About the job

Job summary

Please note this position a full time position.

 An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Lead Content Designer to join The UKHSA Publishing team.  The Publishing team leads the processing and publishing of UKHSA’s content, which includes official statistics, public health guidance, incident response, scientific reports, surveillance reports, data, research, and news.

The Lead Content Designer will be responsible for leading a hybrid, flexible Publishing team comprised of specialist content design experts and specialist content editors. As the managing editor of UKHSA’s considerable GOV.UK output, this role is responsible on a daily basis for all priority publishing.

The postholder will also maintain a fast-track GOV.UK incident response publishing operation capable of highly responsive, agile publishing in a cross-government context liaising closely with other priority stakeholders including government departments, government agencies, NHS and other stakeholder colleagues and their publishing operations.

Location

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) offers hybrid working – this means that whilst the role will be based in our Canary Wharf, London office, there will be opportunities for an element of working from home. UKHSA have office locations across the UK.

The balance between home and workplace working is to be agreed with the line manager, determined primarily by business needs and in line with departmental policy.

*Please be aware that this role can only be worked from within the UK and not overseas. Relocation expenses are not available. *

Job description

The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties:

• Line manage a team of 3 content designers.
• Manage the work of content designers/content editors working on GOV.UK.
• Scope, commission, write, edit, and publish content to style, using Whitehall Publisher content management system.
• Lead on publishing project delivery, delivering projects that improve the publishing proposition and improve delivery pipelines and content supply.
• Be the managing editor for UKHSA’s content on GOV.UK, with responsibility for logging change requests and withdrawing and unpublishing content.
• Be the primary point of contact with the Government Digital Service (GDS)
• Be responsible for allocating training and GOV.UK editing rights to the appropriate UKHSA staff and ensuring they follow GOV.UK guidance.
• Lead on gathering user needs related to published content, reviewing existing content against them, identifying content gaps and overlaps, and shaping and developing submitted content to meet user needs.
• Draw on user research and analytics to develop content that meets users’ needs.
• Monitor the performance of content and tools, and work with the rest of the Publishing team to improve them.

Please review the Job Description for the full responsibilities.

Person specification

The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The Job holder is expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of a similar level that may be necessary.

Essential Criteria:

It is important through your application and Statement of Suitability of 1000 words that you give evidence and examples of proven experience of each of the essential criteria (for full details of all essential criteria please refer to the attached job description):

Essential

• Educated to degree level in relevant subject or equivalent level of experience.
• Experience of writing for web with proven ability to create accessible, user-led content.
• Experience of using user research and analytics to optimise best-practice content.
• Managing complex content development projects.
• Experience of GOV.UK or similar large public sector website.
• Experience of Whitehall Publisher CMS.
• Experience of accessibility compliance and developing content to meet criteria.
• Experience of developing style guides, content strategy.

Desirable

• Experience of project management.
• Experience in delivering change and transformation initiatives.

Please review the Job Description for the full criteria.

Benefits

• 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 average employer contribution of 27%
• Range of health and wellbeing support

Any move to UKHSA 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 Childcare Choices , 30 Hours Free Childcare, Tax-Free Childcare and More , Help with Costs , GOV.UK

Things you need to know

Selection process details

STAGE 1 - APPLICATION & SIFT: 

You will be required to complete an application form and a statement of suitability. Your statement of suitability should outline your skills, experience, and achievements, providing evidence of your suitability for the role, against the essential criteria (outlined in the person specification section). Your Statement of Suitability must not exceed 1,000 words.

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

STAGE 2 – INTERVIEW 

As part of the process, the Success Profiles framework will be used to assess and recruit the most suitable candidate.  The following behaviours will be used at the interview:

• Delivering at pace
• Seeing the bigger picture
• Communicating & influencing
• Managing a quality service.

Candidates will also be required to prepare and deliver a 5–10-minute presentation to the panel.  This will be followed by a question-and-answer segment.  The presentation will be designed to assess each candidate’s experience in line with the requirements of the role.  Full details will be provided prior to the interview.

Expected Timeline:

Advert close: 23:55hrs on 7th April 2024 – unfortunately, late applications will not be considered. Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Interviews: TBC

Please note these dates could be subject to change.  

Eligibility Criteria

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

Nationality requirements

Appointments to roles within UKHSA will be made in accordance with the Civil Service nationality rules. These can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• Nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• Nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
• Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
• Certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

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.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment.

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.  People working with government assets must complete Basic Personnel Security Standard checks.

For posts on UKHSA Civil Service terms and conditions, new entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. For existing Civil Servants and roles advertised across government, the rules of transfer apply, i.e., level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive a 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest. 

Please Note

This role is to be appointed under Civil Service Terms & Conditions. Full details on the T&C’s are found https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/

Are you already a civil servant, or employed by a Civil Service Commission accredited public body? Please state home department on your application form.

Do you meet the nationality requirements for this post? https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/

Complaint process:

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: Complaints1@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. 

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

Security

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.