Senior Creative Designer

Job summary

We have an exciting opportunity to work with an Award-winning communications team at Companies House!

The Senior Creative Designer will help lead projects alongside the Head and Deputy Head of Creative. The Senior Creative will be responsible for planning and managing the delivery of one or more projects across various channels while collaborating on internal and external project objectives regarding quality and time. The creative team creates brilliantly visually engaging communications across all external business channels and campaigns with graphics, digital, film, animation, and illustrations, including designing business forms and letters.

You’ll work closely with the more expansive comms team to help manage and create impactful designs, bringing communication campaigns and messages to life. You will also work with the broader business areas on specific projects as and when required. The complexities of communications today require innovative, creative solutions, which sometimes call for bold ways of problem-solving.

Our Creative department is an environment that facilitates the generation and expression of creative thinking, inspiring people to tap into their best ideas with limitless creative potential by constantly seeking to innovate and adopt global best design practices across all communication and design.

Why choose Companies House?

At Companies house we take a proactive approach to wellbeing by promoting a welcoming culture, healthy work life balance and supporting colleagues to be their best in work because we know people are the key to our success.

Our benefits include:

• Flexible working with no core hours (between 6am and 8pm)
• 30 days annual leave
• 8 bank holidays & 1 privilege day
• Enrolment into the Civil Service Pension scheme, with an average employer contribution of 28%

Find out more about what a great place Companies House is to work.

Job description

Please note:

• You will be aligned to our Cardiff office where you will be expected to attend on a regular basis.
• Companies House cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign.
• Due to the nature of the role and team structure, this is a full time position and the successful candidate will be required to work a full time working week, however, we can consider applications from those looking to work compressed hours.

As a Senior Creative Designer you’ll lead and influence across more than one project at a time–delivering projects on time, on budget, and to the highest quality standards. In addition, you will have vast design experience covering digital, animation and video techniques in storytelling.

Typical activities

Manage design projects from conception to delivery

• Project delivery and creative leadership
• Manage design projects from conception through to final delivery.
• Advise communications colleagues on best practice in design, ensuring all outputs promote the reputation of the department and Companies House.
• Confidently present creative concepts and work collaboratively with others to achieve agreed outcomes.
• Create original design concepts independently and as part of a team, including photography, videography, animation, illustration, and infographics.
• Manage multiple design projects concurrently, ensuring deadlines are consistently met.
• Stay up to date with industry trends and emerging best practice.
• Apply organisational brand guidelines and templates, ensuring compliance with GDS and GOV.UK accessibility standards.

Digital and content creation

• Help foster a culture of experimentation, collaboration, and continuous improvement to keep content engaging and relevant.
• Repurpose content for different digital channels and audiences, using campaign and work‑package insights to maximise effectiveness.
• Produce innovative and creative design concepts, artwork, and motion solutions that align with the Companies House corporate identity and brand guidelines.
• Work in partnership with communications colleagues across disciplines to deliver consistent, creative, and strategic external communications.
• Keep up to date with emerging design trends, production techniques, and new technologies, including AI.

Working within the team

• Develop and nurture talent through effective, transparent leadership, acting as a senior member of the creative team.
• Oversee the work of others when acting as senior designer, proactively engaging with colleagues and providing constructive, informed design feedback.
• Ensure seamless integration with other communications functions to support effective project delivery.

About the team

The Creative Team sits within the Strategy, Policy, Communications and Legal directorate, where it leads, shapes, and delivers design solutions and guidance across all aspects of visual communication and brand at Companies House. With a strong focus on accessibility and clarity, the team continually explores innovative technologies to enhance the way we communicate, ensuring every message and design effectively supports our communications objectives and reflects our position as a world‑leading registry with modern, forward‑thinking communications.

Person specification

We're looking for a Senior Creative Designer who can produce and oversee digital or print creative solutions that deliver Companies House's strategic communication objectives.

They should possess in-depth knowledge of graphic design, video production, styles, layout techniques, and managing people and projects efficiently, and be a proficient user in Adobe Creative Cloud suite.

You will need:

• Significant and demonstrable in-house or agency design experience.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Branding and campaign channel understanding and delivery.
• Video, post production and animation production.
• Designing for print and digital experience.
• Knowledge of HTML/CCS coding.
• A good understanding of Adobe Creative Cloud across various applications, like: Indesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, Premier Pro, Adobe Firefly and Adobe Express.
• BA (Hons) in Design or Visual Communication or substantial equivalent experience.

We’re also looking for somebody who:

• Challenges, solves and delivers, exceeding all creative expectations.
• Is passionate about creating stories or messages through film and video (along with editing and storyboarding).
• Can work to tight deadlines and managing competing priorities.
• Can review the work of other designers to give guidance and feedback.
• Pitches ideas confidently and can present the creative vision clearly to clients.
• Can collaborate with other designers across various projects to always create bold and effective creative solutions.
• Can mentor through entry-level coaching team members with best design practices.
• Has an excellent eye for detail to ensure that they’re producing work of a high and accurate standard.
• Identifies common design problems or weaknesses in project briefs or procedures that affect service.
• Can take a lead on setting creative and video direction.
• Provides influencing proactive ideas to enhance department productivity while constantly looking for ways to improve.

Please note - Candidates will be required to submit a design portfolio with their application which will be assessed at sift stage. If you are invited to interview you will be expected to talk through it, explaining your approach, challenges, and measured outcomes. It must demonstrate an all-round design experience and skill and should not only visually showcase your work but provide context to the reason behind it and give a glimpse of how you think and approach projects. More information on this and how to submit your portfolio can be found below under the heading 'Portfolio of Creative Design Work' which can be found in the 'Things you need to know' section.

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

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

• Creative Design

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £36,026, Companies House contributes £10,436 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

We believe that our success is driven by the well-being and satisfaction of our team members at all levels of the organisation. At Companies House we’re committed to providing a comprehensive benefits package that goes beyond the ordinary, ensuring your career journey with us is not only fulfilling, but also rewarding. We pride ourselves on offering a quality work-life balance with our employee wellbeing being central to our working practices.

Head to Our benefits - Working for us - Recruitment (companieshouse.gov.uk) to find out more about the fantastic benefits package we have at Companies House.

We celebrate diversity...

As an equal opportunity employer, we celebrate diversity, being committed to ensuring we’re representative of the citizens we serve and creating an inclusive environment. Everyone in Companies House brings something different, and so will you. To fulfil our commitment to recruiting and attracting diverse talent we welcome applications from underrepresented groups. We also welcome applications from Welsh speakers.

We are proud to be a disability confident leader. Our recruitment process is fully inclusive and we can make adjustments as needed through our process. These could include having an interview buddy, extra time at interviews/assessments and receiving interview questions in advance, to name a few.

If you require any reasonable adjustments at application stage, or if you'd like to discuss any person-centred adjustments, please contact us by emailing recruitmentCH@companieshouse.gov.uk.

Read our 'Applying under the Disability Confidence Scheme (DCS)' guide to find out how to successfully complete an application under the Disability Confidence Scheme (DCS).

Where will you be working?

You will be aligned to our Cardiff office where you will be expected to attend on a regular basis. We are currently using a hybrid approach to the way we work which provides opportunities for you to be adaptable in the way you work so that you can achieve a healthy balance between your work and home life. The degree of choice you have will depend on your role and your day-to-day work activities. Your manager will agree regular patterns of attendance with you, however you may be required to make yourself available to attend the office more frequently when required to meet business needs.

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, Experience and Technical skills.

Key dates (dates are indicative only and could be subject to change)

• Closing date - 18th May 2026, at 23:55
• Sifting - 19th May 2026 onwards
• Interviews - 1st June 2026 onwards, on Microsoft Teams

Communications will be electronic via email therefore it is important that you check your Civil Service Jobs account regularly, as well as your spam/junk email folder.

In your application form we’d like you to:

1. Tell us about your employment history, including any key responsibilities, achievements and qualifications.
2. Provide a URL to your design portfolio. If you do not have a URL to share, please submit a PDF to jshenton@companieshouse.gov.uk, including your application number, after you have submitted your application in Civil Service Jobs. Please see 'Portfolio of Creative Design Work' below for more information.

We will be assessing your work history and design portfolio looking for evidence of the Technical Skill: Creative Design, and the below experience:

• Significant and demonstrable in-house or agency design experience.
• Branding and campaign channel understanding and delivery.
• Video, post production and animation production.
• Designing for print and digital experience.
• Knowledge of HTML/CCS coding.
• A good understanding of Adobe Creative Cloud across various applications, like: Indesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, Premier Pro, Adobe Firefly and Adobe Express.

Portfolio of Creative Design work

Candidates will be required to submit a design portfolio with their application which will be assessed at sift stage. If you are invited to interview you will be expected to talk through it, explaining your approach, challenges, and measured outcomes. It must demonstrate an all-round design experience and skill and should not only visually showcase your work but provide context to the reason behind it and give a glimpse of how you think and approach projects.

Please submit a URL to your design portfolio during the application process in Civil Service Jobs. You can provide this in the personal statement section. Please do not provide any accompanying information alongside it in the text box.

If you do not have a URL to share, please send a PDF design portfolio along with your application number by email to jshenton@companieshouse.gov.uk, once you have submitted your application in Civil Service Jobs.

Any applications that do not contain a URL or have an accompanying PDF design portfolio will be rejected. Any PDF design portfolios must also be submitted by the closing date otherwise they will not be accepted and your application will be rejected. Please include your application number when you send this.

We're committed to being diverse and inclusive, so if possible, please remove identifying personal information such as your name.

What will the process look like?

1. Sift

Once the advert has closed we will sift applications - this involves reading through them all, please bear with us as this can take some time. The panel will look at your work history and submitted design portfolio and will give you a score that reflects all of your application.

At sift, we are assessing the Technical Skill: Creative Design and the below Experience:

• Significant and demonstrable in-house or agency design experience.
• Branding and campaign channel understanding and delivery.
• Video, post production and animation production.
• Designing for print and digital experience.
• Knowledge of HTML/CCS coding.
• A good understanding of Adobe Creative Cloud across various applications, like: Indesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, Premier Pro, Adobe Firefly and Adobe Express.

We may raise the score required if we receive a high number of applications. We may also choose to take through the highest performing candidates to the next stage. If, after the final stage is completed and roles are unfilled, we will proceed to invite lower scoring candidates to interview.

Also, if we receive a high volume of applications, we may carry out a pre-sift and will look at your application for evidence of: Significant and demonstrable in-house or agency design experience. Those applications which are successful at pre-sift stage will then progress to the main sift, where we'll read and score the rest of your application.

2. Interview

Successful candidates from the sift stage will be invited to attend a virtual interview, which will conducted using Microsoft Teams.

Companies House uses a blended interview technique, allowing us to find out more about you. We use the Success Profile framework and at interview we will be assessing Behaviours, Technical Skills and Strengths.

At interview, we will be asking questions relating to the following:

• Behaviours: Delivering at Pace, Communicating and Influencing
• Strengths: Not shared in advance as we want to see your first, natural response

You will also be expected to talk through your submitted creative design portfolio of creative design work, explaining your approach, challenges, and measured outcomes. It must demonstrate an all-round design experience and skill and should not only visually showcase your work but provide context to the reason behind it and give a glimpse of how you think and approach projects. This will assess the Technical Skill: Creative Design.

The lead criteria to distinguish between tied candidates will be the Technical Skill: Creative Design which is assessed through the design portfolio.

3 . Offer

Once all interviews have been completed, you will be notified of the outcome. Offers will be made in strict merit order.

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles (of the same or lower grade). Subject to business need, if a suitable position opens during this time we may reach out to individuals in merit order.

Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of recruitment based on fair and open competition with decisions made on the basis of merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.

Sponsorship

Companies House cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. Companies House holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify. Should you apply for this role and require sponsorship, your application may be rejected, and any provisional offers of employment withdrawn.

Pre-Employment Checking

In line with Government guidance, successfully appointed candidates will need to provide documents for our Right to Work checks.

From June 2026, applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). Your personal details (name, National Insurance number, and date of birth) will be checked against the Civil Service Resourcing Extract 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.

If your details appear on this database, you will not be offered employment unless you can demonstrate exceptional circumstances. Companies House, acting on behalf of the vacancy holder, will inform you if your application is refused for this reason.

Please note: You are 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.

Nationality statement

As part of our recruitment process, it is essential for all candidates to independently verify their eligibility to work in the UK before applying. This includes a thorough check of your right to work to ensure compliance with UK employment laws, being mindful of the recent changes to going rates detailed on GOV.UK.

Please ensure you have the necessary documentation and permissions in place. Our team is dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce and encourages applicants from all backgrounds to apply. However, it is the candidate's responsibility to ensure they meet the UK's legal requirements to work.

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

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 : Jon Shenton
• Email : jshenton@companieshouse.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitmentch@companieshouse.gov.uk

Further information

We welcome applications in Welsh / Rydym yn croesawi ceisiadau yn y Gymraeg. Selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. In accordance with the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles, our recruitment and selection processes are underpinned by the requirement of appointment on the basis of merit by fair and open competition. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact infopoint@companieshouse.gov.uk in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission .

info@csc.gov.uk

Civil Service Commission, Room G/8, 1 Horse Guards Road SW1A 2HQ