Content Designer

Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool or London (Canary Wharf)

Job Summary

At the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) our mission is to prepare for, prevent and respond to infectious diseases and environmental hazards to keep all our communities safe, to save lives and protect livelihoods. We are a trusted source of advice to government and to the public, focusing on reducing inequalities in the way different communities experience and are impacted by threats to health. We are looking for a Content Designer to join the Chief Medical Advisor Directorate which provides trusted clinical and public health leadership through expert advice, guidance, epidemiological insights and evidence. The group leads and delivers services protecting the population from hazards locally, nationally and globally.

Working for your organisation

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce. UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.

Please visit our careers site for more information

Job Description

The roles sit within the UKHSA’s core User-Centred Design (UCD) team, which is part of the Readiness and Surge division. Readiness and Surge works across UKHSA and sets the strategic direction for UKHSA’s readiness to respond to all threats and hazards. We focus on Agency capability, putting external stakeholder and customer needs at the centre of designs for the future. We identify opportunities to improve public health outcomes through better user experiences.

The Team Are Responsible For:

• embedding UCD approaches into UKHSA ways of working
• UCD expertise in project delivery
• ensuring user needs are understood and designed for, advocating for all users, to achieve equitable outcomes
• ensuring our products are accessible and developed to the Government Service Standard and use appropriate style guides and patterns
• leading the UKHSA-wide UCD community of practice to support organisational and in-profession development standards for UCD professionals

As a Content Designer, you’ll work as part of a multidisciplinary squad collaborating with teams across UKHSA. Content Designers make things easier for people to understand and use. They are practitioners who can take a high-level view of how a user’s content journey maps to government processes. They write clear, usable content for transactional and information services and assure the quality of others’ work. They use data and user research to make content decisions. The content designer will be responsible for assuring content quality and best practice. Together with other UCD professions, you’ll ensure quality, innovation, and creativity in how we approach all aspects of design and how we bring concepts to life for stakeholders to effect change. You’ll embody inclusive behaviours. You’ll have a working knowledge of the importance of inclusive design practices, taking pride in ensuring your design work is representative of a wide range of people and communities. You’ll be an active part of the UCD community sharing insights and practices within the community and across the organisation.

This role is aligned to Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework - content designer.

As a Content Designer, You’ll:

• Lead on the creation and iteration of content for projects
• Ensure content design best practice and principles are applied within your project
• Develop and contribute to content strategies based on research and data, to support service transformation balancing user needs with business, operational and technical requirements
• Use collaborative design tools and techniques to explore problems, opportunities and create content assets to test and iterate ideas and solutions
• Build relationships and work closely with stakeholders demonstrating the value of user-centred content design within the organisation and beyond
• Advocate for the needs of users to be embedded within your project
• Work with user researchers and designers to discover and analyse insights to identify common themes, pain points and user needs
• Support and review the work of others to ensure it is user focused, accurate, and meets government and NHS style, design standards and accessibility requirements
• Make actionable recommendations based on insights and communicate these to stakeholders clearly and confidently
• Actively contribute to the UKHSA’s community of practice, advocate for content design and support the creation of the right environment and processes to establish the profession within UKHSA

The roles sit within the UKHSA’s core User-Centred Design (UCD) team, which is part of the Readiness and Surge division. Readiness and Surge works across UKHSA and sets the strategic direction for UKHSA’s readiness to respond to all threats and hazards. We focus on Agency capability, putting external stakeholder and customer needs at the centre of designs for the future. We identify opportunities to improve public health outcomes through better user experiences.

As a Content Designer, You’ll:

• Lead on the creation and iteration of content for projects
• Ensure content design best practice and principles are applied within your project
• Develop and contribute to content strategies based on research and data, to support service transformation balancing user needs with business, operational and technical requirements
• Use collaborative design tools and techniques to explore problems, opportunities and create content assets to test and iterate ideas and solutions
• Build relationships and work closely with stakeholders demonstrating the value of user-centred content design within the organisation and beyond
• Advocate for the needs of users to be embedded within your project
• Work with user researchers and designers to discover and analyse insights to identify common themes, pain points and user needs
• Support and review the work of others to ensure it is user focused, accurate, and meets government and NHS style, design standards and accessibility requirements
• Make actionable recommendations based on insights and communicate these to stakeholders clearly and confidently
• Actively contribute to the UKHSA’s community of practice, advocate for content design and support the creation of the right environment and processes to establish the profession within UKHSA

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Experience of user-centred content design methods, best practice and appropriate tooling to explore problems and opportunities within complex organisations
• Experience of writing and editing accessible and usable content using a style guide and design standards, using feedback, research and analytics to make strategic content decisions
• Experience of developing content strategies to plan, create, deliver, measure and manage content, to meet user needs and business objectives
• Experience of managing stakeholder relationships and influencing others to gain support for user-centred standards, strategies, and ways of working
• Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team including user researchers, to discover user needs, map and define user journeys and create quality user experiences
• To be able to demonstrate the importance of designing inclusive, equitable, accessible and sustainable public services
• To be able to work as part of a multidisciplinary team, working directly with other professions to ensure effective and timely delivery

Desirable Role Criteria:

• Publishing using a content management system (CMS)
• Working in an agile environment

Alongside your salary of £40,661, UK Health Security Agency contributes £11,779 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Learning and development tailored to your role

An environment with flexible working options

A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your technical skills.

Stage 1: Application & Sift

You Will Be Required To Complete An Application Form. You Will Be Assessed On The Listed Essential Criteria, And This Will Be In The Form Of A: An application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application) 750 word supporting statement. This should outline how your skills, experience, and knowledge, provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria. The application form and supporting statement will be marked together. Please note you will not be able to upload your CV. You must complete the application form in as much detail as possible. Please do not email us your CV.

Longlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will longlist into 3 piles of: Meets all essential criteria Meets some essential criteria Meets no essential criteria Only those meeting all essential criteria will be taken through to shortlisting.

Shortlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on: Experience of user-centred content design methods, best practice and appropriate tooling to explore problems and opportunities within complex organisations If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview and assessment. Desirable criteria may be used in the event of a large number of applications / large amount of successful candidates. Please do not exceed 750 words. We will not consider any words over and above this number. Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview

You will be invited to a remote interview. Technical skills will be tested at interview. There will be a 8 - 10 minute presentation as part of the interview. The details of this will be sent to you prior to the interview. The technical skills tested during the interview stage will be: Content concepts and prototyping Stakeholder relationship management (content design) User focus (content design) User-centred content design

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Location

This role is being offered as hybrid working based at any of our Core HQ’s in either Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool or London. We offer great flexible working opportunities at UKHSA and operate using a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata, averaged over a month). Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport link and benefit from benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Eligibility Criteria

Option 1 - External Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants).

Security Clearance Level Requirement

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Basic Personnel Security Standard clearance.

Future location

UKHSA is investing in a new state-of-the-art National Biosecurity Centre in Harlow, Essex, which will eventually bring together teams currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale and Porton Down. For more details, please see: Huge biosecurity centre investment to boost pandemic protection - GOV.UK. The new facilities will start becoming operational in the mid-2030s, with full completion by 2038. Staff will move in phases as facilities become available. If you're appointed to a role currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale or Porton Down, please note that we'll continue investing in these sites for the next decade. As we get closer to the transition, we'll provide full information about relocation support available to staff.

Reasonable Adjustments

The Civil Service is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone. To help you during the recruitment process, we will consider any reasonable adjustments that could help you. An adjustment is a change to the recruitment process or an adjustment at work. This is separate to the Disability Confident Scheme. If you need an adjustment to be made at any point during the recruitment process you should contact the recruitment team in confidence as soon as possible to discuss your needs.

You can find out more information about reasonable adjustments across the Civil Service here:

International Police check

If you have spent more than 6 months abroad over the last 3 years you may need an International Police Check. This would not necessarily have to be in a single block, and it could be time accrued over that period.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

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. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Link Below: Artificial intelligence and recruitment , Civil Service Careers

Internal Fraud check

If successful for this role as one aspect of pre-employment screening, applicant’s personal details – name, national insurance number and date of birth - will be checked against the Cabinet Office Internal Fraud Hub and anyone included on the database will be refused employment unless they can show exceptional circumstances. Currently this is only for External candidates to the Civil Service.

Careers website

Please visit our careers site for more information

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) 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) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for 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 (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job Contact : Name : Jon Payne Email : jonathan.payne@ukhsa.gov.uk

Recruitment team Email : recruitment@ukhsa.gov.uk

Further information

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact UKHSA Public Accountability Unit via email: Complaints@ukhsa.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website: