Senior Service Designer in Manchester

We are recruiting for a Senior Service Designer to join the GOV.UK Design System Team. The GOV.UK Design System provides teams across government with the styles, components and patterns they need to design and build user‑centered digital services.

As a senior service designer, you will be working across the end‑to‑end experience of the Design System, collaborating closely with other disciplines to spot opportunities for improvement as we think about our role and growth in the context of a multi‑channel GOV.UK. As a user‑centred design practitioner, you’ll be ensuring that our products are consistently inclusive, accessible and easy to use for our users. You will also be expected to engage with our active community of users, working closely with our user researcher and community designer to continuously update our engagement practices and product offering.

As a Senior Service Designer You’ll:

• Lead and coordinate service design work in your team, supporting other designers where necessary.
• Work effectively in a multidisciplinary, agile environment, adapting quickly to changes in requirements, priorities or user needs.
• Use research and analytics to understand users' needs, identify service failures and test different designs.
• Design collaboratively and in the open, engaging your whole team with the design process and adapting it if necessary.
• Champion accessibility and inclusion, consider the impact of new technologies and ensure that designs meet legal requirements.
• Collaborate with designers in other teams and departments, reviewing each other’s work and developing shared patterns.

Person specification

This role requires a strong design background with experience in service design and a user‑centred approach. You should also demonstrate excellent communication and collaboration skills.

We’re Interested In People Who Have:

• Experience in designing the full lifecycle of services for users in complex environments and for digital experience.
• Experience in making effective decisions with user research data.
• Experience of working with senior stakeholders and ability to negotiate important design decisions.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to adapt their style to different audiences.
• Experience of engaging with people in a variety of ways (e.g. workshops or co‑design activities) and at a variety of scales.
• An understanding of the importance of inclusive, equitable, accessible and sustainable public services.
• Experience of working in an agile, multidisciplinary and collaborative environment.
• Experience of guiding, supporting and mentoring others.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £55,403, Government Digital Service contributes £16,050 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

There Are Many Benefits Of Working At GDS, Including:

• Flexible hybrid working with flexi‑time and the option to work part‑time or condensed hours.
• A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.
• 25 days of annual leave, increasing by a day each year up to a maximum of 30 days.
• An extra day off for the King’s birthday.
• An in‑year bonus scheme to recognise high performance.
• Career progression and coaching, including a training budget for personal development.
• A focus on wellbeing with access to an employee assistance programme.
• Job satisfaction from making government services easier to use and more inclusive for people across the UK.
• Advances on pay, including for travel season tickets.
• Cycle to work scheme and facilities.
• Access to an employee discounts scheme.
• 10 learning days per year.
• Volunteering opportunities (5 special leave days per year).
• Access to a suite of learning activities through Civil Service learning.

Office attendance

The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non‑home based location for 40‑60% of the time over the accounting period.

Selection process details

• An application screening process.
• A short task, which we will give you the day before the interview. You will be given 20 mins at the beginning of the interview to work on the task.
• A 90 minute interview.

How To Apply

If this role is a good fit for you, you must submit all 3 of these for your application to be considered:

• A cover letter (500 words) to tell us about you and why you are suitable for this role, addressing the points in the “person specification” section above.
• A CV to show us your work history.
• A URL to your portfolio in your cover letter or CV to show some examples of your design work, alternatively you can email it directly to gdsrecruitment@dsit.gov.uk (referencing your application number).

Recruitment Timeline

Sift completion: 06.02.2026. Panel interviews: W/C 16.02.2026. Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade. A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.

Location

Whilst this role’s location is Bristol / Manchester, if you are a current Civil servant working in DSIT and based in London, you are also able to apply for this role. If you are successful, you will retain your London location and pay.

Other Employment Considerations

Any move to Government Digital Service from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.