to manage expectations and incorporate multiple perspectives from colleagues and customers.

Preferred Skills:

• Behavioural Science Application: Understanding or experience applying behavioural science principles to service design.
• Financial Services Domain Knowledge: Familiarity with the credit cards industry, financial products, and regulatory environments.
• Mentoring & Coaching: Experience in coaching and mentoring team members to enhance their design capabilities.
• Design Systems: Experience working with or contributing to design systems for consistency across services.
• Service Safari & Visualisation: Experience conducting service safaris and using visualization techniques to map service touchpoints and user flows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The required skills list is extensive and directly maps to core competencies for operations roles focused on customer experience and process design. The emphasis on "research and design methods" and "customer journey mapping/service blueprinting" is critical for candidates to highlight in their applications. The preferred skills offer avenues for candidates to differentiate themselves, especially if they have experience in financial services or behavioural science.

• Case Studies: Showcase at least 3-5 end‑to‑end service design projects that demonstrate your process from initial research and discovery through to concept development, prototyping, and implementation recommendations.
• Process Visualization: Include examples of customer journey maps, service blueprints, user flows, and process diagrams that clearly articulate complex service interactions and identify areas for improvement.
• Research & Insight Documentation: Provide evidence of how you gathered and synthesized user and market insights to drive design decisions, including examples of research plans, findings summaries, and persona development.
• Problem‑Solving & Impact: Clearly articulate the business problem or customer need addressed by each project, the design solutions implemented, and the measurable impact or outcomes achieved (e.g., improved efficiency, customer satisfaction, adoption rates).
• Collaboration & Iteration: Highlight instances where you collaborated with cross‑functional teams and how feedback was incorporated through iterative design processes.

Process Documentation:

• Current State Analysis: Demonstrate your ability to document and analyze existing service processes and customer experiences, identifying inefficiencies and pain points.
• Future State Design: Showcase your approach to designing optimized future‑state services, including clear documentation of proposed workflows, touchpoints, and user interactions.
• Implementation Roadmapping: Provide examples of how you have contributed to roadmapping or defining implementation steps for new or redesigned services.

📝 Enhancement Note: For operations roles, a portfolio is paramount. This section emphasizes the need for tangible evidence of process analysis, design, and optimization. Candidates should be prepared to articulate their methodology for mapping current states, identifying bottlenecks, and designing future‑state processes that drive efficiency and improve customer outcomes. The focus on "measurable impact" is a key indicator for operations roles.

Salary Range: £59,850 - £66,500 per annumBenefits:

• Pension: Generous contribution of up to 15% from the employer.
• Performance Bonus: Discretionary annual performance‑related bonus.
• Share Schemes: Access to share schemes, including free shares.
• Lifestyle Adaptations: Benefits that can be tailored to individual needs, such as discounted shopping.
• Holiday Entitlement: 30 days of annual leave, in addition to bank holidays.
• Parental Leave: Generous parental leave policies.

Working Hours: Full‑Time, approximately 40 hours per week.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is competitive for a Service Designer role in the UK, particularly within the financial sector. The benefits package is extensive and reflects the offerings of a large, established organization like Lloyds Banking Group. The inclusion of "performance‑related bonus" and "share schemes" suggests a performance‑driven culture, which is common in operations‑focused roles aiming for measurable results.

Industry: Financial Services (Banking and Insurance)Company Size: Large (20,000+ employees)Founded: 2009 (formed from the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS)

Team Structure:

• Credit Cards Design Team: This specific team is part of a larger design or product function within the Credit Cards division.
• Agile Environment: The role operates within agile teams, indicating a collaborative and iterative work structure.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Expect to work closely with Product Owners, Business Analysts, Behavioural Scientists, Engineers, and other Designers.
• Reporting: Likely reports into a Head of Design, Head of Service Design, or a Senior Product Manager within the Credit Cards division.

Methodology:

• User‑Centric Design: The core methodology revolves around understanding and prioritizing customer and colleague needs.
• Agile Development: Projects are managed using agile principles, emphasizing iterative development, flexibility, and rapid feedback loops.
• Data‑Driven Decision Making: Insights from research, market analysis, and behavioural science are critical for informing design choices.
• Continuous Improvement: A focus on evolving services and experiences to meet changing customer expectations and business goals.

📝 Enhancement Note: Lloyds Banking Group is a major player in the UK financial sector. Its size implies structured processes and potential for impact, but also the need for adaptability within a large corporate framework. The emphasis on agile and user‑centricity suggests a modern approach to product and service development, which is positive for operations professionals looking to implement efficient and effective customer journeys.

Operations Career Level: Mid‑Senior Level Service Designer. This role is positioned as an experienced individual contributor with potential for leadership within project teams and mentorship opportunities. It's a critical role in defining how customers interact with the bank's credit card services, directly impacting customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

Reporting Structure: The Service Designer will likely report to a Design Lead or Product Manager within the Credit Cards division. They will work within multidisciplinary agile teams, collaborating daily with peers and stakeholders across various departments.

Operations Impact: This role has a direct impact on the operational efficiency and customer experience of the Credit Cards business. By designing seamless, intuitive, and effective service journeys, the Service Designer contributes to:

• Reduced customer support costs through self‑service and clear guidance.
• Increased customer adoption and usage of digital banking tools.
• Improved customer satisfaction and loyalty, leading to reduced churn.
• Enhanced operational effectiveness by streamlining internal processes that support customer interactions.
• Specialization: Deepen expertise in financial services design or specific areas within credit cards.
• Leadership: Transition into a Lead Service Designer, Design Manager, or Product Owner role.
• Cross‑Functional Moves: Potential to move into related operational roles focused on process improvement, customer journey management, or digital transformation.
• Skill Development: Opportunities for further training in behavioural science, advanced research techniques, and emerging design technologies.
• Mentorship: Opportunities to mentor junior designers and contribute to the growth of the design community within LBG.

📝 Enhancement Note: The growth analysis highlights how a Service Designer role at LBG can be a stepping stone to broader operational leadership or specialized design careers within a large financial institution. The emphasis on measurable impact and efficiency aligns perfectly with the objectives of operations professionals.

Office Type: Hybrid working model, requiring 2 days per week (40% of time) in the office. This suggests a blend of collaborative in‑office work and focused remote work.

Office Location(s):

• Chester Cawley House: The primary listed location, suggesting a significant operational hub for the Credit Cards division.
• Manchester: Also considered, offering flexibility for candidates in that region.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: The office environment will likely feature collaborative zones designed for team workshops, brainstorming sessions, and cross‑functional discussions.
• Agile Team Pods: Teams may have dedicated areas or pods to facilitate close collaboration.
• Technology Access: Expect access to standard office technology, design software, and potentially dedicated collaboration tools.
• Professional Atmosphere: As a major financial institution, the environment will be professional, with an emphasis on security and compliance.

Work Schedule: Standard full‑time hours, with a hybrid arrangement allowing for flexibility in managing personal time and deep work. The 40% in‑office requirement ensures regular face‑to‑face interaction for key team activities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model is a key factor for many candidates. The requirement for 2 days in‑office indicates a focus on collaboration and team cohesion, which is beneficial for operations roles that often require strong communication and alignment across teams.

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Likely a recruiter screen to assess basic qualifications, cultural fit, and interest.
• Hiring Manager Interview: A deeper dive into experience, skills, and alignment with the role's responsibilities. This may include behavioural questions.
• Portfolio Review & Presentation: A crucial stage where candidates present their work, focusing on their process, problem‑solving approach, and impact. This will likely involve discussing specific case studies from their portfolio.
• Team/Stakeholder Interviews: Interviews with key team members (e.g., product owners, other designers, business analysts) to assess collaboration skills and technical fit.
• Potential Assessment/Challenge: A practical exercise or case study simulating a design challenge relevant to the credit card business might be included.
• Curate Strategically: Select 3-5 projects that best demonstrate your end‑to‑end service design process, focusing on those with clear impact and measurable results. Prioritize projects relevant to financial services or complex customer journeys if possible.
• Tell a Story: For each case study, clearly articulate the problem, your process, the solution you designed, and the outcome. Use visuals (journey maps, blueprints, prototypes) to illustrate your points.
• Highlight Operations Relevance: Emphasize how your designs improved operational efficiency, reduced customer friction, or contributed to business goals. Quantify impact whenever possible (e.g., "Reduced call volume by X%", "Increased task completion rate by Y%").
• Showcase Collaboration: Be ready to discuss how you worked with different teams, managed feedback, and navigated constraints.
• Be Prepared for Questions: Anticipate questions about your design decisions, trade‑offs you made, and how you would approach specific challenges within the credit card domain.
• Understand the Business: Research Lloyds Banking Group, their credit card offerings, and the current financial services landscape.
• Think Process‑Oriented: If presented with a challenge, focus on identifying the core problem, mapping the current user/service flow, and proposing a clear, efficient future state.
• Be Methodical: Demonstrate a structured approach to problem‑solving, leveraging your understanding of research, design, and collaboration.
• Focus on Impact: Even in a hypothetical scenario, consider how your proposed solution would benefit the customer and the business operationally.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes a strong portfolio and the ability to articulate process and impact. Candidates should prepare to "walk through" their projects, explaining their methodology and the rationale behind their design decisions, with a clear focus on how their work drives operational improvements and customer satisfaction.

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping Software: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, InVision (or similar) for wireframing, prototyping, and UI design.
• Collaboration & Documentation: Confluence, Jira, Miro, Mural for agile team collaboration, documentation, and workshop facilitation.
• Research Tools: SurveyMonkey, Typeform, UserTesting.com (or similar) for conducting user research and gathering feedback.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Web Analytics: Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics (or similar) for understanding user behaviour on digital platforms.
• Business Intelligence Tools: Tableau, Power BI (or similar) for visualizing data and insights related to service performance.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics (or similar) – understanding how service design integrates with customer relationship management.
• Workflow Automation: Familiarity with concepts of workflow automation and how service design can inform more efficient processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the job description doesn't list specific tools, the nature of the role and the mention of agile teams and digital platforms suggest proficiency in modern design and collaboration software. Familiarity with analytics tools is also important for demonstrating the impact of design decisions.

Operations Values:

• Customer Focus: A deep commitment to understanding and serving customer needs, making them the priority in all design decisions.
• Integrity: Upholding the highest ethical standards and ensuring all designs are compliant and responsible, especially within financial services.
• Collaboration: Working effectively with diverse teams, valuing different perspectives and contributions to achieve shared goals.
• Innovation: Continuously seeking new and better ways to serve customers and improve processes through creative problem‑solving.
• Efficiency: Striving for streamlined, effective processes that benefit both customers and the organization.
• Agile & Iterative: Expect a dynamic, fast‑paced environment where collaboration is continuous and feedback is regularly incorporated.
• Cross‑Functional Partnership: Strong emphasis on working closely with product owners, developers, analysts, and business stakeholders to ensure holistic solutions.
• Open Communication: Encouraging open dialogue, constructive feedback, and knowledge sharing among team members.
• Data‑Informed: Decisions are typically backed by research, data, and insights, fostering a rational and objective approach to problem‑solving.

📝 Enhancement Note: Lloyds Banking Group emphasizes a strong set of values, including customer focus and integrity, which are critical in the financial sector. The collaborative style within agile teams means operations professionals must be adept at working with diverse skill sets and contributing to a shared vision for service improvement.

• Navigating Complex Regulations: The credit card industry in the UK is highly regulated. Designing services that are both user‑friendly and compliant requires careful consideration and collaboration with legal and compliance teams.
• Balancing Customer Needs with Business Constraints: Finding the optimal balance between delivering exceptional customer experiences and meeting financial, technical and operational constraints in a large organization.
• Driving Change within a Large Organization: Implementing new service designs and processes can be challenging within a large, established institution; requires strong stakeholder management and change leadership skills.
• Measuring Impact: Clearly defining and tracking the success metrics for service design initiatives to demonstrate ROI and secure buy‑in for future projects.
• Financial Services Expertise: Gaining deep knowledge of the credit card product lifecycle, customer segments and market dynamics.
• Advanced Design Skills: Opportunities to refine skills in areas like behavioural design, service blueprinting, and complex journey mapping.
• Agile Transformation: Deepening understanding and experience within agile methodologies and scaled agile frameworks.
• Cross‑Departmental Exposure: Working with various departments can broaden understanding of end‑to‑end business operations.
• Mentorship: Access to experienced professionals within LBG for guidance and career development.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges highlight the complexities of operating in a regulated industry and a large corporate structure, which are common for operations roles. The growth opportunities are significant, offering pathways for specialization and advancement within LBG.

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to design a service for a complex or highly regulated industry. What were the key challenges and how did you overcome them?" (Focus on your process, stakeholder management, and understanding of constraints.)
• "How do you approach balancing user needs with business objectives and technical limitations in your service designs?" (Prepare to discuss trade‑offs, prioritization frameworks, and iterative design.)
• "Walk us through a customer journey map or service blueprint you created. What insights did you uncover, and what actions did you recommend?" (Be ready to present a case study from your portfolio and discuss your analytical process.)
• "How do you ensure your service designs are adopted and implemented effectively within an agile team and across broader organizational functions?" (Discuss your collaboration strategies, communication methods, and change management considerations.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What do you know about Lloyds Banking Group and our approach to customer service or digital transformation?" (Research LBG's purpose, values, and recent initiatives.)
• "How would you contribute to our collaborative and agile working environment?" (Highlight your experience in cross‑functional teams and your approach to communication and feedback.)
• "What is your experience with behavioural science, and how might you apply it to the credit card customer journey?" (If you have this experience, prepare specific examples.)
• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, use a clear structure: Problem -> Your Role -> Process -> Solution -> Outcome.
• Quantify Impact: Wherever possible, use data and metrics to demonstrate the success of your designs (e.g., improvements in conversion rates, reduction in errors, increased customer satisfaction scores).
• Focus on Process: Explain how you arrived at your solutions, detailing your research methods, design iterations, and decision‑making rationale.
• Showcase Collaboration: Be ready to discuss how you worked with product owners, engineers, and other stakeholders.
• Tailor to LBG: If possible, subtly tailor your examples to highlight how your skills could benefit Lloyds Banking Group's credit card business.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview preparation focuses on demonstrating a structured, user‑centric, and results‑oriented approach to service design, with a strong emphasis on collaboration and understanding business context – all crucial for operations roles.

To apply for this operations‑leaning service design position:

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features case studies showcasing your process for analyzing complex customer journeys, designing optimized service flows, and demonstrating measurable impact, ideally with examples relevant to financial services or regulated environments.
• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to highlight keywords related to service design, agile methodologies, customer journey mapping, user research, process improvement, and stakeholder collaboration. Quantify achievements wherever possible.
• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design process, particularly how you translate user insights into tangible improvements that enhance operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. Prepare to discuss your portfolio in detail.
• Company Research: Thoroughly research Lloyds Banking Group's purpose, values, and recent initiatives within their credit card division or digital transformation efforts to demonstrate your understanding and alignment.

⚠️ 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.

Application Requirements

Candidates should have experience in various research and design methods, including customer journey mapping and service blueprinting. Strong collaboration and communication skills are essential for working with multidisciplinary teams.

Pension Contribution, Performance‑Related Bonus, Share Schemes, Discounted Shopping, Holiday, Wellbeing Initiatives, Parental Leave Policies