SEO Interaction Designer

Hard Problems; Sheffield; Hybrid; GBP 38,000 - 51,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Civil Service Pension

25 days annual leave

Flexible working

Job summary

The Department for Education in the United Kingdom is seeking an experienced Interaction Designer to join the Apprenticeship service's User‑Centred Design Team. You will report to the Senior Interaction Designer and collaborate with other interaction designers, content designers, user researchers, and service designers across Coventry, Manchester, and Sheffield.

The role offers hybrid working (at least 60% in an office or work setting) with part-time hours from 0.8 FTE.

Qualifications

• Strong prototyping across wireframes, Figma and code.
• Ability to use research and data to drive design decisions.
• Confident stakeholder communication and facilitation.
• Experience designing accessible services (WCAG).
• Experience contributing to design systems, components and patterns.
• Ability to work effectively in agile, multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Design and prototype high-quality user interfaces aligned to user needs and business goals.
• Interpret research and data to make informed design decisions.
• Collaborate across disciplines to shape end-to-end service experiences.
• Ensure designs meet accessibility standards (WCAG) and inclusive design principles.
• Contribute to and help maintain design systems, patterns, and components.
• Communicate design decisions clearly and influence stakeholders.
• Manage and iterate designs independently within agile teams.

Skills

Prototyping across fidelities

Research-driven design

Stakeholder communication

WCAG accessibility

Design systems contribution

Agile team work

HTML/CSS/JS basics

Tools

Figma

GitHub

HTML/CSS/JavaScript

Job description

The Department for Education (DfE) is a UK government department responsible for education, training, and children's services. Its mission is to break the link between background and success by delivering higher standards of education, training, and care. The department employs between 5,001 and 10,000 people and is part of the UK Civil Service.

The role

This Interaction Designer position sits within the Apprenticeship service, a growing User-Centred Design Team. You would report to the Senior Interaction Designer and work alongside other interaction designers, content designers, user researchers, and service designers. The role is available across three locations: Coventry, Manchester, and Sheffield, with hybrid working (at least 60% of time in an office or work setting). Part-time hours are available from a minimum of 0.8 FTE.

What you would do

• Design and prototype high-quality user interfaces aligned to user needs and business goals
• Interpret research and data to make informed design decisions
• Collaborate across disciplines to shape end-to-end service experiences
• Ensure designs meet strict accessibility standards and inclusive design principles (WCAG)
• Contribute to and help maintain design systems, patterns, and components
• Communicate design decisions clearly and influence stakeholders
• Manage and iterate designs independently within agile teams

What they are looking for

Essential:

• Strong prototyping skills across multiple fidelities, including wireframes, Figma, and code using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
• Working knowledge of GitHub or version control systems
• Ability to use research and data to drive design decisions
• Confident stakeholder communication and facilitation skills
• Experience designing accessible services (WCAG and inclusive design)
• Experience contributing to design systems, components, and patterns
• Ability to work effectively in agile, multidisciplinary teams

Desirable (assessed only at interview in a tie-break situation):

• Strong analytical skills to identify and resolve service design issues
• Experience measuring design impact and outcomes

Working arrangements

The role can be based in Coventry (CV1 2WT), Manchester (M1 2WD), or Sheffield (S1 2JF). Most DfE employees work a hybrid pattern, spending at least 60% of their time in an office or work setting. Part-time hours are available from a minimum of 0.8 FTE. The role can only be worked in the UK and not from overseas. Travel to your primary office location is not covered by DfE, but travel to a non-primary office is reimbursed.

Pay and benefits

The salary is £44,305 per year.

DfE contributes £12,835 towards membership of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Staff receive 25 days of annual leave, increasing by one day per year to a maximum of 30 days after five years' service, plus the King's Birthday privilege holiday and 8 bank and public holidays.

Flexible working arrangements are available, including job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time, and compressed hours.