About the job

Job summary

We are currently looking for a Head of User Centred Design to join our Digital and Service Design Group (D&SDG) team within the Digital and Technology group.

This is a full-time opportunity, on a permanent basis. The role will be based at 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf London, E14 4PU. Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas.  

Government departments and agencies are working towards implementing a minimum 60% attendance in office sites.

We are currently implementing a flexible, hybrid way of working, with a minimum of 4 days per month working on site to enable the collaboration and contact with partners and stakeholders needed to deliver MHRA business. Attendance on site is driven by business needs so depending on the nature of the role, this can flex up to 8 days a month, with the remainder of time worked either remotely or in the office. Some roles will need to be on site more regularly.

Who are we? 

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency enhance and improve the health of millions of people every day through the effective regulation of medicines and medical devices, underpinned by science and research.  

Digital technology has the potential to make a profound contribution to this work by providing our people and our customers with the digital tools they need. The Digital and Technology Group  lies at the heart of the Agency and is responsible for delivering optimised technology and maximising the secure use of data to enable the rest of the organisation to deliver world class services. It’s centre of excellence is also responsible for delivering a broad portfolio of change initiatives, both to transform the Agency’s legacy technologies and to deliver innovative new solutions and services, designed around our customers’ needs.

Our division believes in designing products and services around our customers and delivering in a holistic way where we combine digital and technology change, project delivery, business process, product management and cultural change together.

Within the Digital and Technology Group, the Digital and Service Design team (D&SDG) provides a number of services through its practice-based model including user-research, design, business analysis, change management and product management. D&SDG owns the customer experience for the division and is currently building its in-house capabilities around Digital Product Management and User Centred Design.

Job description

What’s the role?

We’re looking for a person to lead our User Centred Design (UCD) practice for the Agency. Over the past three years, we have been on an exciting journey to introduce user-centred design and product management approaches into how we design, build and maintain our digital products and services. We’re looking for a leader to take this work forward, to scale and grow the next evolution of our UCD practice and in-house design team.

 

Key responsibilities: 

-        Responsible for developing and shaping strategies to introduce and drive awareness of user needs and UCD; building the influence of the team and supporting services across the organisation; using advanced negotiating and influencing skills with senior leaders across our organisation to embed the practice.

-        As the Head of Profession for UCD you will role model inclusive leadership behaviours to promote a diverse, supportive and inclusive culture; support your team to develop content, performance analysis and design capabilities and help these to grow within the Agency.

-        Lead a team of  in-house designers and researchers and oversee the work of an extended team of off-payroll designers and UX professionals, which scales and flexes dependent on the Agency’s digital roadmap. You will need to ensure effective deployment of the team to meet demand, and focus on ensuring the right conditions and environment for designers to work effectively.

-        Be an active member of the MHRA’s Digital and Technology Group’s Senior Leadership Group (SLG). Manage the UCD team’s operating budget, shape contracts when external supplier support is required and work with the agency’s procurement and finance teams to execute contracts.

Person specification

Who are we looking for? 

Our successful candidate will have: 

• Degree level or equivalent years of professional experience
• Significant experience in User Centred Design
• Team leadership and management skills
• Good experience in developing and improving services, ideally in the public sector
• Demonstration of substantial experience across:

o   User Research

o   Service Design

o   Interaction Design

o  Content Design (working knowledge)

 

If you would like to find out more about this fantastic opportunity, please read our Job Description and Person Specification! 

 

Please note: The job description may not open in some internet browsers. Please use Chrome or Microsoft Edge. If you have any issue viewing the job description, please contact careers@mhra.gov.uk 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £70,011, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency contributes £18,902 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

We use the Civil Service Success Profiles to assess our candidates, find out more here. 

 

• Online application form, including questions based on the Behaviour, Experience and Technical Success Profiles. Please ensure all application questions are completed in full; your application may not be considered if any responses are left blank. Our applications are CV blind, and our Hiring Managers will not be able to access your CV when reviewing your application.
• Presentation,to be prepared as part of your interview, with further information being supplied when you reach this stage.
• Interview, which can include questions based on the Behaviour, Experience, Technical and Strengths Success Profiles. 

Applicants are assessed on whether they meet any mandatory requirements as well as the necessary skills and experience for the role. Applications are scored based on the competency-based answers provided- ensure you have read these thoroughly and allow sufficient time. You can view the criteria for this role in the job description.

 

If you require any disability related adjustments at any point during the process, please contact careers@mhra.gov.uk as soon as possible. 

 

Closing date: 17 March 2024

Shortlisting date: W/C 18 March 2024

Interview date: W/C 1 April 2024

Candidates will be contacted within a week of the sift and the interviews completed to inform them of the outcome.

 

If you need assistance applying for this role or have any other questions, please contact careers@mhra.gov.uk 

 

Candidates will be subject to UK immigration requirements as well as Civil Service nationality rules. Further information on whether you are able to apply is available here. 

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check as well as animal rights and pro-life activism checks. People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks.

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.

Any move to the MHRA 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 here.

 

Successful candidates may be subject to annual Occupational Health reviews dependent on role requirements. If you have any queries, please contact careers@mhra.gov.uk.

 

In accordance with the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles our recruitment and selection processes are underpinned by the requirement of selection for appointment on the basis of merit by a fair and open competition. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should firstly contact Mira Mepa, Head of Recruitment and Operations, Mira.Mepa@mhra.gov.uk.  

 

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at: civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk 

 

info@csc.gov.uk 

Civil Service Commission 

Room G/8 

1 Horse Guards Road 

London 

SW1A 2HQ 

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.