Senior Interaction Designer - Newport in Milton Keynes

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is seeking a senior interaction designer to contribute to its digital transformation. This role involves designing user-centred public services at scale within multidisciplinary teams, aligning with Government Design Principles.

Key responsibilities include:

• Identifying and resolving complex public infrastructure issues.
• Promoting best practices and standards in user centred design.
• Mentoring junior designers.
• Taking ownership of design activities, such as facilitating critiques and documenting user journeys.
• Possessing excellent leadership, collaboration, presentation, and communication skills to work effectively with various stakeholders.

Working Style:

This role will be carried out in-line with IPO Hybrid working arrangements where staff are currently expected to spend at least 20% of their time working onsite from one of our offices. This role is based in our Newport Office.

Main duties consist of but are not limited to:

• Design and Develop User-Centred Services: Work in agile, multidisciplinary teams to rapidly develop design concepts for complex transformation programs, collaborating with service managers and programme directors. This includes actively participating in user research, creating prototypes, and designing user interactions across various channels, devices, and technologies, all while being able to justify design decisions with evidence and data.
• Promote and Implement Design Excellence: Champion a consistent, high-quality user experience by promoting reusable design elements and best practices across the IPO and wider government communities. This involves contributing to user-centred design standards and guidance, utilising the GOV.UK Design System, and ensuring designs meet accessibility, legal, and security requirements, as well as the GOV.UK Service Standard.
• Lead and Mentor Design Professionals: Provide management support, coaching, mentoring, and training to other designers, focusing on their development, the quality of their work, and ensuring adherence to best practices.

Person specification:

Essential criteria:

• Experience working effectively in an agile, multi-disciplinary team environment, delivering iterative design components as part of a project team.
• Experience in designing accessible solutions across various channels to meet customer needs.
• Proven ability to produce essential user-centred design deliverables, such as user flows, process flows, service blueprints, and site maps.
• Proficient in using prototyping tools like GOV.UK Prototype Kit, Figma, or Adobe XD to create and validate high-fidelity prototypes.
• Experience in conducting usability testing, either independently or collaboratively with user researchers.
• Demonstrated experience working with the GOV.UK Design System, Service Manual, and design principles, including the ability to recommend new patterns or update existing ones within the system.
• Experience in leading community of practice activities.
• Proven ability to mentor and coach designers across the UCD profession.

How to Apply:

Click the 'Apply now' button and complete the application form by providing the following:

• Your CV: Upload an anonymised copy of your current CV. Please remove all identifying markers such as name, title, education institution etc. Make sure it clearly shows how you meet the essential criteria listed in the Person Specification.
• 750-word Personal Statement: Use this to explain why you're suitable for the role. Structure your statement around the essential criteria in the Person Specification. Make sure to provide clear examples to show how you meet each requirement.

Behaviours: We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Working Together
• Developing Self and Others
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits:

Alongside your salary of 47,766, Intellectual Property Office contributes 13,837 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Benefits include:

• Unlimited Pluralsight video learning access
• Access to Microsoft's ESI training suite
• Hybrid working with no core hours
• Substantial support for career progression
• 25 days annual leave moving to 30 days in annual increments
• 8 days public leave and 1 day privilege leave

Please note that benefits may be subject to change.

Selection process details:

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours and Experience. Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check and if successful you must also hold, or be willing to obtain, a higher Security Clearance.

Nationality requirements: This job is broadly open to UK nationals, nationals of the Republic of Ireland, nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK, and nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities.