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Job summary

HM Land Registry's services form part of the critical national infrastructure, safeguarding land and property ownership valued at £8 trillion. This enables over £1 trillion worth of personal and commercial lending to be secured against property across England and Wales. For 160 years we have played a key role in the UK’s economic stability and growth.

We are now looking for an experienced senior service designer, or design leader with experience of working on complex services or systems to join us as Head of Service Design to help transform these critical services for the future.

Open Session

If you would like to find out more about the role, the Service Design profession and what it’s like to work at HMLR, a Hiring Manager Q&A session where you can virtually 'meet the team' will be held via MS Teams on Tuesday 4th August 12:30pm.

Book your virtual seat:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1994296414260?aff=oddtdtcreator

Check out the video below to find out what it is like working in Digital Careers at HM Land Registry.

Job description

This is a senior leadership role within the User Centred Design team in Customer and Strategy, offering a unique opportunity to shape how HMLR designs and delivers its services.

As the lead for Service Design, you will set the strategic direction for the discipline, guide and inspire multidisciplinary teams, and champion the value of service design across the organisation.

You will play a pivotal role in ensuring service design informs, shapes and delivers HMLR's service strategy and supports the effective delivery of policy intent.

Working closely with the Head of User Centred Design, you will be responsible for ensuring services are user centred, effective, and bring measurable value to the organisation.

As an experienced service design expert operating in an agile, digital environment, you will act as a role model and advocate for the evolution of our services within HMLR, government, and the wider industry.

This is a complex and challenging role that will see the re-design of many paper-based and legacy services and the transformation of our data into something innovative and fit for purpose, that will change the future of land registration.

Main duties:

• You will be leading, motivating, and growing talented Service Designers, working with the Head of User Centred Design to set the direction of design within HMLR.
• Work with the Deputy Director of Digital Services, Lead product managers, Head of UCD and Business design to realise the service vision to deliver on HMLR’s Business design and service Strategy.
• Influence both design and organisational strategy and priorities; putting forward the case for Service led design to senior stakeholders and colleagues across disciplines and departments and presenting strategic service design thinking with product leads at programme and exec boards such as ExCo, communicating the value and future vision for end-to-end services.
• You will be responsible for growing and developing the Service design capability, line-managing and mentoring Service Designers, supporting their professional development and evolving service design standards.
• You’ll work with the Head of UCD and other design leads to set design direction and good practice within the directorate including advocating for user-centred design with leaders outside of digital and data.
• You will be working across multiple, high-profile projects, working collaboratively with colleagues to design and iterate end to end services that support user needs, and ensure we are delivering secure, efficient, trusted and increase customer satisfaction, advocating for accessibility and inclusion in service delivery as well as in the development of teams. This role will be engaging their team of service designers to design the future state of our digital services, understanding HMLR’s wider role in the property sector and the different customers and users within it.
• Make and justify difficult service design decisions characterised by high levels of risk, impact and complexity while having a wider understanding of how advances in technology, data, and AI impact the diversity users of government services.
• You will be overseeing the development of high-quality service design artefacts — such as journey maps, service blueprints, and prototypes to communicate design intent and test ideas. Coaching and mentoring to support the teams in identifying the right tools or methods to solve challenges and different problems for users.
• With the head of UCD evolve the design community across service design, content design and interaction design. Lead, motivate and empower teams, using coaching and mentoring to support the teams in identifying the right tools or methods to solve challenges and different problems for users.
• Help teams to understand the wider service context of a project or product, coordinating work across multiple projects, and working in an agile, multidisciplinary, and collaborative environment.
• Work with Head of UCD and senior colleagues at a leadership level across T&T and Service delivery to ensure a joined-up, agile and consistent approach to the design and delivery of the organisation’s customer-led, digital services.
• Coach teams through service assessments against standards.

Person specification

To meet the requirements of the role, you will be a highly experienced service designer, or design leader, with a strong track record of working on complex services and systems, operating confidently at senior level.

With hands‑on expertise in service design, you will be skilled in applying and standardising service design practices, methodologies, frameworks and tools to drive meaningful improvements to user experience and organisational outcomes.

You will be recognised as a service design expert, with proven experience of leading, developing and empowering service designers.

You will be highly effective at building positive, trusted relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, using strong communication, influencing and persuasion skills to build credibility for service design at all levels.

You will understand the bigger picture for a service to uncover long‑term challenges and opportunities and working with senior leaders to shape these into a compelling vision for the future.

For more information about the role, please see the attached Job Description and Candidate Pack.

HMLR expect everyone to spend at least 60% of their working time in the office.

This role will require regular travel and overnight stays away from the home office.

Visa Sponsorship

Please note that we will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa where a role is in a certain business critical category. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a skilled worker visa.

You must ensure you have the appropriate right to work in the UK before applying.

Qualifications

Recognised qualification in digital design, technology or related subject.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £78,200, HM Land Registry contributes £22,654 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

#WeAreHMLR

At HM Land Registry our vision is a world leading property market as part of a thriving economy and a sustainable future. We are unique in terms of the economic and social impacts of our work, our ability to make a positive difference to the lives of our customers, our sense of mission, and our great people. They are the foundation of all we have achieved and all we aspire to in the future. We want our people to feel proud to work for HM Land Registry and able to fulfil their full potential.

We have a strong and positive culture, a commitment to inclusivity, an emphasis on continuous learning and development, and flexible ways of working. We offer competitive pay and annual leave, attractive pension options and a wide range of other benefits.

• We have integrity– we value honesty, trust and doing the right thing in the right way.
• We drive innovation– we are forward-thinking, embrace change and are continually improving our processes.
• We are professional– we value and grow our knowledge and professional expertise.
• We give assurance– we guarantee our services and provide confidence to the property market.

The HMLR Way – Our Shared Commitment

What you can expect from HMLR:

• Inclusive & Empowering: A positive, healthy environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute
• High Performance: Access to tools, resources, and development opportunities within a supportive culture
• Value & Recognition: We value team and individual improvement, learning from setbacks as much as celebrating success
• Clarity & Transparency: Clear communication of our vision and priorities, so our direction and decisions are evident

You can find more information on our rewards package on our website.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

We are working with our recruitment partner (Inspire People) for this campaign. Please submit your CV through the Inspire People’s website link:

https://hmlr.inspirepeople.net/jobs/head-of-delivery-3115/

Please include how you meet the technical skills and essential experience criteria listed on the Job Description within your CV.

Inspire People will assess your CV and Personal Statement and will compile a longlist of applications for HM Land Registry to sift.

If you progress through this stage, you will be asked to complete a short, pre-recorded video with Inspire People on the essential experience, details will be provided on invitation. HM Land Registry will then sift these applications.

If successful, you will be invited to attend a face to face interview at our Coventry office, week commencing Monday 24th August 2026.

The blended interview will assess the essential technical skills, essential experience and behaviours as listed in the job description. This will include a pre-prepared presentation.

Candidates may refer to notes within their interview, but they should be used as a prompt only.

HMLR is accredited to the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS), which denotes organisations which have a positive attitude towards disabled people.

If you require the panel to consider a reasonable adjustment or there is anything else, they would like the panel to take into consideration please notify us of this at application stage where possible or during the process as soon as it becomes a requirement.

If you would like further information about the use of your personal data, please click on the link below:
Job Applicant Personal Information

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Zymante Gintalaite - Inspire People
• Email : zymante@inspirepeople.net

Recruitment team

• Email : hrresourcingteam2@landregistry.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance to the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, please email hrresourcingteam2@landregistry.gov.uk in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from HM Land Registry then you may take your complaint to the Civil Service Commission: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/making-complaint/

Attachments

Head of Service Design Job Description Opens in new window (pdf, 199kB)Transformation & Technology Candidate Pack 2026 Opens in new window (pdf, 2131kB)