Senior Service Designer - System Design and Innovation

• New role

• Fixed Term or Secondment opportunity to 30 June 2028

• Auckland/Wellington or Christchurch based

About us

The Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport (MCERT) takes a long-term view of how New Zealand’s towns, cities and regions grow and change. We work across housing, transport, the environment, urban development, infrastructure and investment, and partner closely with local government.

We provide joined-up policy and investment advice to government, support effective regulation and market settings, and work with others to help deliver affordable housing, connected communities, well-planned infrastructure, and a healthy, sustainable environment.

About the role

As a Senior Service Designer, you will champion the user perspective within MCERT and the Planning System Transformation programme. Your role is critical in bridging the gap between complex legislative reform and the practical reality of how New Zealanders, councils, and iwi interact with the new system.

You will work closely with business analysts, solution architects, and subject matter experts to design end-to-end service experiences that make the new planning system simpler, faster, and fairer. Beyond just digitising paper processes, you will reimagine workflows to shift the system from a culture of risk aversion to a culture of yes, ensuring that digital tools provide certainty and transparency.

You will be responsible for mapping current and future states, identifying friction points in the consenting and planning processes, and prototyping solutions that work within a hybrid federated model. You will balance the needs of diverse users—from homeowners and developers to council planners and iwi—ensuring that the digital ecosystem is accessible, inclusive, and responsive to the unique environmental contexts of Aotearoa.

Working within the System Design and Innovation team, you will have a pivotal role in ensuring that the needs of different participants within the resource management system are accurately reflected in the assets you create. You will have extensive experience creating and facilitating workshops with diverse stakeholder groups, be comfortable working in ambiguity, and be confident in the approach required to achieve the desired design outcomes.

You'll be accountable for:

• Workshop planning and facilitation: creating the agenda for and facilitating workshops with different groups of stakeholders to effectively and efficiently achieve the desired outcomes for the workstream
• Service blueprints and journey maps: visualise complex regulatory processes to identify opportunities for automation, simplification, and integration across central and local government systems
• Prototyping and testing: lead the design and testing of key digital products to ensure they meet user needs before full technical build
• Design standards: contribute to the creation of national data and design standards that ensure a consistent user experience regardless of which region a user is operating in
• Stakeholder alignment: facilitate workshops with disparate groups (policy, legal, technical, and operational) to align on a shared vision for the digital service experience.

Skills and experience

• Proven experience in service design: demonstrated ability to design and deliver complex end-to-end services in a public sector or highly regulated environment. You can show how you have translated complex policy or business rules into intuitive human experiences
• Human-centred design expertise: deep knowledge of design thinking methodologies, including user research, persona development, journey mapping, and service blueprinting
• Workshop planning, facilitation and requirements capture: Experience creating and facilitating workshops and applying different research approaches to capture participant insights. Adept at theming insights and using these to create supporting design artefacts, including service blueprints
• Understanding of digital transformation: experience working in large-scale digital transformation programmes. You understand how services need to be designed considering the people, process, and technology dynamics while being mindful of technology debt avoidance
• Te Tiriti o Waitangi & Māori data sovereignty: understanding of Te Tiriti obligations in a digital context Experience in co-designing with Māori and understanding the principles of Indigenous data sovereignty is highly desirable
• Federated/complex system experience: experience designing for systems where service delivery is distributed rather than centralised, understanding the friction between national consistency and local autonomy
• Agile delivery: practical experience working in Agile environments, supporting product owners and development teams to ensure the user voice is maintained throughout the build cycle
• Communication and influence: excellent storytelling and visual communication skills. You can translate user insights into compelling narratives that influence senior leadership and policy decisions
• Government design awareness: familiarity with the NZ Government Web Standards, Accessibility Standards, and the Digital Service Design Standard is preferred.

Salary range

Salary range for this role is $111,827 - $135,738 pa. Appointment within this range will be based on skills and experience.

Apply now

Apply directly by completing the online application form and submit your CV and cover letter. Note: your cover letter will be a key part of our assessment process, so please highlight how your experience relates to the key skills required for this role.

If you require further information about this position, please contact Dan Hope at [email protected]

We are committed to equal opportunities and building a diverse, inclusive workplace. We support our people to work in ways that help them do their best. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are dedicated to providing a safe and inclusive environment for everyone.

We want our recruitment process to be fair and accessible for everyone. If you need any support or adjustments, please let us know or get in touch at [email protected].

You must have the right to live and work in New Zealand to apply for this role.

Note: if you are considering a secondment please speak with your Manager before submitting your application.

Applications close: Monday, 19 October 2026