Senior Interaction Designer in Preston

Pay up to £68,205, plus 28.97% employer pension contributions, hybrid working, flexible hours, and great work-life balance. We are looking for an outstanding Senior Interaction Designer to help design and deliver accessible, user-centred digital services for the UK Government. You will work within multidisciplinary teams to create clear, inclusive experiences that support citizens and colleagues alike. This role combines hands-on design, strong decision-making, and collaboration, using research, analytics, and prototyping to shape high-quality services. As a senior practitioner, you will lead where needed, mentor others, contribute to shared design patterns, and play an active role in the DWP design community.

DWP is the UK's largest government department. We help people into work and make payments worth over £195bn a year to support and empower millions of people. The scale of what we do is extraordinary, and our purpose is unique. We would love you to join us.

What skills, knowledge and experience will you need?

• Evidence-Led & Context-Based Design: Demonstrates the ability to lead the design of solutions grounded in user research, data, and evidence. Influences outcomes by identifying gaps in knowledge and ensuring design decisions are informed by context and insight.
• Prototyping Expertise: Extensive experience using a wide range of prototyping tools and methodologies. Provides guidance and sets best practice for prototyping to support iterative design and informed decision-making.
• Communication & Facilitation: Highly effective communicator, able to present work and articulate design rationale clearly to varied audiences. Actively listens to others' perspectives and facilitates constructive discussions to reach shared understanding.
• Accessibility & Inclusive Design: Champions inclusive design practices, with strong knowledge of WCAG 2.2 guidelines and experience designing services that meet AA accessibility standards.
• Collaboration & Design Leadership: Significant experience working in the open and actively engaging others throughout the design process. Provides advice on improving ways of working to enhance collaboration across teams. Leads and contributes to design community activities across workstreams and departmental areas.

You will play a key role in creating accessible, user-centred experiences that support citizens, agents, and DWP colleagues. Working within either the Digital Modernisation & Efficiency (DME) team or the Health and Disability team, you will collaborate closely with multidisciplinary teams, valuing shared ownership, constructive challenge, and collective problem-solving over hierarchy. You will bring excellent attention to detail, a strong commitment to quality, and confidence in making design decisions that support well-assured, high-performing services. In this role, you will demonstrate best practice in user-centred design across both digital and non-digital interactions, championing accessibility and inclusion and considering the impact of emerging technologies. You will use research and analytics to understand user needs, identify opportunities, and create effective prototypes using appropriate tools and methodologies. You will work collaboratively across teams, contribute to shared design patterns, and provide constructive feedback to other designers, adapting quickly in a fast-paced delivery environment. As a senior practitioner, you will lead and coordinate design work where needed, support and mentor other designers, and actively contribute to the design community within DWP and across government.

Details:

• Location: You will join us in one of our brilliant digital hubs in Birmingham, Blackpool, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, or Sheffield, whichever is most convenient for you.
• Hybrid Working: We work a hybrid model - you will spend some time working at home and some time collaborating face to face in a hub.
• Pay: We offer competitive pay of up to £68,205.
• Pension: You will get a brilliant civil service pension with employer contributions worth 28.97%.
• Holidays: A generous leave package starting at 26 days rising to 31 days over time. You can also take up to 3 extra days off a month on flexi-time. You will also get all the usual public holidays.

We have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

• Flexible working including flexible hours and flex-friendly policies.
• Time off volunteering and charitable giving.
• Bring your authentic self to work with 'I Can Be Me in DWP'.
• Discounts and savings on shopping, fun days out, and more.
• Interest-free loans to buy a bike or a season ticket, so it’s even easier for you to get to work and start making a difference.
• Sports and social activities.
• Professional development, coaching, mentoring, and career progression opportunities.

And we have an award-winning environment and culture:

• DWP have been recognised as 2024 Diversity Employer of the Year at the Computing Women in Tech Excellence awards.
• Diverse and Inclusive Leadership at Digital Leaders Awards.
• Commended as Best Place to Work in Digital category in the Computing Digital Technology Leaders awards 2025.
• Recognised as one of the Best Public Sector Employers at 2025 Women In Digital Awards.

Process: We know your time is valuable so our application and selection process is just two stages:

• Apply: complete your application on Civil Service Jobs. There will be full instructions when you click through.
• Interview: a single stage interview online.

CLICK APPLY for more information and to start your application.