About the job

Job summary

Do you have a passion for putting user needs at the centre of design? 

Looking for an opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology at a massive scale that makes a critical difference to millions of people in need? 

DWP Digital offers uniquely challenging and fulfilling careers for people interested in using their skills to make a genuine difference to society. We’re part of the UK’s biggest government department, and along with 86,000 colleagues, we support 22 million people every day to help them to find work and save for their future. Few other organisations globally provide the same opportunity to apply next-generation digital technology on a massive scale to issues which touch the lives of so many.

We are looking for a Senior Service Designer who is an experienced practitioner, with growing experience of complex projects or organisations. Using research, data and other evidence, Senior Service Designers translate user needs into whole services (including non-digital parts).

A Senior Service Designer works closely with product managers, designers, user researchers and other senior stakeholders to help solve problems and align services to departmental goals. They are an advocate for best practice in service design, collaborate on cross-government design projects and keep up to date with industry changes.

Putting users' needs at the heart of their work, the Senior Service Designer makes people's interactions with the government as simple and quick as possible.

Job description

As a Senior Service Designer, you are already an experienced practitioner.

You will have experience in driving awareness of service performance and improvement needs which have resulted in successful service outcomes.

You understand user needs and business or policy goals and are able to visualise whole services, both end to end and front to back, across business areas or departments in order to reduce or remove issues and problems.

You will be able to work alongside a Lead Service designer with senior stakeholders to establish service design methods, communication links with stakeholders, leading workshops and using design patterns to support strategy and decision making across their team or business area.

You are able to define good practice and make sure that useful guidance, tools and patterns are available across services and teams to solve recurring problems for users.

You will support the service design community by taking part in meet-ups to share work openly.

Role and Responsibilities

• Understand user needs and design services that meet them and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to understand user behaviour and feedback 
• Demonstrate good working knowledge of service design in practice 
• Analyse research findings, data, insight gathering, critical thinking and concept generation 
• Have a strong grasp of qualitative and quantitative research methods to service user needs and work with researchers to conduct these studies 
• Lead workshops to drive actionable outcomes 
• Align and support the communication with product managers and policy colleagues to define the customer journey and articulate the vision for products and services 
• Analyse pain points within services and build design solutions that fulfil user needs and business outcomes 
• Help manage stakeholder needs across different areas with a focus on supporting discussions at senior departmental level 
• Contribute to building an open and collaborative culture within the department and the design community 
• Analyse and identify cost saving opportunities whilst implementing best practice service design 
• Own and create high quality service design deliverables, including personas, experience maps, insights packs, user flow maps, and service blueprints 
• Support the capability and promote service design in and beyond the Department.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Have a proven track record of designing services from front-to-back and not solely limited to the digital channel, including iterating service design for complex situations and difficult or technical problems and processes
• Be able to demonstrate experience of engaging multidisciplinary teams with a user-centred design process and of explaining design decisions in a way that other people understand
• Have experience of showing the value of service design and a user-centric approach to senior stakeholders, policy colleagues and product managers
• Have experience of using user-centred design methodologies, such as leading workshops, to problem solve
• Have substantial experience of using user research and data to make design decisions
• Experience of consulting regularly with senior stakeholders to provide analysis and recommendations.

Benefits

• An employer pension contribution of up to 27% For further information please click here.
• Annual leave rising up to 30 days, (based on your working pattern).
• Family friendly flexible working arrangements, such as hybrid working, job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
• Learning and development tailored to your role this could include industry recognised qualifications, coaching and mentoring.
• An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join staff networks including: Women’s Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more.

Location

Applicants should apply for suitable posts where they can travel to and from their home office location daily within a reasonable time.   

Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas. Relocation costs will not be reimbursed 

Hybrid Working

This job role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in their DWP office and part of the week from home.  This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business need but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will also be taken into account. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working, including whether a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for you, will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Stage 1: Application

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement (1000 words max). Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. 

When giving details in your employment history and personal statement you should highlight your experience in line with Essential Criteria listed in the Person Specification.

Stage 2: Sift

The sift panel will use the information in your employment history and personal statement to assess your experience, skills and knowledge against the essential criteria above.

Applications will be sifted at regular intervals from the date the posts are advertised. Please apply as soon as you can, do not wait until the end of the campaign. 

You will receive one combined score for both your Employment History/CV and Personal Statement, which will be provided in your Personal Statement score.

You will be asked to complete your employment history any information that you would customarily share on a CV should therefore be entered onto the application form.

For Hints and Tips on completing your application visit Applying for jobs at DWP Digital

Important Information

Personal details that could be used to identify you including your name, contact details and address must be removed for your application to be considered.

If your employment history/personal statement contains any personal details your application will be withdrawn.

Stage 3: Interview

If you’re successful at sift stage you will be invited to a video interview via Microsoft Teams. There, you will be assessed against the experiences listed in the Essential Criteria.

You will be asked to do a 10 minutes presentation on a specific topic, followed by a question and answer session lasting 5 minutes. Further details will be provided to candidates invited to interview. 

Interviews will take place from mid February 2024. 

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Further Information Find out more about Working for DWP For Hints and Tips on completing your application visit Applying for jobs at DWP Digital. A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve list candidates will be posted in merit order by location. Reasonable Adjustment At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce. We consider visible and non-visible disabilities, neurodiversity or learning differences, chronic medical conditions, or mental ill health. Examples include dyslexia, epilepsy, autism, chronic fatigue, or schizophrenia. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact Government Recruitment Service via digitalrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. Complete the “Reasonable Adjustments” 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. For further information on reasonable adjustments, terms and conditions and how we recruit visit the How We Recruit page If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

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.