Senior Interaction Designer

Job summary

At the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) our mission is to prepare for, prevent and respond to infectious diseases and environmental hazards to keep all our communities safe, to save lives and protect livelihoods. We are a trusted source of advice to government and to the public, focusing on reducing inequalities in the way different communities experience and are impacted by threats to health.

You will be joining the Chief Medical Advisor Directorate which provides trusted clinical and public health leadership through expert advice, guidance, epidemiological insights and evidence. The group leads and delivers services protecting the population from hazards locally, nationally and globally.

The role sits within the UKHSA’s core User-Centred Design (UCD) team, which is part of the Readiness and Surge division. Readiness and Surge works across UKHSA and sets the strategic direction for UKHSA’s readiness to respond to all threats and hazards. We focus on Agency capability, putting external stakeholder and customer needs at the centre of designs for the future. We identify opportunities to improve public health outcomes through better user experiences.

Job description

As a senior interaction designer, you’ll work as part of a multidisciplinary squad collaborating with teams across UKHSA. This role involves providing strategy, guidance and support to internal teams across UKHSA to ensure that their policies, services and products are user centred.

Senior interaction designers provide creative thinking, technical understanding and innovative approaches.

As an experienced practitioner, you’ll be comfortable assuring best practice. You’ll lead and mentor others within the team, including coaching stakeholders and professionals from other disciplines in service and interaction design and user-centricity.

You’ll deliver high-quality interactive prototypes across diverse projects, serving a range of user types, and will be comfortable innovating approaches to solve complex usability issues without compromising accessibility.

Together with other UCD professions, you’ll ensure quality, innovation, and creativity in how we approach all aspects of design and how we bring concepts to life for stakeholders to effect change.

You’ll be an active part of the UCD community. As a senior leader you’ll actively encourage, facilitate, and demonstrate sharing of insights and practices within the community and across the organisation.

This role is aligned to https://ddat-capability-framework.service.gov.uk/role/interaction-designer#senior-interaction-designer

The team are responsible for:

• Embedding UCD approaches into UKHSA ways of working
• UCD expertise in project delivery
• Ensuring user needs are understood and designed for, advocating for all users, to achieve equitable outcomes
• Ensuring our products are accessible and developed to the Government Service Standard and use appropriate style guides and patterns
• Leading the UKHSA-wide UCD community of practice to support organisational and in-profession development
• Standards for UCD professionals

As a senior interaction designer, you’ll:

• Act as a recognised and credible expert in interaction design, advocating for the value of a user-centred, inclusive, and evidence-based approach to interaction design and delivery
• Influencing programme or project roadmaps to embed effective and user-centred design practice
• Provide design leadership by working collaboratively with your team, and wider project teams, to plan and deliver effective design work
• Analyse, synthesise and clearly explain complex evidence relevant to users, balancing user needs with business, operational and technical requirements
• Identify solutions to complex problems within services, and support these by developing design concepts
• Independently prototype complex ideas at an appropriate fidelity
• Adapt designs quickly to changes in requirements, priorities or user needs
• Clearly document and communicate design decisions, related risks and any unresolved issues
• Make actionable recommendations based on insights and communicate these to stakeholders clearly and confidently
• Build relationships and work closely with stakeholders, demonstrating the value of interaction design within the organisation and beyond
• Improve design practice by using a range of design techniques and encouraging others to think of alternative ways to conduct design work, developing the practical experience of non-specialists
• Identify and create new design patterns and components, contributing to a library of assets for UKHSA designers
• Actively participate in the UCD community of practice, fostering a culture of continuous professional development, working openly and collaboratively to contribute to building the service design capability
• Line manage staff, undertaking the full range of line management responsibilities as well as providing coaching and support to staff across UKHSA

Person specification

Essential criteria:

To be considered for this role, you’ll need:

• Significant experience in interaction design with experience of using user-centred design methods, best practice and appropriate tooling to explore problems and opportunities within large, complex organisations
• To be able to communicate and demonstrate the importance of designing inclusive, equitable, accessible and sustainable services
• Significant experience of iteratively improving designs based on research and feedback
• Proven leadership skills in planning and delivering design activities, using a collaborative approach and working directly with other professions to deliver high-quality outputs
• Significant experience of various prototyping tools and methods to deliver interactive prototypes, demonstrating ability to create designs that are accessible without compromising delivery timelines
• To be able to identify and create new design patterns and components working within the standards for government services
• Experience of managing stakeholder relationships and influencing others to gain support for user-centred standards, strategies, and ways of working
• To be able to effectively communicate with developer colleagues, leveraging knowledge of front-end languages to ensure designs are developed to standard and remain accessible
• Experience of coaching and mentoring other interaction designers

Desirable criteria:

You may also have experience of:

• Coding using HTML/CSS
• The GOV.UK Prototype Kit and associated hosting technologies
• Government service assessments

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,185, UK Health Security Agency contributes £16,276 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce. UKHSA's ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

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

Selection Process Details (Success Profiles)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your technical skills and experience

*Please note*

The User Centred Design Team will be running a webinar on the 7th of May at 15.00 to give you an opportunity to hear more about the roles we're currently advertising and speak to some of our team. This is a great opportunity learn more about our culture, the kind of things we do in UKHSA and general advice on the application process. If you would like to attend, please contact faye.churchill@ukhsa.gov.uk who will email you an Teams invite.

Stage 1: Application & Sift

Success profiles Success Profiles - GOV.UK

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed 9 essential criteria, and this will be in the form of a:

• Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
• 1000 word supporting statement.

This should outline how you consider your skills, experience and knowledge provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.

You will receive a joint score for your application form and statement. (The application form is the kind of information you would put into your C.V –please be advised you will not be able to upload your CV. Please complete the application form in as much detail as possible). Please do not email us your CV.

Healthjobs UK has a word limit of 1500, but your supporting statement must be no more than 1000 words. We will not consider any words over 1000 words.

Longlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will longlist into 3 piles of:

• Meets all essential criteria
• Meets some essential criteria
• Meets no essential criteria

If used, the pile that meets all essential criteria will proceed to shortlisting

Shortlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we may conduct an initial sift, on the lead criteria of

• Significant experience in interaction design with experience of using user-centred design methods, best practice and appropriate tooling to explore problems and opportunities within large, complex organisations
• Significant experience of various prototyping tools and methods to deliver interactive prototypes, demonstrating ability to create designs that are accessible without compromising delivery timelines
• Significant experience of iteratively improving designs based on research and feedback

Desirable criteria may be used in the event of a large number of applications/large amount of successful candidates.

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview & assessment.

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview

You will be invited to a single remote interview.

Technical skills questions will be asked at interview.

Your capability for this role will be assessed against the essential criteria and your technical skills as a service designer. The technical skills to be assessed for this role are:

• Designing for everyone
• Designing together
• Evidence based design
• Iterative design

There will also be a Presentation:

• This will be centred around your understanding of user centred design and service design, to help us understand more about you and your skills and experience.

Further details of this will be shared if you are invited to interview.

Interviews dates to be confirmed.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Eligibility Criteria

External: Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including internal applicants).

Location

This role is being offered as hybrid working based at any of our Core HQs. We offer great flexible working opportunities at UKHSA and operate using a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata, (averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's core HQs (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London). Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport links and benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Security Clearance Level Requirement

Successful candidates must pass a basic disclosure and barring security check before they can be appointed.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Baseline Personnel Security Standard.

Salary Information

If you are successful at interview, and are moving from another government department, NHS, or Local Authority, the relevant starting salary principles for level transfers or promotions will apply. Otherwise, roles are offered at the pay scale minimum for the grade, but in exceptional circumstances there may be flexibility if you are able to demonstrate you are already in receipt of an existing, higher salary.

Pay increases are through the relevant annual pay award for the role and terms.

Please be aware that the salary is based on the office location.

Senior Executive Officer (SEO)

• £41,983- £48,128 (National)
• £44,148- £50,121 (Outer London)
• £46,310- £52,113 (Inner London)

Future location

UKHSA is investing in a new state-of-the-art National Biosecurity Centre in Harlow, Essex, which will eventually bring together teams currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale and Porton Down. For more details, please see https://www.gov.uk/government/news/huge-biosecurity-centre-investment-to-boost-pandemic-protection The new facilities will start becoming operational in the mid-2030s, with full completion by 2038. Staff will move in phases as facilities become available. If you're appointed to a role currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale or Porton Down, please note that we'll continue investing in these sites for the next decade. As we get closer to the transition, we'll provide full information about relocation support available to staff.

Reasonable Adjustments

The Civil Service is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone. To help you during the recruitment process, we will consider any
reasonable adjustments that could help you. An adjustment is a change to the recruitment process or an adjustment at work. This is separate to the Disability Confident Scheme. If you need an adjustment to be made at any point during the recruitment process, you should contact the recruitment team in confidence as soon as possible to discuss your needs. You can find out more information about reasonable adjustments across the Civil Service here: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments/

International Police Check

If you have spent more than 6 months abroad over the last 3 years you may need an International Police Check. This would not necessarily have to be in a single block, and it could be time accrued over that period.

Internal Fraud Check

If successful for this role as one aspect of pre-employment screening, applicant’s personal details – name, national insurance number and date of birth - will be checked against the Cabinet Office Internal Fraud Hub, and anyone included on the database will be refused employment unless they can show exceptional circumstances. Currently this is only for external candidates to the Civil Service.

Careers website

Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers

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.

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 : John Inglis
• Email : john.inglis@ukhsa.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@ukhsa.gov.uk

Further information

The law requires that 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. 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 the UKHSA Complaints team via email at: Complaints@ukhsa.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 for further information: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk