Why we're hiring:

At WPP, technology is at the heart of everything we do, and it is WPP IT’s mission to enable everyone to collaborate, create and thrive. WPP IT is undergoing a significant transformation to modernise ways of working, shift to cloud and micro-service-based architectures, drive automation, digitise colleague and client experiences and deliver insight from WPP’s petabytes of data.

To bring the experience for our colleagues, clients and partners to the next level, we need a Business Service Design Lead to build and grow our service design capability across IT. This role will be responsible for leading our multidisciplinary approach to designing and launching services and experiences for our colleagues and clients. It will drive some of the most ground-breaking projects WPP has seen and will lead the advancement of our approach. 

This role will perform the cheanni research and design chapter in India and work on complex, regional and global service propositions. It will set the direction and assure the quality of design delivery across the chennai team teams, provide input into or own project planning to ensure that the team can do its best work. This role will lead other in advocating for the service design profession within IT, WPP and externally and also be hands on with major research and design activity. 

The role will be seen by project team/s and senior stakeholders as a trusted expert service design practitioner and champion and will build strong trusted relationships with these groups, listening to their needs and effectively managing their expectations. It will work with the Head of Discovery and Design and Lead Design and Lead Researchers in the UK to identify opportunities to innovate experiences and services and will actively participate and lead Community of Practice efforts, hiring activity for your practice and broader Design efforts. 

The role will leverage research insights and data to design solutions; responding to challenges, often in collaboration with colleagues and other stakeholders, and will work strategically on end-to-end services to deliver improved service outcomes and costed savings.

What you'll be doing:

Specific responsibilities of this role will include: 

• Lead and Mentor the Chennai based research and design team, share expertise, and contribute to the professional development of the research team.
• Lead the delivery of complex service and product design projects prototyping and designing multi-channel services using design research techniques to uncover customer needs and pain points and understand, analyse and map complex journeys and processes 
• Support the development of service concepts, blueprints and other service design artefacts that could scale 
• Play a leading role in our service design Community of Practice and industry, and regularly share your work and ideas with the broader team and community. 
• Facilitate knowledge sharing sessions and contribute to the organization's research knowledge management initiatives
• Stay abreast of the latest developments in the research and design industry, and introduce latest research and design thinking / approaches as service, project, product research is undertaken

What you'll need:

• Digital perspective - Understands how the digital economy is changing user behaviour and the commercial landscape. Can make informed decisions based on user needs, available technology, and value for money. Has knowledge of the wider digital economy and advances in technology 
• Evidence and context-based design - Visualises, articulates, solves complex problems, and concepts, and makes disciplined decisions based on available information and research evidence. Able to move from analysis to synthesis and/or design intent. Such skills include demonstration of the ability to apply logical thinking, gathering, and analysing information and evidencing key performance indicators 
• Facilitating decisions and risks - Capable of making and guiding effective decisions, explaining clearly how the decision has been reached. Has the ability to understand technical complexity and risks, run collaborative design activities, influence others and build consensus 
• Leadership and guidance - Interprets vision to lead on decisions. Creates a continually collaborative environment and sustains a good service. Understands and resolves technical disputes across varying levels of complexity and risk. Solves issues and unblocks problems. Drives teams and sets the pace, ensuring teams are delivering. Manages risk including effectively managing and tracking the mitigation of risks 
• Prototyping - Able to apply technical knowledge and experience to create or design workable prototypes, both programmes and physical outputs. Understands parameters, restrictions and synergies
• Strategic thinking - Able to have an overall perspective on business issues, events, activities and an understanding of their wider implications and long-term impact. This could include determining patterns, standards, roadmaps and vision statements. Can focus on outcomes rather than solutions and activities 
• Understanding constraints - Able to understand and work within the given constraints (including but not limited to technology, regulatory, financial, legal, social user constraints) and to challenge constraints that can be changed. Capable of ensuring compliance against constraints by adapting products and services where needed
• User focus - Understands users and can identify who they are and what their needs are based on evidence. Able to translate user stories and propose design approaches or services to meet these needs and engages in meaningful interactions and relationships with users. Puts users first and can manage competing priorities.
• Education and Experience: Bachelor's or Masters degree in a Research based discipline essential. Minimum of 8-10 years of experience in IT research or a related field, with a demonstrated track record of delivering impact in a global team to a global audience

Who you are:

You're open: We are inclusive and collaborative; we encourage the free exchange of ideas; we respect and celebrate diverse views. We are accepting: of new ideas, new partnerships, new ways of working.

You're optimistic: We believe in the power of creativity, technology and talent to create brighter futures or our people, our clients and our communities. We approach all that we do with conviction: to try the new and to seek the unexpected.

You're extraordinary: we are stronger together: through collaboration we achieve the amazing. We are creative leaders and pioneers of our industry; we provide extraordinary every day.

What we'll give you:

Passionate, inspired people – We promote a culture of people that do extraordinary work.

Scale and opportunity – We offer the opportunity to create, influence and complete projects at a scale that is unparalleled in the industry.

Challenging and stimulating work – Unique work and the opportunity to join a group of creative problem solvers. Are you up for the challenge?