Service Design Strategist

at  Sanlam

Who are we?
Sanlam Fintech is a newly established digital first business within the Sanlam Group on a mission to democratise financial advice and solutions for everyone across the African continent. We exist to pioneer inclusive financial confidence helping people build strong foundations to bridge the gap in generational wealth. Our culture is that of agility and constant deployment, we believe in learning fast, learning cheap and learning forward. Our aim is to provide a work environment where knowledge workers can accelerate the development of their ideas and bring innovation to market, at the same time provide compelling career and development proposition that will enable them to realise their dreams.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

Client relationship management
Develop and maintain strategic partnerships
Strategic Customer Service and Management
Competitor analysis and growth mind-set
Strategic planning and implementation

Qualification and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Marketing or related discipline.
• Honours degree will be advantageous.
• 5 years’ experience in service design, working closely with product owners, business analysts and developers in an agile environment.
• 3 years’ experience in human-centered design methods (e.g. design thinking) and experimenting to determine which solutions are most likely to satisfy customer needs.
• 3 years’ experience in communicating design solutions to both design and non-design-oriented stakeholders.
• Experience in an agile work environment and design sprints towards problem definition and/or creative problem-solving

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

• The Service Design Strategist will drive insight-led and service design thinking that connects experience delivery to operations and technology resulting in improved client and intermediary journeys and experience.
• End-to-end design of market leading solutions that enhance the customer experience, as well as increase business efficiency (journey/experience maps, service blueprints, interaction models, flows, and wireframes).
• Use system design to ensure problem definition and ideation address the needs and optimise the value across all stakeholders.
• Analyse and arrange identified interactions (including touchpoints) into rational user journeys within that service ecosystem.
• Develop user/customer and service flows across the business, regularly consulting with stakeholders to ensure areas of friction are identified and understood, and initiatives to improve customer experience are scoped and prioritised.
• Analyse failures, identify root causes and opportunities for improvement within that service.
• Deliver solutions to the Development team that are easy to understand, well documented, and are deployed as per original design brief.
• Collaborate proactively with key stakeholders on a regular basis to achieve strategic program objectives.
• Prepare pilots and evaluate the performance of the solutions designed to validate their desirability and viability.
• Manage various suppliers ensuring delivery is on time and within agreed budget.
• Conceptualise and lead service design initiatives and projects, including workshops, user interviews, and creative brainstorms.
• Provide service design thought leadership within the broader Sanlam, build effective professional relationships across the business and establish credibility with all stakeholders.
• Work closely with the business and create formal networks with key decision-makers to establish service design as a discipline within Sanlam.

Qualification and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Marketing or related discipline.
• Honours degree will be advantageous.
• 5 years’ experience in service design, working closely with product owners, business analysts and developers in an agile environment.
• 3 years’ experience in human-centered design methods (e.g. design thinking) and experimenting to determine which solutions are most likely to satisfy customer needs.
• 3 years’ experience in communicating design solutions to both design and non-design-oriented stakeholders.
• Experience in an agile work environment and design sprints towards problem definition and/or creative problem-solving.

WHAT WILL MAKE YOU SUCCESSFUL IN THIS ROLE?

• Strong understanding of digital, people and process-based service systems.
• Exposure to modern customer research methods and a passion for delivering market-leading customer experiences.
• Diverse work background that illustrates a technical, business and design mind-set would be advantageous.