Service Designer

Service Design Lead - AI-Enabled Operations

Contract: 1 November 2026 - mid-January 2027

£700 per day | Outside IR35

UK-based | Fully remote

I'm working on a really interesting short-term opportunity for a Service Design Lead to lead the discovery phase of a major content studio and operational transformation, with AI at the heart of the work.

You'll be embedded within a major global client team, working closely with stakeholders to understand how they operate today, identify opportunities for improvement and shape a practical roadmap for how they could work differently.

What you'll be doing

• Leading the discovery phase end-to-end, setting the approach, priorities and plan
• Planning and facilitating stakeholder interviews and workshops
• Mapping current-state processes, identifying pain points, inefficiencies and opportunities for automation
• Designing future-state workflows and operating models, including roles, responsibilities and governance
• Turning research, data and stakeholder feedback into clear insights and actionable recommendations
• Building a business case for AI adoption, including efficiency opportunities, dependencies, risks and a phased roadmap
• Creating client-ready outputs including discovery reports, process maps, roadmaps and presentations
• Prototyping and testing new workflows, using feedback to iterate and bring stakeholders along on the journey
• Helping define how AI can be embedded into an organisation in a practical, responsible and sustainable way

What I'm looking for

You'll ideally have 7+ years' experience across areas such as:

• Service Design
• Business / Management Consultancy
• Organisation Design
• Creative or Content Operations
• UX Research

You'll need strong hands-on experience of discovery, process mapping, workshop facilitation and operating model design, alongside the ability to turn complex research into clear recommendations and business cases.

You'll also need a solid understanding of AI and its practical application within business operations. I'm not looking for someone who simply knows how to use ChatGPT - you'll understand how AI can genuinely change processes, roles, governance and ways of working, while recognising where human oversight is still essential.

You'll be confident working with technical and non-technical stakeholders, comfortable operating in ambiguity and able to bring structure to a complex transformation programme.

UK-based | Fully remote

⚠️ You must have full right to work in the UK to apply.

If you're a Service Design Lead who loves getting into the detail of how businesses actually work - and figuring out how they could work better with AI, I'd love to hear from you.

Sphere Digital Recruitment is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.