Senior Content Designer in Manchester

Location: Remote and client site

Methods Business and Digital Technology Limited is a £100M+ IT Services Consultancy who has partnered with a range of central government departments and agencies to transform the way the public sector operates in the UK. Established over 30 years ago and UK-based, we apply our skills in transformation, delivery, and collaboration from across the Methods Group, to create end-to-end business and technical solutions that are people‑centred, safe, and designed for the future.

Your role:

We are recruiting for a Senior Content Designer on a permanent basis. You will have a passion for making things easier for people to understand to help users complete their goal. You will have experience of working in a public sector environment, with a working knowledge of standards and principles, such as the Service Standard.

Responsibilities:

• Planning, writing and managing usable and accessible content in line with GDS/GOV.UK Content Design guidelines and standards.
• Producing content that is accurate, timely, relevant, easy to understand, search engine optimised and meets style guidelines.
• Managing stakeholders and building successful relationships with them, including explaining content decisions.
• Using analytical and problem‑solving skills to help the team solve design problems and challenge assumptions.
• Championing user‑centred design practices for digital products and services.
• Advocating for accessible digital products and services.
• Being an active part of the Content Design Community of Practice, including sharing ideas, best practice and proactively offering help and support.
• Taking responsibility for content quality, including coaching and mentoring content designers.
• Supporting team members’ learning, skills growth and career progression.
• Line managing members of the content design team, including offering project support and guidance, holding 1:1s, probation reviews and appraisals, approving timecards, expenses and leave.
• Supporting the Head of Content with training and development plans, project planning, recruitment activities, sales and marketing activities.
• Helping create a welcoming, safe and inclusive team environment - encouraging mutual peer‑to‑peer support, and helping individuals achieve a good work‑life balance.

The role will be based remotely, but there may be a need for some UK travel requiring you to stay away from home.

Skills we are looking for:

• Producing user‑centred content: experience of evidence‑based content design that meets GDS/GOV.UK standards, including a deep understanding of end‑to‑end journeys and experience of identifying where journey fixes or content improvements need to be made.
• Working as a content designer in an agile environment: you understand agile approaches, advocate for the role of content design in multidisciplinary teams, and encourage healthy working relationships with other disciplines.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills: ability to communicate a range of information to a variety of audiences.
• Stakeholder relationship management: ability to effectively negotiate and influence stakeholders, manage relationships, build strategic relationships, communicate regularly and remove blockers, while keeping the focus on user needs.
• Strategic thinking: ability to help to lead the design and implementation of strategies, and evaluate their impact and progress to make sure business objectives and user needs are being met.
• Understanding user needs: ability to work closely and collaboratively with user researchers to gain insights and make decisions based on findings.
• Accessibility: ability of putting accessibility at the heart of approaches to designing content and encouraging others to do the same.
• People management: take responsibility for assuring the quality of more junior colleagues, and coaching and guiding them to improve.
• Ensuring quality: make sure content is regularly reviewed and evaluated, contributing to continuous improvements and iterations.

Additional skills and behaviours:

• Proactive approach to addressing environmental issues, embedding environmental responsibility in practices and standards, and encouraging clients to consider innovative solutions within the scope of work.
• Proactive approach to diversity, equality and inclusion, internally and with clients.
• Experience in creating and updating prototypes, from paper sketches to coded prototypes (for example, using the GOV.UK Prototype Kit).

By joining us you can expect:

• Autonomy to develop and grow your skills and experience.
• Be part of exciting project work that is making a difference in society.
• Strong, inspiring and thought‑provoking leadership.
• A supportive and collaborative environment.
• Development – access to LinkedIn Learning, a management development programme, and training.
• Wellness – 24/7 confidential employee assistance programme.
• Flexible Working – including home working and part time.
• Social – office parties, breakfast Tuesdays, monthly pizza Thursdays, Thirsty Thursdays, and commitment to charitable causes.
• Time Off – 25 days of annual leave a year, plus bank holidays, with the option to buy 5 extra days each year.
• Volunteering – 2 paid days per year to volunteer in our local communities or within a charity organisation.
• Pension – Salary Exchange Scheme with 4% employer contribution and 5% employee contribution.
• Discretionary Company Bonus – based on company and individual performance.
• Life Assurance – of 4 times base salary.
• Private Medical Insurance – which is non‑contributory (spouse and dependants included).
• Worldwide Travel Insurance – which is non‑contributory (spouse and dependants included).
• Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Pay.
• Travel – season ticket loan, cycle to work scheme.

For a full list of benefits please visit our website www.methods.co.uk/careers/benefits.