Senior User Centred Designer

About the Role

Senior User Centered Designer

Permanent • Full Time, 37 hours per week • £60,048 to £70,645 per annum • Location: Chelmsford • Working Style: Anywhere worker • Closing Date: 8th February 2026

Join a Council shaping the future of public services. Essex County Council (ECC) is ambitious and by 2030 will be one of the most forward looking, effective and financially sustainable councils in the country. ECC will be a leading-edge digital council driving excellent customer service with transformation at the heart of service excellence. The vision for the Architecture and Design area is to focus on user-centred design, data-driven innovation and future-proofing architecture.

This role is responsible for developing service designs that support the council’s ambition to become a leading digital council and deliver better public services for citizens and businesses in Essex. The postholder will champion a user-centred, service design approach through the entire process, from Discovery to roll-out and ongoing service improvement. They will align user research and service design methods to develop a deep understanding of the people that use ECC services and identify opportunities to improve service outcomes and efficiency. As a lead member of a multi-skilled team covering service design and user research, the postholder will be proficient in both domains and an expert in one.

To read more about our business area, please visit: Corporate Services.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design work of multidisciplinary teams, specifying and designing end-to-end digital services that meet user needs and business objectives, and ensuring the work is consistent with organisational standards and Government Accessibility Regulations.
• Accountable for working collaboratively with service areas to scope new service design statements of work that should be considered for approval based on ECC’s strategic aims and financial considerations.
• Use visual tools to align stakeholders on project goals, progress, and outcomes, and develop compelling narratives that effectively communicate complex service design concepts to engage stakeholders and foster collaborative decision-making.
• Responsible for identifying and developing service patterns and standards to create consistent user experiences across services and efficient service delivery built on common components.
• Lead the development and selection of appropriate design standards, methods and tools and ensure they are applied effectively and that all work is documented using the appropriate standards, methods and tools, to ensure best practice in service design and user research is applied to complex and technically challenging projects.
• Oversee the planning, arrangement and facilitation of appropriate user research using a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods and take responsibility for the ethical conduct of this research to industry standards.
• Communicate to council teams an understanding of the diversity of users of government services, advocate for inclusive practices and help design and deliver inclusive and accessible services that work for all users.
• Proactively contribute to Communities of Practice and support the Head of Design in coaching and mentoring business architects and user-centred designers to develop a team of multi-skilled individuals.
• Operational planning and performance review, to maintain exceptional service delivery and ensure the political objectives and priorities of the council are met.
• Work collaboratively within and across functions and think commercially to support the delivery of best possible outcomes for customers on a financially sustainable basis.
• Maintain and nurture collaborative relationships with other teams in the function and external organisations that support the delivery of annual plans.
• Implement changes and continually evaluate the service to improve the area of work, while maintaining continual delivery of the highest possible levels of service quality.
• Manage complex issues and resources to meet the needs of customers and deliver the best possible outcomes.
• Use professional expertise to translate goals and plans into ways of working that comply with relevant legislation and statutory requirements, managing an appropriate level of risk.
• Deliver exemplary customer interactions to individuals and communities, supporting strong relationships and a reputation for achieving outcomes and resolving issues.
• Champion the value of user-centred design and user research across the council and work openly to promote awareness and understanding among all staff to put the user at the centre of their thinking.
• Delegate responsibility for project budgets authorising low-level spend and tracking spend commitments.
• People management responsibility for fixed-term project teams (approx. 6-8) of multi-disciplined professionals.
• Influence internal stakeholders and multiple external stakeholders.
• Provide critical input to complex projects with significant cross-council impact and high reputational risk.

Experience You Will Bring

• Educated to RQF level 6 (bachelor’s degree) in design, research or equivalent by experience.
• Experience of successfully delivering user-centered design in Agile environments.
• Experience of balancing the needs of users with organisational priorities to make the right decisions and empower teams to act upon them.
• Proven ability to understand technical complexity, risks and communicate this in simple and accessible language to a wide range of audiences.
• Experience of developing ideas using sketching, prototyping (including working with developers to prototype in code), testing tools and iterative design to ensure services meet user needs.
• Experience of using analytics and user insight to define, improve and guide decision making.
• Experience of building and nurturing teams to adopt a range of user-centered design and delivery practices and embed them into their agile workflow.
• Knowledge and practical application of the Government Service Standards, Government Accessibility Regulations and Information Governance principles.
• Proven evidence of continuing professional development knowledge relevant to technology operations, remaining abreast of developments in delivery and new ways of working, professional development and expert knowledge in the relevant professional area.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone’s Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026.

Equal Opportunities

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader and commits to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under the Job Interview Scheme, provided they meet the minimum requirements. We are also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers who meet the minimum requirements of the role. We provide reasonable adjustments where required.

Contact

If you have queries on this role or require further information, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk.