Senior Content Designer

Job summary

Would you like to shape GOV.UK content and digital services used by millions of people?

Can you turn complex information into simple, effective, user-centred content?

Do you enjoy using research, data and insight to design better digital experiences?

If you are passionate about writing quality content, improving accessibility and creating better user experiences, we would love to hear from you.

This is an exciting time to join the Digital, Information and Security Directorate within the Department for Transport as we restructure our directorate to ensure we are ready for future challenges, building a more sustainable, skilled and in-house capability.

Create clarity. Shape services. Put users first. Use research, insight and content design expertise to create accessible digital content that helps millions of people access government information and services.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary –read more about Civil Service Pension contribution rates

• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays and a privilege day for the King’s birthday

• flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance

Read more in the Benefits section below.

Find out more about what it is like working at the Department for Transport.

Job description

Join the Department for Transport's Content Design Team and help create content that makes government services simpler, clearer and more accessible for everyone. As a Senior Content Designer, you will play a lead role in shaping user-centred digital services and GOV.UK content, ensuring people can find and use the information they need quickly and easily.

Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, you will use research, data and user insight to design, write, edit and continually improve content across a range of digital products and services. You will collaborate closely with policy colleagues, service designers, user researchers, legal teams, AI and communications professionals to understand complex topics and turn them into clear, accessible content that meets user needs.

You'll help champion content design best practice, influence stakeholders, support the development of others and contribute to the wider government content community. Whether improving an existing service, creating online forms and surveys, writing content or helping shape strategic approaches to content design, your work will have a direct impact on how people interact with government services.

Your responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• project managing publishing requests from initial advice to officials to the delivery of high-quality content and services on time and on budget
• collaborating with internal policy, comms and service design teams to understand their needs, pair write content and mark-up content to meet tight deadlines
• providing advice on the best ways to ensure that content and services are accessible and usable
• building relationships across the department to increase focus on meeting user needs, improve compliance with accessibility regulations and promote early engagement with content designers

Read the role profile for more information about the role. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only – whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Person specification

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

• expert content writing, editing and proofreading skills, including a strong command of grammar, spelling, punctuation and tone of voice
• proven ability to translate complex information into plain English that meets user needs
• demonstrable experience of applying and championing content standards, accessibility requirements and editorial style guides
• practical experience of using evidence, research and analytics to improve content
• member of, or willing to join, the Content Design Academy and complete the learning content design package
• understand, or be willing to learn, agile working practices

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 30 hours per week.

Under a flexible rota, you will be required to provide on-call out-of-hours and weekend cover for publishing to GOV.UK for up to 15 weekends per year.

Occasional travel to other offices will be required, which may involve overnight stays.

This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.

The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location/visiting stakeholders. Your designated workplace will be your contractual place of work. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.

If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).

Visa Sponsorship

DfTc does not offer Visa Sponsorship for this role.

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills

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

• Senior Content Designer - Design communication
• Senior Content Designer - Designing for everyone

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,241, Department for Transport contributes £12,816 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).

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary – read more about Civil Service Pension contribution rates

• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave)

• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday

• access to the staff discount portal

• excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc

• joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues

• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff

• flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance

Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies.

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, Experience and Technical skills.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement

Stage 2: Interview

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

Stage 1: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited word count) and personal statement (1000 word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:

• expertise in writing, editing, and proofreading to content standards and editorial style guides, including a strong command of grammar, spelling, punctuation and tone of voice
• rewriting complex language and processes into simple-to-understand plain English content and services that meet both organisational and user needs
• planning and managing content requests from initial advice to stakeholders, through multiple iterations, to the delivery of high-quality online content, forms, surveys and services, while working to challenging deadlines
• building effective relationships across an organisation to champion user-centred design, improve compliance with accessibility regulations and promote early engagement with content designers

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

The sift will take place from week commencing Monday 7th September 2026.

Stage 2: Interview

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Managing a Quality Service
• Technical – Design communication, Designing for everyone
• Experience

You will also need to complete a written exercise to assess the technical element. We will provide guidance if you are invited to interview.

The interviews will take place from week commencing Monday 12th October 2026.

This interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. We will provide details should you be selected for interview.

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site.

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.

Further information on the selection process

We will also hold a 12-month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for.

During your application, you should indicate which location(s) you wish to be considered for and, if successful, you will be placed on an individual list of candidates for each location. Candidates will be held on that list and drawn from it in merit order. We advise you to carefully consider which locations you wish to be considered for. If you decline an offer for a location you have expressed a preference in or have expressed an interest in more than one location and accept an offer, you will be withdrawn from any lists you may be held on. We may also offer candidates a location that they have not expressed a preference for where we have the requirement to do so but this will again be done on the basis of your place in the overall merit order and, in this event, you will not be removed from the list if you decline.

Appointments for this position will be made in order of merit. If you are successful in the selection process but there are no further available posts for the advertised role, you may be contacted to discuss an offer for a lower graded role (with similar experience and responsibility requirements).

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert or the information on our website, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit theHow We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Pre-employment Checking

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

All external applicants and current employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be required to undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check is a review of your publicly available online activity, typically across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and others. The purpose is to identify any public posts or content that could raise concerns for employers, such as:

• Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour
• Threats or acts of violence
• Illegal activity or substance misuse
• Sexually explicit material
• Extremist views or affiliations

Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public. Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It’s not about judging your personality or lifestyle - it’s about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture. If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what’s being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly.

Feedback

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) 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

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.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 : Gavin Dispain
• Email : gavin.dispain@dft.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website Here

Attachments

Senior Content designer SEO Role Profile Opens in new window (pdf, 229kB)Candidate Information Pack - Create Opens in new window (pdf, 604kB)