Senior Interaction Designer

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA); Swansea; Hybrid; GBP 41,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employer pension 28.97%

25 days annual leave

8 Bank Holidays

Career development opportunities

Job summary

DVLA in Swansea is seeking a Senior Interaction Designer to shape how users interact with services, guiding complex design decisions with minimal supervision and mentoring others.

You will lead design projects, apply government design patterns, and drive usability across OCSD priorities. Strong communication and leadership are essential to influence stakeholders at all levels and deliver high-quality experiences.

Qualifications

• Sound understanding and practical experience of interaction design.
• Ability to lead design projects and implement user-centred design with government patterns.

Responsibilities

• Work with service managers and programme directors to develop design concepts and align work to strategic objectives.
• Prioritise, create and iterate prototypes at higher fidelities for usability testing, including dynamic HTML.
• Explain design decisions to stakeholders outside of design to achieve objectives and document decisions, risks and issues.

Skills

Interaction design

Prototyping

Leadership

Job description

Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 22nd November 2026

Location:

Swansea (This role is suitable for hybrid working)

Salary:

£45,900 - A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Interaction designers work out the best way to let users interact with services, in terms of both overall flow and at the level of individual design elements.

A senior interaction designer is an experienced designer who works with minimal support and can influence and mentor others. They will help set direction on complex design activities and embed good practice within teams.

The role helps drive the delivery of Operations and Customer Services Directorate (OCSD) Key Priorities, Service Level Agreements, Secretary of State and Agency targets. This role is undertaken in a people focussed environment that champions recognition, involvement, development and support for all and is performed in line with Civil Service values.

Top Responsibilities

• Work with service managers and programme directors to develop design concepts and help the team align their work to strategic objectives whilst being a champion for user centred design across the organisation.
• Prioritise, create and iterate prototypes at higher fidelities for usability testing, including dynamic HTML, whilst potentially having responsibility across complex services.
• Explain complex design decisions, standards and restrictions to stakeholders outside of design to help achieve objectives. Document design decisions, risks and issues and build consensus around mitigating design assumptions.
• Make important decisions based on research and understand how this research impacts others by observing live research sessions. Analyse all available research evidence to understand user feedback on complex design issues to support future usability testing.

For more information on the role and responsibilities please see the full job advert on CS Jobs using the link provided.

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary.
• 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.

About You

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

• We are looking for someone with a sound understanding and practical experience of interaction design and can effectively produce design concepts, based on user needs, through to prototyping.
• You will be able to lead design projects and have experience of implementing user centred design with government design patterns in mind.
• You are someone who has excellent leadership skills with the ability to motivate and guide the team to deliver key priorities. You’ll have the ability to provide leadership to all direct reports to ensure that all strategic objectives are met, and quality standards continue to improve.
• You will bring excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build relationships, work with, and influence colleagues and stakeholder at all levels, both internal and external and to talk about your work with wider audiences.

This vacancy closes at 23:55 on Sunday 22nd November 2026