Career story: assistant service designer

What does a day in your shoes feel like? And what are the key skills that can make or break a career in your field?

We’ve asked a diverse group of Apolitical members to share their career story with us and the tips they have for junior public servants. In this article, Katie explains why it’s important to clear, critical and decisive in their role as an assistant service designer.

What is your current role and how do you spend your time on a standard day?

Currently, I am an assistant service designer. At the moment, we have a few transformation projects and day to day I spend working on researching, designing their content and making sure they fit in with our new Digital Customer Portal. Part of the research is looking at other local authorities and seeing how they approach things. I am also part of the user research and gathering feedback to improve our services, whilst also working alongside businesses to make sure their needs and criteria are met.

What did you do before taking up this role?

I was a customer service advisor, still within the same council. I worked in the contact centre, speaking directly with customers, which I think has helped and supported my new role. Having used to get feedback from customers, I was not in a position to make any radical changes. Whereas now, I can help to make improvements and give customers a better user journey.

In your opinion, what are the most important skills someone needs to excel in your field?

To be able to listen, but to be decisive and have a critical eye. I think it is also important to ensure that all parties are given realistic expectations, so they are not given false hope about what our systems can provide. Time management is also a big part of my job as there are often times we each have multiple projects ongoing at the same time.

What is your favourite part of your job?

My favourite part of the job is seeing the end result. Oftentimes months are spent on a project, with lots of research and time spent thinking through things. So to see the end product, and usually receive positive feedback on the improvements, is a real confidence booster and all the doubt over the previous months goes away.

What advice would you give to new public servants who are interested in a career in your field?

Take time to research the role, as there are a lot of aspects to being a service designer. Sometimes other roles creep in, such as business analyst work, and you have to be able and willing to carry out those tasks alongside your own.

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