Lead Content Designer (Jurisdiction) (Ref: 21090)

Location: Staffordshire, UK; City of Westminster; Scotland; Wales, UK

Salary: 71,381 - 85,257 per year

Employment: Flexible

Category: IT

Posted: 2026-08-18

Valid to: 2026-09-05

Apply: here

Employer: HM Courts and Tribunals Service

This is a Nationally based role.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service Directorate: DTS Pay Band: Grade 6

Successful applicants will be expected to be office based 3 days per week in any HMCTS Office (subject to business availability).

Term: Permanent

Interview: Video conference via Teams

Important salary details: New recruits to the Civil Service joining MoJ are expected to join at the band minimum. Existing Civil Servants applying on promotion will usually be appointed on the salary minimum of the new pay band, or receive an increase of 10 percent on the current base salary, whichever is higher (This is restricted to the pay maximum of the new band).

Government Digital and Data (GDD) Profession Capability Framework and Success Profiles Frameworks. Using GDD we will then determine if you will be paid an additional allowance, on top of your basic salary.

This role is within the User-Centred Design job family and is a Content Design role at Lead Content Designer level.

Introduction: These are exciting times at HM Court and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). As an agency of the MoJ, we support the judiciary across England and Wales to deliver justice by running courts and tribunals and processing outcomes, and we are looking for talented people to help us achieve our ambitions. It will be challenging, important and rewarding.

HMCTS Digital and Technology Services (DTS) is a specialist technology directorate which provides support to HMCTS in the use of IT and Digital. DTS is committed to being a great place to work and part of our offer is brilliant training opportunities and support from expert colleagues. As well as that you’ll find flexible working, an inclusive culture and a place where your opinion is valued.

Job Description: We’re recruiting for 3 Lead Content Designers to lead the profession across multiple complex services within jurisdictional areas, setting direction and supporting content designers to champion user-centred design across criminal, civil and family courts, tribunals and cross-cutting services such as scheduling and listing.

You will define and set standards to assure best practice in user-centred content design and develop HMCTS' design maturity by influencing, leading and mentoring others alongside other design leads. You will work with the content design profession lead to support a culture of learning and experimentation by creating an inclusive, productive environment for designers. You will continually iterate and improve content design processes within their team to deliver user-centred outcomes, promote the content design discipline, engage with the cross-government community and keep up to date with industry changes.

You’ll advocate for citizen, professional and judicial users at a strategic level using evidence-led approaches and championing their needs on- and off-line to influence decision-making.

In practice, this means you’ll be expected to:

• Work with other design leads to set an ambitious vision for UCD at HMCTS, pushing the boundaries of what design can do to transform government.
• Work with other design leads to define, develop and embed design standards that ensure all our design work is consistently inclusive, accessible and easy to use.
• Work closely with service owners, profession leads, and the Head of UCD to set and communicate strategy, ensuring teams are supported to deliver.
• Collaborate with other profession leads (e.g. user research, product, software development) to champion digital transformation and continuously improve capability.
• Support the recruitment of a talented and diverse team of content designers that meet the growing needs of HMCTS.
• Support the professional development of content designers through coaching, line management and career progression.
• Champion Communities of Practice that inspire content designers to learn, share best practice and collaborate on strategic problems.
• Collaborate across government.
• Act as a leader in the cross-government content design community, sharing work, learnings and developing best practice.

Essential Criteria:

• The ability to grow talent and develop design culture by creating a collaborative and inclusive environment, with experience of coaching and mentoring designers and coordinating communities of practice.
• Knowledge of what good public services look like and how to design in an inclusive, accessible way. Ability to set design standards and coach others.
• A strong grounding in user-centred design with experience across multiple or highly complex services. Ability to provide direction on appropriate tools and methods, support agile multi-disciplinary teams, and advocate for user-centred design in a way that widely understood.
• Ability to create high-quality, compelling design concepts, with experience in rapid prototyping.
• Advocate for end-to-end content design at a strategic level, working across teams, departments and organisations.
• Ability to interpret the needs of senior leaders and stakeholders, using design thinking to solve complex organisational challenges and influence strategy.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience designing at scale and in technical environments.

Application process: This role will be recruited using a combination of Government Digital and Data (GDD) Profession Capability Framework and Success Profiles Frameworks during the sift and interview process.

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving
• Leadership

Technical skills: We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process. You will be required to prepare a short presentation. Details will be provided 5 working days before the day of the interview.

Benefits: Alongside your salary of 71,381, HM Courts and Tribunals Service contributes 20,679 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Access to learning and development. A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance. A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity. A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%. Annual Leave. Public Holidays. Season Ticket Advance.

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Artificial intelligence: Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Selection process details: This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security: Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks.

Nationality requirements: This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• 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)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements.

Working for the Civil Service: The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities.

Apply and further information: This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative. The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction.

Contact point for applicants: Job contact: Name: SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team Email: moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk Telephone: 0345 241 5359

Recruitment team Email: moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Further information: Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.