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.