Service Designer

At the Civil Aviation Authority, we don’t just keep New Zealand’s skies safe and secure, we help shape the future of aviation.

• Design services that improve aviation experiences across New Zealand.
• Support a major transformation delivering better customer outcomes.
• Join a team driving meaningful change through user-centred design.

About the Role

We’re looking for an experienced Service Designer to join our Business Transformation Programme on a fixed-term basis.

This is an exciting opportunity to help redesign how CAA delivers regulatory services to the aviation sector. Working across a significant transformation programme, you'll partner with business stakeholders, operational experts, business analysts, and project teams to design future-focused services that improve customer experiences, simplify processes, and support operational excellence.

You'll take a user-centred approach to understanding current challenges, identifying opportunities for improvement, and designing end-to-end services that balance customer needs, regulatory requirements, and organisational objectives.

This role will suit someone who is passionate about service design, enjoys facilitating conversations that spark innovation, and can translate complex business requirements into practical and effective service solutions.

About the Business Transformation Programme

This is your opportunity to get in at the start.

We are building a team to deliver a significant transformation that will shape the future of the organisation and the aviation sector. With strong executive support and a clear mandate for change, this is an opportunity to work on genuine transformation — not simply improve existing processes or deliver business as usual.

These roles are initially offered on a one-year fixed-term basis while the business case progresses through approval. We recognise that means taking a degree of risk. But for the right person, it is also a chance to get involved at the point where the programme is being shaped, make a meaningful contribution and work on a transformation that is genuinely important.

If you are motivated by complex change and want to help build something significant, this is the time to get involved.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design and redesign of regulatory services across the transformation programme.
• Facilitate workshops with business stakeholders, operational teams, customers, and sector representatives.
• Map current-state and future-state services, customer journeys, and business processes.
• Work closely with Business Analysts and subject matter experts to define service requirements and improvement opportunities.
• Develop service blueprints, service models, and other service design artefacts.
• Ensure service designs align with programme objectives, regulatory requirements, and organisational strategy.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, effectiveness, customer experience, and compliance outcomes.
• Support testing, validation, and refinement of proposed service designs with users and stakeholders.
• Champion user-centred and service design best practice across the programme.

The salary band for this role is $115,536 - $141,751. Starting salaries are based on knowledge, skills and experience the successful candidate brings to the role, as well as internal relativities.

For more information on the role please view the position description.

What You'll Bring

If you're a collaborative and customer-focused service design professional who enjoys solving complex problems and creating better experiences, this is a unique opportunity to make a lasting impact.

To succeed in this role you'll demonstrate:

• Significant experience in service design within transformation, regulatory, public sector, or customer-facing environments.
• Experience designing and improving end-to-end services and operating models.
• Strong facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to bring diverse groups together.
• Experience applying human-centred design and service design methodologies.
• The ability to translate complex business requirements into practical, user-focused service solutions.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience mapping customer journeys, service ecosystems, and future-state processes.
• The ability to work collaboratively across business, operational, and technology teams.
• A passion for continuous improvement and delivering positive customer outcomes.

About Us

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is New Zealand’s aviation safety and security regulator. We play a critical role in protecting the travelling public, supporting the aviation sector, and strengthening New Zealand’s international reputation.

Our vision is simple and powerful: A safe and secure aviation system – so people are safe, and feel safe when they fly.

Our values — Professionalism, Respect, Integrity, Transparency, and Collaboration — guide everything we do. We’re committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and supportive environment where everyone feels respected, safe, and valued. Our people are central to our success.

Why Join Us?

• Matching KiwiSaver contributions up to 4%
• Vision assistance
• Flu vaccinations
• Employee Assistance Programme

Ready to Apply?

If you're passionate about service design, customer experience, and helping organisations deliver meaningful change, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply directly by completing the online application form and submitting your CV and cover letter. Your cover letter will be a key part of our assessment process, so please highlight your experience designing and delivering service improvements, and explain how your skills align with the requirements of this role.

We want to ensure accessibility needs are well supported, so the recruitment process is fair and equitable for all. Please let us know if there is any support we can provide to ensure the recruitment process is fully accessible to you.

If you have any questions about the role or application process, contact the Recruitment team at recruitment@caa.govt.nz.

Applications close: 7 September

Please be aware that we may start shortlisting as applications come in. We encourage early applications, as the advertisement may close sooner than stated.