About the job

Job summary

We are looking for a Content Designer to join the Government People Group (GPG) within the Cabinet Office, to help develop our Civil Service Jobs platform and wider recruitment service. You will help us to transform how the Civil Service recruits so that we hire the right people, into the right roles, at the right time.

Your role:

As a Content Designer, you will be an experienced practitioner who is capable of understanding our user needs, and creating user-centred content and designs that will make our user experience simpler and more intuitive. You’ll be a team player and care deeply about users and improving their experience. You will also take initiative to engage with stakeholders and communicate your design decisions on a regular basis.

Our team: We are a digital team made of Service, Product and Delivery Managers,  Business Analysts, a Service Designer, a Content Designer, an Interaction Designer and a User Researcher, who will all support you in your work. We are also part of a wider digital community, and have a great UCD community with fellow designers and researchers to network with.

Our project is looking at Recruitment Transformation, to procure and build a new recruitment platform by 2026, which will enhance the recruitment service provision across government.

Civil Service Jobs enables the whole of government to recruit people more efficiently, without which the government could not deliver its work: hence our service brings far-reaching benefits for all citizens.

We also enjoy enabling people to find meaningful jobs, and teams to find great colleagues - contributing to a diverse culture that reflects the diversity in the UK.

Job description

What you’ll work on:

You will join our cross-functional agile delivery team focusing on transforming Civil Service Jobs, and helping to redesign how the service should be delivered in the future.

Civil Service Jobs is used by over 3 million candidates per month to find and view vacancies across the Civil Service. Each year it handles over 2 million applications and advertises 140,000 posts. The live service is used by 211 organisations to advertise their vacancies and manage their recruitment processes. Currently, Civil Service Jobs is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provision that has been configured and enhanced to meet Civil Service recruitment, digital and security standards.

Along with the live service, we are running a Recruitment Transformation programme, looking at what the future service should look like. We’ve completed our Discovery and Alpha phases, where we did extensive user research and prototype design, to explore our user needs and potential solutions for the biggest areas of improvement.

We’ve decided that our service needs to procure rather than building our own, so we’ve now moved into the Beta procurement phase, which will result in appointing a new technology platform provider by summer 2024, followed by a build and migration phase to be completed by the end of 2026.

The Department:

Government People Group (GPG) is a large business unit of the Cabinet Office with around 610 staff bringing together back office services across government. It supports the Civil Service with high-volume HR and finance processes, aligning with the Government's modernisation agenda. Established in August 2020, it covers Shared Services, Government Recruitment, Civil Service and Royal Mail Pensions, and the Platforms and Services to support these. GPG delivers services for around 480,000 civil servants across government, it supports 1.5m pension scheme members alongside Royal Mail and provides recruitment services for around 70% of all Civil Service recruitment.

Person specification

We follow the DDAT job description model for Content Designer. We'd expect the role to have a good understanding of the Government Digital Service Manual, the GDS Design System, and our Technology Code of Practice.

We’re looking for people who are passionate about creating accessible services that are simple enough for everyone to use.

As a Content Designer you will:

• Lead the development of the content strategy and information architecture for Civil Service Jobs
• Create, user-centred and concise content that can be understood by any member of the public
• Work with policy colleagues to understand, articulate and challenge policies so they are understood by end-users and citizens
• Identify and build strong relationships with stakeholders across the recruitment space, influencing and collaborating with them to improve content quality
• Work with colleagues to use analytics data, user feedback and user research to identify the needs of users, map user journeys and inform content strategy and design
• Use your content design expertise to review and provide feedback to other content designers on their work, as well as advise other disciplines on content design best practice
• Contribute to the management of relationships between your team and other teams across government to ensure consistency and share good practice
• Contribute to guidance for government, including content principles and patterns
• Contribute to the cross-government and GPG design community
• Help colleagues and stakeholders from other disciplines understand what content design is, why it’s important and how to work with content designers

Essential criteria:

• The required skills as detailed in the DDaT Content Designer capability, at Content Designer or Senior Content Designer level, and in particular:
• User-centred content design. You can lead the design of content to meet user needs and make complex language and processes easy to understand. You can present the right information in the right format for what users need. You are aware of government accessibility requirements and can design content that works with common assistive technologies
• User focus (content design). You understand the range of different users who might access content and services and can identify their needs based on evidence. You can translate user stories into content that meets users’ needs and propose suitable design approaches
• Agile working (content design). You can work with and understand agile methodology and can apply an agile mindset to your work
• Content concepts and prototyping. You can choose the best option to make content understandable to different audiences and demonstrate a proposed approach to content changes or improvements. You can ​​build and create a variety of different prototypes, from paper sketches to coded prototypes
• Stakeholder relationship management (content design). You can identify important stakeholders and communicate with them clearly and regularly. You can tailor communication to their needs and work with them to build relationships while also meeting user needs
• Strategic thinking (content design). You can contribute to content strategies and policies, and can help create content patterns or standards

Civil Service Behaviours (see Success Profiles for details of what’s required for each behaviour at Level 3):

• Changing and Improving - Seek out opportunities to create effective change and suggest innovative ideas for improvement. Review ways of working, including seeking and providing feedback.
• Communicating and Influencing - Communicate purpose and direction with clarity, integrity and enthusiasm. Respect the needs, responses and opinions of others.
• Managing a Quality Service - Deliver service objectives with professional excellence, expertise and efficiency, taking account of diverse customer needs.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £40,850, Cabinet Office contributes £11,029 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Ability, Experience and Technical skills.

Application process

Stage 1 - Sift

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Verbal Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application. 

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 23:55 on 26/05/2024. If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

Stage 2 - Online Interview which may include a presentation

Assessed against the Technical skills and Behaviours listed in this advert.

Selection process

Expected timeline (subject to change) 

Expected sift date/s - TBC

Expected interview date/s – TBC

Interview location - Online

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: 

Contact Government Recruitment Service via cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. 

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Cabinet Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service or Disclosure Scotland on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. 

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply, but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

Offers above the band minimum are subject to our assessment of your skills and experience as demonstrated at interview. Salaries over the band minimum will be paid as a non-pensionable allowance.

Additional information:

A minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. Although requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.

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.

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 also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.