Senior Service Designer

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) is an agency where innovation thrives, ideas flourish, and passion drives us to new heights of excellence. Reporting to the Ministry of the Attorney General, the AGCO is responsible for regulating Ontario’s vibrant alcohol, gaming, horse racing, and private retail cannabis sectors in accordance with the principles of honesty and integrity, and in the public interest.    The AGCO’s Service Strategy and Experience branch is seeking a dynamic and experienced Senior Service Designer to lead the design, planning, and execution of strategic service initiatives that drive transformation and enhance the AGCO’s service experience.   We are looking for a collaborative professional who brings a balance of Human Centered Design expertise, exceptional interpersonal skills, and strong critical thinking abilities to join our high performing team. The ideal candidate is a conceptual thinker with excellent problem-solving skills, adept at analyzing complex challenges, and developing innovative solutions. They will excel in working with cross-functional teams, stakeholders, and senior leadership to align efforts with the organization’s strategic vision.   What You Will Do: Initiate, plan, and conduct independent research including user research (e.g. usability tests, focus groups, and interviews), using national and international sources, including environmental scans, best practice reviews, internal data, and customer insights such as user research, to assess and inform the design of policies, programs, processes, and systems related to AGCO services. Synthesize and leverage research findings from external and internal sources to support problem framing decision-making and identify opportunities for continuous improvement in the AGCO service experience. Build relationships with AGCO service areas to explore and develop options, innovative strategies, solutions, analyses, and recommendations for existing and proposed service enhancements. Prepare written materials such as policies, procedures, communications, and training resources to address service issues, inquiries, and information requests relating to the AGCO service experience. Lead and facilitate service design workshops to collaborate with colleagues, customers, and stakeholders in identifying issues and opportunities for improvement, including: Leveraging user research to explore opportunities for service transformation. Deriving service insights from data sources such as transactional surveys, behavioral data, and secondary research to evaluate and enhance the user experience. Utilizing personas, journey mapping, user stories, service blueprints, and affinity mapping to articulate and evaluate current and planned service delivery models. Producing high-quality documentation, such as wireframes, personas, user flows, navigation schemas, requirements documentation, and site maps, to support implementation. Plan, develop, design, and implement priority service initiatives and programs. Manage and lead work packages and key elements of corporate projects, including overseeing project teams and staff involved in deliverables. Investigate and analyze service issues to provide advice, root cause analysis, and solutions that improve processes and service delivery, preventing recurring issues. Analyze service complaints, trends, and issues to assess their impact on current service delivery and inform the development of future policies, programs, and strategies to shape the AGCO service experience. You Have:   University degree in a related field with a demonstrated ability to conduct research and synthesize findings. At least 3 years of professional experience in service design, customer service optimization, project management, program development, or public policy development, preferably within public service or customer/user service delivery contexts. Practical knowledge and experience using service design tools such as user research, personas, journey mapping, service blueprints, affinity mapping, user stories, prototyping, and design. Strong facilitation and collaboration skills to assess service needs, gather requirements from internal partners both virtually using Miro and in person, and work with customer-facing service areas to identify and implement service improvements. Extensive experience working with senior management, external stakeholders, and partners to influence and drive successful outcomes. Proven ability to build and maintain strong relationships with colleagues, clients, and key stakeholders. Competence in interpreting user research and leveraging user testing and data insights to inform design decisions. Proficiency in creating high-fidelity mock-ups and prototypes using tools like Figma or similar design software. Advanced computer skills in research and data analysis using MS Office, spreadsheets, databases, visualization tools, and statistical software. Familiarity with User Experience writing to contribute to the usability and improvement of AGCO's service communications and user interfaces. Eligibility to work in Canada and the ability to successfully complete a criminal background check. Nice to Have: Familiarity with systems thinking, information architecture, and design systems to support innovative service solutions. Familiarity with User Experience writing to contribute to the usability and improvement of AGCO's service communications and user interfaces.