Service Designer, APAC Lead

Main purpose of job

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has a worldwide network of embassies and consulates, employing over 17,000 in nearly 270 diplomatic offices. We work with international organisations and governments to promote UK interests and global security.

This is an exciting opportunity to be at the heart of driving how digital and technology will transform the way that FCDO operates. The Information and Digital Directorate (IDD) has an ambition for FCDO to be a leader in the use of digital and technology to deliver diplomatic and development outcomes.

We are recruiting a full-time Service Designer to join FCDO Labs. FCDO Labs is a design and innovation team, within IDD, focused on creating digital and user-centred solutions to solve FCDO challenges. The main approaches used by Labs for problem-solving include user research, service design and prototyping.

Roles and responsibilities/what will the jobholder be expected to achieve?

We’re looking for a natural problem solver with a strong interest in user-centred design and digital transformation. You will be rapidly delivering projects to identify and prototype new ways of working and tools for diplomatic offices and staff across your region. The role of the Service Designer is to discover, define, develop and deliver user-centred digital solutions.

In this role, you will:

Apply user-centred design approaches to user research to identify and define user needs, think creatively and come up with fresh ideas to solve challenges in a government context.
Translate user insights into design artifacts and solution ideas that meet these needs and engage in meaningful interactions with users. Explain the purpose of conducting user research and focusing on user needs to project team members and wider stakeholders.
Develop service concepts and options based on user insights and support business partners to make an informed decision on how to move forward with a digital solution.
Apply a agile mindset to work in a fast-paced, evolving environment and apply iterative methods and flexible approaches to enable rapid delivery of innovative solutions.
Apply digital and technical knowledge to explain what prototyping is, facilitate a open and collaborative environment for prototype development and testing with end users to deliver best outcomes.
Collaborate with the FCDO Labs team to provide a seamless user experience for the teams with which we are partnering. Communicate and work with a wide range of stakeholders to deliver outcomes and generate buy-in on project scope, approach and timelines.

We all have a responsibility to embrace the changes of the FCDO as it transforms and build the culture we want to see. In this role you will also be responsible for:

Working as part of a project team undertaking a variety of activities throughout the project including user research, problem analysis, content creation, service design and prototyping.
Building effective relationships at a working-level with users, project stakeholders and colleagues across the Asia Pacific region and wider FCDO to build a network that can be used to gain the insights we need to successfully deliver impactful projects.
Contributing to the development of the UK and Overseas Labs team as well as your Post; helping to build a sense of community and promoting digital and user-centred ways of working.

Qualifications

Essential on arrival:

Agile working. You know about agile methodology and the ways you can apply the principles in practice. You can take an open-minded approach; you know why iteration is important and can do it quickly.
Communication skills. You can translate technical information and communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders. You know how to facilitate discussions within a multidisciplinary team, with potentially difficult dynamics. You can act as an advocate for your team. You are good at managing differing perspectives.
Community collaboration. You can contribute to the work of others while having the ability to motivate and empower teams. You know how to create the right environment for teams to work in and can facilitate the best team make-up depending on the situation. You can recognise and deal with issues.
Evidence- and context-based design. You can generate multiple solutions to a problem and test them.
Facilitating decisions and risks. You can identify technical disputes and describe them in ways that are relevant both to direct peers and to local stakeholders. You can work collaboratively while recommending decisions and the reasoning behind them.
Leadership and guidance. You are committed to agreed good practice for the team, teaching new starters and challenging substandard work by peers. You can recommend decisions and describe the reasoning behind these. You can identify and articulate technical disputes between direct peers and local stakeholders. You know about the importance of team dynamics and collaboration. You understand the importance of feedback.
Strategic thinking. You can work within a strategic context and communicate how activities meet strategic goals. You can contribute to the development of strategy and policies.
User focus. You can identify needs and engage with users or stakeholders to collate user needs evidence. You understand and can define research that fits user needs. You can use quantitative and qualitative data about users to turn user focus into outcomes.

Desirable:

Digital perspective. You are responsive to changes in technology, adapting your approach accordingly. You understand the range of available technology choices and can make informed decisions based on user needs in a government context. You understand the importance of assisted digital and can design services and make decisions to meet users needs.
Experience of working within constraints. You understand the value of policy, legislative, regulatory and operational constraints and find the simplest, shortest and fastest solution for users.
Prototyping. You know when to use a specific prototyping technique or method. You can show the value of prototyping to the team. You can develop, test, correct and document solutions using a range of Microsoft applications.

Applications must be received by 23:55 (Singapore time, GMT+8) on 9 September 2022 and submitted via the FCDO recruitment website.

The role is based in Singapore and open to anyone, regardless of your current place of residence (relocation is required) or nationality. In this role you will be engaging with Posts across the Asia Pacific region and collaborating closely with the Labs team based in the UK. This creates opportunities for flexible working patterns to meet the needs of your region, the projects you are delivering and your personal requirements.

For any questions with regards to the role please get in touch with the Hiring Manager Naomi Jo Erny via LinkedIn or e-mail: naomi.erny@fcdo.gov.uk