Senior Service Designer (Program Admin Officer 4)

About Us

At CSDS, we prioritize people—both within our team and in the communities we serve. Our mission is to redefine how Nova Scotians engage with government by creating accessible, reliable digital solutions centered around user needs.

In today’s tech-driven world, CSDS empowers government departments with essential digital solutions to meet Nova Scotians’ expectations. As a trusted partner across government, we enable departments to fulfill their mandates with secure, user-friendly services. From healthcare and education to public safety, we collaborate to transform how services are designed and delivered.

We don’t just implement technology; we modernize outdated systems and reimagine processes. Our agile, data-driven approach ensures that digital services are both efficient and adaptable to Nova Scotia’s evolving needs.

Joining CSDS means contributing to work that makes a real difference. From providing vital tech support to healthcare professionals to strengthening cybersecurity and developing scalable digital platforms, you’ll play a key role in building a more inclusive, responsive government for Nova Scotians.

Together, we’re setting new standards for digital public service, delivering resilient solutions that meet today’s needs—and anticipate tomorrow’s challenges.

About Our Opportunity

We are seeking an experienced Senior Service Designer to join our Human-Centered Service Design (HCSD) team within the Department of Cyber Security & Digital Solutions (CSDS). Our team collaborates with partners across government and healthcare to create digital services that are user-focused, efficient, accessible, and inclusive.

Reporting to the Service Design Manager (HCSD), the Senior Service Designer plays a vital role in shaping and enhancing digital services. You will work closely with multidisciplinary teams—including product managers, delivery leads, developers, and program partners—to design end-to-end services that prioritize the needs and experiences of users.

In this role, you’ll lead the reimagining and improvement of digital services through research, design, prototyping, testing, and iteration, with a human-centered focus; facilitate collaboration and co-creation with diverse teams to develop impactful service solutions; mentor and guide team members to uphold best practices in service design; and advocate for accessibility, inclusivity, and best user experience principles across projects.

Primary Accountabilities

Your primary accountabilities will include:

• Planning, designing and conducting user research with internal government staff and the public.
• Facilitating collaborative sessions to visually represent the current state and future states of the service.
• Working with policy, process, legislation, and business subject matter experts to inform design.
• Creating clickable prototypes, testing with users, and rapidly iterating on them.
• Gathering and analyzing user feedback and sharing insights with the team.
• Working with software developers to build products guided by user research and a human-centred design.
• Providing input and advice into accessibility and inclusion planning for products and services.
• Contributing to the creation of an iterative roadmap to inform continuous delivery.
• Lead the design and delivery of service design artifacts including; workshop documentation, blueprints, journey maps, recommendations and insights reports, roadmaps, etc.
• Develop efficient client communication and feedback channels as this position deals regularly with clients, vendors, and consultants.
  
  

Qualifications and Experience

To be successful in this role, you should have a Bachelor’s Degree and 6 years of experience. An equivalent combination of training and experience may be considered.

Required Skills

• Skills and experience with a wide range of human-centred design and research methods.
• Experience planning and leading design sessions and activities across large and complex projects.
• Empathy, curiosity, and active listening skills, with an openness to diverse perspectives and ideas.
• The ability to understand what problem your team is trying to solve and align design activities to inform decision-making and actions.
• Ability to elicit, distill, and visualize complex information so that it is easily understandable.
• Understanding of how to design inclusive, equitable, accessible, and sustainable services.
• Designing the end-to-end journey of a service including transactions, products and content across both digital and offline channels.
• Experience developing wireframes and clickable prototypes.
• Ability to work within a self-directed culture and navigate ambiguity.
• Effective time management skills and ability to balance priorities and deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and functional English communication.

Valued Assets

• Familiar with mobile first and responsive UI/UX design practices.
• Skilled with front-end technologies, such as HTML5 and CSS3.
• Familiar with Agile software development methodologies.
• Self-starter, adaptable, and quick to learn new technologies.
• Familiar with using a design software such as Adobe XD, Figma.
  
  

Equivalency

Include, but not limited to:

• Diploma (preferably in design) with 8 years experience. 

Applicants relying on education and experience equivalencies must demonstrate such equivalencies in their application.

Benefits

Based on the employment status and union agreement, the Government of Nova Scotia offers its employees a wide range of benefits such as a Defined Benefit Pension Plan, Health, Dental, Life Insurance, General illness, Short and Long Term Disability, Vacation and Employee and Family Assistance Programs.  For information on all our Benefit program offerings, click here: Benefits for government employees.

What We Offer

• Career development where you have access to career guidance, tools, resources, and ongoing training for every stage of your career
• Engaging workplace: our employees feel valued, respected, connected, and tuned in, we have forward-thinking policies and strategies
• Countless career paths
• Department specific flexible working schedules