Senior Service Designer

• Details
• Reference number
• 475866
• Salary
• £56,185 - £70,566
• per annum, pro rata
• A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

• Job grade
• Grade 7
• Contract type
• Fixed term
• Length of employment
• until 31.12.2027
• Type of role
• Digital
• Science
• Working pattern
• Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time
• Number of jobs available
• 1
• Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Location

Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool or London (Canary Wharf)

About the job

Job summary

The role sits 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 and end to end design.

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 Standards and follow appropriate style guides and patterns
• leading the UKHSA-wide UCD community of practice to support organisational and in-profession development
• standards for UCD professionals

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 https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers

Job description

As a senior service designer, you’ll work as part of a multidisciplinary squad collaborating with teams across UKHSA. This role involves providing strategy, guidance and support to internal teams across UKHSA to ensure that their policies, services and products are user-centred.

The senior service designer will work with stakeholders to design services that reduce friction and complexity across the whole service, finding accessible solutions to complex problems and helping UKHSA to achieve its public health objectives.

As an experienced practitioner you’ll be comfortable assuring best practice, leading and mentoring others within the team, including coaching stakeholders and professionals from other disciplines in service and interaction design and user-centricity.

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 be an active part of the UCD community. As a senior leader you’ll actively encourage, facilitate, and demonstrate sharing of insights and practices within the community and across the organisation.

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

As a senior service designer, you’ll:

• provide design leadership and deliver effective designs supporting service transformation by working with stakeholders and customers to understand existing services and identify key opportunities to improve the service end-to-end.
• identify solutions to complex problems within services, and support these by developing design concepts, balancing user needs with business, operational and technical requirements.
• act as a recognised and credible expert in service design, advocating for the value of a user-centred, inclusive, and evidence-based approach to service design and delivery, and influencing programme/project roadmaps to embed effective and user-centred design practice.
• lead and manage change positively, championing and promoting a culture of imaginative thinking, learning from experience, expanding mindsets and genuinely listen to and encourage ideas from key stakeholders, partners, and colleagues.
• work with other professions and stakeholders to discover and analyse insights to identify common themes, pain points and user needs
• make actionable recommendations based on insights and communicate these to stakeholders clearly and confidently
• improve design practice by using a range of design techniques and encouraging others to also think of alternative ways to conduct design work, developing the practical experience of non-specialists
• actively participate in the UCD community of practice, fostering a culture of continuous professional development, working openly and collaboratively to contribute to building the service design capability
• line manage staff, undertaking the full range of line management responsibilities as well as providing coaching and support to staff across UKHSA

This is not an exhaustive list.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Significant experience in service design with experience of using user-centred design methods and practices in large, complex organisation
• Able to navigate stakeholder landscapes, leading and managing relationships with a variety of internal and external stakeholders with different reporting relationships to improve services and gain support for standards, design solutions, roadmaps, and ways of working
• Able to select and use appropriate design methods and prototyping tools to explore complex service problems and opportunities across digital and non-digital channels as appropriate
• Able to demonstrate the importance of designing inclusive, equitable, accessible and sustainable services
• Proven leadership skills with experience of leading, directing and planning design activities, working directly with other professions to ensure effective and timely delivery
• To be able to work as part of a multidisciplinary team, working directly with other professions to ensure effective and timely delivery
• To be able to identify and create new design patterns and components based on evidence
• Experience of coaching and mentoring other service designers
• Experience of government service assessments

Desirable criteria

• Working in an agile environment

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,185, UK Health Security Agency contributes £16,276 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%

Things you need to know

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

Selection process details

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

The User Centred Design Team will be running two webinars:

• 13th of August at 15:00 Hrs.
• 20th of August at 15.00 Hrs.

The purpose of the webinar is to enable you to hear more about this role and speak to some of the team. This is a great opportunity to learn more about our culture, what we do at UKHSA and provide general advice on the application process.

If you would like to attend one of the webinars, pleases contact ucdteam@ukhsa.gov.uk who will email you a Teams invite for the webinar date of your choice.

Stage 1: Application & Sift

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed 9 essential criteria, and this will be in the form of:

• an application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
• a 1000 word supporting statement.

This should outline how you consider your skills, experience and knowledge provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.

You will receive a joint score for your application form and statement. (The application form is the kind of information you would put into your C.V –please be advised you will not be able to upload your CV. Please complete the application form in as much detail as possible). Please do not email us your CV.

Healthjobs UK has a word limit of 1500, but your supporting statement must be no more than 1000 words. We will not consider any words over 1000 words.

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:

• Significant experience in service design with experience of using user-centred design methods and practices in large, complex organisation
• Able to navigate stakeholder landscapes, leading and managing relationships with a variety of internal and external stakeholders with different reporting relationships to improve services and gain support for standards, design solutions, roadmaps, and ways of working

Desirable criteria may be used in the event of a large number of applications / large amount of successful candidates.

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview and assessment.

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview

You will be invited to a remote interview via MS Teams.

Technical skills and experience will be tested at interview.

For this role we’ll assess your experience and specialist technical skills against the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework - senior service designer.

Candidates should expect questions on the following technical skills during the interview:

• Designing for everyone
• Designing strategically
• Evidence based design
• Leading design

You’ll be invited to a 60-minute remote video interview. This will include a presentation on your understanding of user-centred design and service design, to help us understand more about you and your skills and experience.

Interviews dates are planned for early September 2026. Please note these dates are subject to change.

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 HQs in either Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool or London (Canary Wharf). 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) on-site.

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

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

Security clearance level requirement

Part 1

Successful candidates must pass a basic Disclosure and Barring Security (DBS) check before they can be appointed.

Part 2

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Basic Personnel Security Standard.

Salary information

If you are successful at interview, and are moving from another government department, NHS, or Local Authority, the relevant starting salary principles for level transfers or promotions will apply. Otherwise, roles are offered at the pay scale minimum for the grade, but in exceptional circumstances there may be flexibility if you are able to demonstrate you are already in receipt of an existing, higher salary. Pay increases are through the relevant annual pay award for the role and terms.

Please be aware that the salary is based on the office location.

Grade 7:

• £56,185- £66,581 (National)
• £58,340- £68,574 (Outer London)
• £60,494- £70,566 (Inner London)
• For Fixed term posts

For Temporary Appointments, if you are not currently a civil servant, you will take up the post on a Fixed Term appointment. You may be able to take this role up as a Secondment. If you are an existing Civil Servant, based outside of the UKHSA, you will take up the post as a loan which you will need your department to agree. You cannot take the post up as a fixed term. If you are an existing UKHSA member of staff, you will take up the post as either a level transfer or a temporary promotion as per the UKHSA’s Pay policy.

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: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments/

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.

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 https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers

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 (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)
• 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

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. 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 and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in 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: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk