Senior Interaction Designer

Senior Interaction Designer – Public Sector Pensions

We are seeking an experienced Interaction Designer operating at SFIA Level 5 to lead the design of user-centred digital services within a public sector pensions environment.

Role Overview

You will play a key role in designing intuitive, accessible and evidence-based services that help citizens understand, manage and make informed decisions about their pension entitlements. Working within multidisciplinary agile teams, you will translate complex pension policy, legislation, operational processes and user needs into simple, effective service experiences.

You will work across the full service lifecycle, from Discovery through to Live, collaborating with User Researchers, Service Designers, Content Designers, Product Managers, Policy Specialists and Technical Delivery Teams to deliver services that meet user needs while complying with Government Digital Service (GDS) standards.

Key Responsibilities

Lead Interaction Design for Pension Services

• Design end-to-end user journeys for complex pension-related services, including eligibility checks, retirement planning, benefit calculations, claims, service updates and self-service transactions.
• Transform complex pension regulations, policy requirements and operational processes into intuitive digital experiences.
• Create and maintain user flows, process maps, wireframes and interactive prototypes.
• Ensure interactions are consistent across digital and assisted-digital channels.

Design for Complex Citizen Needs

• Understand the diverse needs of pension scheme members, pensioners, employers and internal operational teams.
• Design services that help users navigate complex financial decisions and regulatory requirements.
• Balance user needs against legal, policy, operational and technical constraints.
• Ensure services support users with varying levels of digital literacy and confidence.

Evidence-Based Design

• Collaborate closely with User Researchers to identify user needs, pain points and opportunities for improvement.
• Use research findings, analytics and service performance data to inform design decisions.
• Facilitate design workshops, journey mapping sessions and stakeholder engagement activities.
• Test and iterate designs through usability testing and continuous user feedback.

Accessibility and Inclusion

• Champion accessibility-first design approaches throughout service delivery.
• Ensure solutions meet WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards.
• Design inclusive services that work effectively for older users, vulnerable users and those with accessibility requirements.
• Advocate for plain English, cognitive accessibility and inclusive interaction patterns.

Public Sector Delivery

• Contribute to delivery across Discovery, Alpha, Beta and Live phases.
• Work within multidisciplinary teams following GDS Service Standard and Government Design Principles.
• Support preparation for service assessments and design reviews.
• Collaborate with policy teams, operational colleagues and subject matter experts to ensure services align with legislative requirements.

Essential Skills and Experience

• Significant experience designing complex digital services within the UK public sector.
• Demonstrable experience working on pensions, retirement services, benefits, financial services or other highly regulated citizen-facing services.
• Strong understanding of interaction design methodologies and user-centred design principles.
• Experience designing services within Government Digital Service (GDS) frameworks.
• Ability to simplify complex policy, legislation and operational processes into clear user journeys.
• Experience creating wireframes, user flows, service maps and interactive prototypes using Figma.
• Strong stakeholder management and facilitation skills.
• Experience working within multidisciplinary agile delivery teams.
• Excellent understanding of accessibility, inclusive design and WCAG 2.2 standards.
• Experience working with occupational, public sector or defined benefit pension schemes.
• Knowledge of pension regulations, retirement planning and member communications.
• Experience contributing to GDS Service Assessments.
• Familiarity with GOV.UK Design System.

SFIA Level 5 Expectations

The successful candidate will demonstrate the SFIA Level 5 characteristics of:

• Providing specialist interaction design expertise and professional guidance.
• Working autonomously on complex design challenges.
• Influencing stakeholders and multidisciplinary delivery teams.
• Making evidence-based decisions in ambiguous and highly regulated environments.
• Leading significant design workstreams and mentoring less experienced designers.
• Balancing user needs, pension policy requirements and organisational objectives to deliver measurable service outcomes.

About Us

TCS Interactive is a leader in the digital customer experience space. With a human-first approach, we apply design, engineering, business strategy and subject matter expertise to deliver award-winning iconic design and digital experiences for our customers.

We pride ourselves in our ability to influence products at the highest level by delivering strategic ideas from inception to launch. We help our clients understand the context of their products, create a compelling vision for them and make these experiences a reality.

We believe that together we’re stronger, that inspiration can come from anywhere and great ideas from anyone. The difference in our work comes from the diversity of perspectives, skills and backgrounds of our team.

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