Service Designer
£45,000 - £50,000 plus benefits
Reports to: Lead Service Designer
Directorate: Marketing, Fundraising & Engagement
Contract: 12 month fixed-term contract
Hours: Full time 35 hours per week (we would consider compressed hours)
Location: Location Office-based with high flexibility (1-2 days per week in the office)
Closing date: 03 May 2026 23:55
Visa sponsorship: You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. Cancer Research UK is not able to offer visa sponsorship.
Recruitment process: 1st stage will include a task related to the role followed by competecy and technical questions, 2nd stage will be a futher compatency based interview
Interview date: w/c 18 May 2026
At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.
We are looking for a Service Design practitioner to join our team.
The Service Design team collaborates cross-functionally to co-design new or improved services across the organisation.
As a Service Designer you will connect and facilitate across disciplines to influence and advocate for evidence-based decisions, ensuring the balance between user experience and organisational outcomes is reflected in our service offerings.
You may not have worked as a Service Designer before. What matters is a strong grasp of service design principles and a user‑centred,evidence‑based approach.
What will I be doing?
Lead and contribute to design work that helps inform organisational priorities, grounding recommendations in user needs and evidence
Research, design and test end-to-end services, using user centred and evidence-based approaches
Work in partnership with Business Owners, staff and communities across the charity to co-design new service models and value propositions, helping define how the organisation can organise itself to deliver them effectively
Collaborate within cross‑functional teams (including UX, content design, business analysis and solution architecture,) to explore opportunities, create artefacts such as service blueprints, and prototype potential solutions.
Contribute to clear decision‑making within delivery teams, supporting the successful delivery of service transformation initiatives.
Deliver high‑quality user‑centred services, confidently testing, learning and iterating to improve outcomes
Support Business Owners in scoping and delivering user-centred services, using design thinking alongside Agile and Lean principles to shape and influence decisions, inform priorities, and constructively challenge assumptions with evidence.
Work with Business Owners to define and track success measures for services and propositions, supporting evidence‑based decision‑making and helping teams use performance data to iterate and improve what they deliver.
Work as part of the service design capability to connect initiatives, helping ensure projects align and collectively deliver greater value.
What are we looking for?
Understanding of the role of service design in digital transformation, with the ability to clearly communicate ideas, influence thinking and engage a range of audiences.
Experience of constructively challenging and influencing senior stakeholders, using evidence and user insight to build buy‑in.
Strong problem‑solving skills, focused on user outcomes and service goals rather than technology solutions alone.
User‑centred mindset, with the ability to balance user needs alongside system, operational and business constraints.
Experience across service development and delivery, including planning, use‑case creation, user research, experience design, usability testing, and ongoing service optimisation for different audiences.
Ability to question the status quo and contribute to beneficial process improvement.
Comfortable working with the full range of service components, from user interactions across digital and non‑digital channels to backend processes and policy considerations.
Collaborative and constructive working style, with experience working across boundaries in multidisciplinary teams.
Our organisation values are designed to guide all that we do.
Bold: Act with ambition, courage and determination
Credible: Act with rigour and professionalism
Human: Act to have a positive impact on people
Together: Act inclusively and collaboratively
We’re looking for people who can believe in and embody these organisation values and can use them to drive forward progress against our mission to beat cancer.
If you’re interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we’d still love to hear from you.
What will I gain?
We create a working environment that supports your wellbeing and provide a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools. Our policies and processes enable you to improve your work-life balance, take positive steps in your career and achieve your personal wellbeing goals.
You can explore our benefits by visiting our careers web page.
How do I apply?
We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won’t be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you fairly and objectively.
For more information on this career opportunity please visit our website or contact us at recruitment@cancer.org.uk.
Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented.
We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen. Please contact recruitment@cancer.org.uk or 020 3469 8400 as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.