At a Glance
- Tasks: Create impactful content for public safety services, focusing on modern slavery and user needs.
- Company: Join the Home Office's innovative Policing and Public Protection Technology team.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, professional development, and the chance to make a real difference.
- Other info: Opportunity for career growth in a supportive, user-centred environment.
- Why this job: Shape critical services and help vulnerable individuals while leading a talented content design team.
- Qualifications: Experience in content design and understanding of complex systems required.
The predicted salary is between 55000 - 65000 £ per year.
You’ll join the Home Office’s Policing and Public Protection Technology (PPPT) portfolio as our first senior content specialist, embedded in a central user‑centred design (UCD) team that works across public safety and homeland security. Your initial focus will be on modern slavery, working on services that sit at the intersection of safeguarding, serious crime and victim support. While modern slavery work can sometimes overlap with areas such as migration and borders, this role does not involve migration or borders policy or delivery. Over time, as demand for modern slavery support evolves, you’ll also have opportunities to work on other products and services across the wider PPPT portfolio.
Day‑to‑day, you'll work directly with the Modern Slavery (MSU), improving how a wide range of people – from emergency service workers and voluntary sector staff to those directly affected – navigate and use critical government services. You'll work with researchers and other designers, challenging assumptions, running workshops, and making complex policy actionable. This is also a leadership role. You'll line manage and help develop content practice across the portfolio, setting the standard and enabling others to meet it. Crucially, we need someone who understands complex systems and can think beyond content, someone who can play an active role in shaping the whole design as well as the words. If you want your work to have real impact and help define what good content design looks like, this role is for you.
Job Description
- Scoping, writing and editing content for complex internal and public‑facing services including those relating to public safety and security.
- Working as part of a multidisciplinary team to identify user needs, write and map user stories, design content plans, and co‑design end‑to‑end services, ensuring content is considered at every stage of the design process.
- Identifying and engaging with stakeholders to clarify objectives, constraints and commitments, while focusing on user needs.
- Working with subject matter experts in a sensitive policy area, ensuring content is accurate, trauma‑informed and operationally appropriate.
- Monitoring the performance of content and tools, identifying ways to improve services.
- Line managing, training and mentoring other content designers, and embedding content design practice where it is new to the portfolio.
- Constructively challenging design decisions that don’t meet user needs.
- Helping other team members understand what content design is, why it’s important and how to work with content designers.
UK residency and security requirements
For meaningful security checks to be carried out, individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time. Please note that this role requires Security Check (SC) clearance, which would normally need 5 years’ UK residency in the past 5 years. However, in exceptional circumstances security clearance applications for candidates who have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years may be considered. Failure to meet this residency requirement will result in your security clearance application being rejected.
Senior Content Designer employer: Manchester Digital
Contact Detail:
Manchester Digital Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Content Designer
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to people in the industry, especially those already working in roles similar to the Senior Content Designer position. A friendly chat can lead to insider info about the role and even potential referrals.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio that highlights your best work, especially projects related to user-centred design and content strategy. Make sure it’s easy to navigate and showcases how you’ve tackled complex content challenges.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by understanding the specific needs of the Home Office’s PPPT portfolio. Brush up on modern slavery issues and think about how your experience can contribute to improving public safety services.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are proactive about their job search!
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Content Designer
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Senior Content Designer role. Highlight your experience in user-centred design and any relevant projects you've worked on, especially those related to public safety or complex systems.
Showcase Your Leadership Skills: Since this is a leadership role, don’t forget to mention your experience in managing and mentoring other content designers. We want to see how you’ve helped others grow and how you can set standards within a team.
Demonstrate Your Understanding of User Needs: In your application, emphasise your ability to identify user needs and how you’ve previously engaged with stakeholders. We’re looking for someone who can make complex policy actionable, so share examples that showcase this skill.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets to us quickly and efficiently. Plus, you’ll find all the details you need about the role and our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at Manchester Digital
✨Know Your Content Inside Out
As a Senior Content Designer, you'll need to demonstrate a deep understanding of content design principles. Brush up on user-centred design (UCD) methodologies and be ready to discuss how you've applied them in previous roles, especially in sensitive areas like modern slavery.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
This role involves line managing and mentoring other content designers. Be prepared to share examples of how you've led teams or projects in the past, focusing on how you’ve developed others and set standards for content practice.
✨Engage with Stakeholders
Highlight your experience in identifying and engaging with stakeholders. Discuss how you've clarified objectives and constraints in previous projects, ensuring that user needs were always at the forefront of your content strategy.
✨Prepare for Complex Scenarios
Given the nature of the work, be ready to tackle complex policy discussions. Think about how you would approach sensitive topics and ensure your content is trauma-informed. Prepare examples of how you've navigated similar challenges in your past roles.