Senior Interaction Designer

Manchester Digital; Salford; Hybrid; GBP 59,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Civil Service Pension

25 days annual leave

Public holidays off

Job summary

Home Office is seeking a Senior Interaction Designer to design accessible digital services and lead an interaction design team. You will mentor others, work within an agile environment, and help transform government services to be simpler, faster and more user-friendly.

You’ll shape CRM systems and support strategic initiatives using Microsoft Dynamics, aligning with government standards and user needs.

Qualifications

• Leads evidence-based design initiatives for significant projects with multiple stakeholders.
• Manages prototyping and concept creation for high-impact projects and guides juniors.
• Guides the interaction design process balancing user needs, tech constraints and business goals.
• Applies accessibility standards and understands internet technology constraints.
• Coaches and mentors other interaction designers, providing feedback.
• Advocates for UCD to varied audiences and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Identify, develop and apply best practices to design services consistent with government standards.
• Line manage and mentor interaction designers, assign tasks and provide guidance.
• Advocate for users to design simple, accessible services.
• Create prototypes and concepts to communicate ideas and test with users.
• Map user journeys and visualise design problems.
• Collaborate in a multidisciplinary team, facilitating design processes and workshops.

Skills

Evidence-based design

Prototyping and concept creation

Interaction design

Accessibility and inclusion

Managing people and leading

Communicate, persuade and advocate

Tools

Microsoft Dynamics

Job description

We’re looking for a Senior Interaction Designer who is enthusiastic about designing accessible services that are simple enough for everyone to use. The Enablers Portfolio supports essential areas of the Home Office by creating, maintaining, and managing key technology solutions. We work closely with colleagues within and outside of Home Office Digital including Human Resources, Finance, Estates, Commercial, Security, Communications, and Science, Technology, Analysis and Research teams. Together, we enable smarter, more connected digital experiences across the Home Office.

You could be part of a team shaping the Home Office customer relationship management systems, supporting strategic initiatives using Microsoft dynamics.

You’ll determine the best way for users to interact with services, the overall flow and individual design elements. You will mentor and train other designers, supporting the growth and development of the interaction design team.

You will have an understanding of the way the internet works and have experience of designing in an agile environment. You must be driven to help government transform the way it delivers services so that they are simpler, faster and easier to use.

You can learn more about design and research in the Home Office on our blog:

We have a thriving user-centred design (UCD) community.

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working.Where this is the case, employees will be expected to spend a minimum of60% of their working time in the office.Applicants can raise any queries to the email address at the bottom of the advert.

Watch this short videoto hear from members of Home Office Digital talking about the projects they work on and their experience of working here: Working for Home Office Digital. Working for Home Office Digital.

Your main day to day responsibilities will be:

• Identifying, developing and using best practice and standards to design services consistent with the rest of government and the Home Office.
• Line managing, supporting and mentoring interaction designers, allocating tasks and providing them with guidance, training and constructive feedback.
• Advocating for users and understanding user needs to design simple, effective and accessible services.
• Creating prototypes and concepts to communicate and test ideas with users and improving with evidence.
• Mapping user journeys, processes and visualising design problems.
• Collaborating within a multidisciplinary team on large, complex services by facilitating the design process, participating in research activities, workshops and communicating design decisions to the team and stakeholders.

Person specification

Working Pattern

This role is available on a full-time basis with the option of compressed hours working. This role is also suitable for part-time working hours, with a minimum requirement to work 3 days per week due to business requirements.

Essential skills

• Evidence-based design: leads evidence-based design initiatives for significant projects, often involving complex user needs and multiple stakeholders. Mentors junior staff in evidence-based design methodologies.
• Prototyping and concept creation: manages the prototyping and concept creation process for high-impact projects. Applies advanced techniques, like interactive and complex prototyping in code, to validate and refine concepts. Provides guidance to junior team members.
• Interaction design: able to manage and guide the interaction design process for complex projects. Balances user needs, technical constraints, and business objectives to achieve optimal design solutions.
• Accessibility and inclusion: applying accessibility standards, understanding how the internet works and the technology constraints that may need to be considered in design.
• Managing people and leading: coaching and mentoring other interaction designers, growing skills, and providing constructive feedback on work.
• Communicate, persuade and advocate: talking about, and advocating for UCD to various audiences and stakeholders, in a way that other people understand

Technical skills

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

• Evidence-based design – Level 4
• Prototyping and concept creation – Level 4
• Accessibility and inclusion – Level 3
• Managing people and leading – Level 3
• Communicate, persuade and advocate – Level 4

Alongside your salary of £62,732, Home Office contributes £18,173 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).

Why work for us...

Find out more information at: Benefits - Home Office Careers, but some of the primary ones are:

• A Civil Service Pension with employer contribution rates of at least 28.97%.
• In-year reward scheme for one-off or sustained exceptional personal or team achievements.
• 25 days annual leave on appointment, rising with service.
• 8 days of public holidays, plus 1 additional privilege day.
• Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office.