About the job

Job summary

This position is based nationally

Job description

Senior Service Designer

Location: National* 

Closing Date: 14th July

Interviews: expected w/c 29th July 

Grade: 7

(MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain this grade on lateral transfer) 

Salary: London: £58,847 - £78,225 (which may include an allowance of up to £19,378)

National: £54,358 - £73,450 (which may include an allowance of up to £19,092) 

Working pattern: full-time, part-time, flexible working 

Contract Type: Permanent 

Vacancy number: 88496 

*We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your local office. Office locations can be found ON THIS MAP 

The Role

We’re recruiting several Senior Service Designers here at Justice Digital, in our Prisons, Probation and Data Platform teams. 

These roles align to Senior Service Designer from the Government Digital and Data Framework 

These are exciting times at Justice Digital. We have a clear vision — to develop a digitally-enabled justice system that’s better and simpler for everyone. We’re looking for talented people who are passionate about this mission and ready for the challenge. 

You’ll be welcomed into a thriving design community and into multidisciplinary teams, alongside user researchers, product owners, delivery managers and software developers to deliver world-class, user-centred services. 

As well as doing great work, we’re creating a place that’s great to work in. We offer brilliant training opportunities, excellent kit and support from expert colleagues. On top of that, you’ll find flexible working, an inclusive culture and a place where your opinion is valued. 

To help picture your life at MoJ Justice Digital please take a look at our blog and our Digital and Technology strategy 2025 

Key Responsibilities:

• Analyse and interpret user needs and business objectives in highly complex service areas
• Lead on design concepts and service blueprints that help reimagine how we can deliver services end-to-end
• Help to define vision and outcomes for products, services and programmes, shaping strategy and influencing long-lasting change
• Lead on design workshops and design sprints with the team, senior stakeholders and users
• Rapidly design, test and iterate digital prototypes with service users 

• Train, mentor and manage other designers 

• Take the lead in growing and advancing our Design Community of Practice 

If this feels like an exciting challenge, something you are enthusiastic about, and want to join our team please read on and apply! 

Benefits

• 37 hours per week and flexible working options including working from home, working part-time, job sharing, or working compressed hours.
• A £1k per person learning budget is in place to support all our people, with access to best in class conferences and seminars, accreditation with professional bodies, fully funded vocational programmes and e-learning platforms
• Staff have 10% time to dedicate to develop & grow
• Generous civil service pension based on defined benefit scheme, with employer contributions of 97% from April 1st 2024 (Contribution Rates)

• 25 days leave (plus bank holidays) and 1 privilege day usually taken around the Kings’ 5 additional days of leave once you have reached 5 years of service.
• Compassionate maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave policies, with up to 26 weeks leave at full pay, 13 weeks with partial pay, and 13 weeks further leave.
• Maternity support/paternity leave at full pay for 2 weeks, too
• Wellbeing support including access to the Calm
• Bike loans up to £2500 and secure bike parking (subject to availability and location)
• Season ticket loans, childcare vouchers and eye-care
• 5 days volunteering paid
• Free membership to BCS, the Chartered Institute for
• Some offices may have a subsidised onsite 

Person Specification 

Essential 

• You have a firm grounding and experience in user-centred design, from concept to final delivery. You know how to give direction on which tools, processes or methods to use and how to bring an agile delivery team along with you.
• You are experienced in designing end-to-end public services and navigating complex policy and operational areas.
• You can listen to the needs of technical and business stakeholders and interpret them in a way that is clear for both audiences.
• You know how to manage stakeholder expectations, set direction and navigate difficult discussions.
• You can create high-quality, compelling design concepts and artefacts such as service maps, models and blueprints.
• You are experienced in paper and digital You understand how the internet works and are responsive to changes in technology, adapting your concepts and approach accordingly.
• You know what good public services look like and how to design them in an inclusive, accessible way. You know how to share best practices and can coach others.

• You are a strong team player who knows how to work with and get the best out of a multidisciplinary delivery team 

Willingness to be assessed against the requirements for BPSS clearance 

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 D&I Strategy. 

Person specification

Please refer to attached Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £54,358, Ministry of Justice contributes £15,165 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

Candidates must submit a current and relevant CV, including a link to a portfolio showing your relevant work (if you don’t have a portfolio online, please upload it to Google Drive and include a link to it in your CV) and a cover letter (750 words max) which describes how you meet the requirements set out in the Person Specification above. 

Failure to provide all documents will result in a rejection of your application. Also, if the statement is too long, we won’t read past the first 750 words. 

The statement of suitability should outline your experience, against the following points of the essential criteria list above, under ’Person Specification’ 

• You have a firm grounding and experience in user-centred design, from concept to final delivery. You know how to give direction on which tools, processes or methods to use and how to bring an agile delivery team along with you.
• You are experienced in designing end-to-end public services and navigating complex policy and operational areas.
• You know what good public services look like and how to design them in an inclusive, accessible way. You know how to share best practices and can coach others. 

* Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on ’You have a firm grounding and experience in user-centred design’ will be conducted prior to the sift. 

In Justice Digital, we recruit using a combination of the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability and Success Profiles Frameworks. We will assess

your Experience, Technical Skills and the following Behaviours during the assessment process: 

• Communicating and influencing
• Seeing the bigger picture
• Changing and improving
• Leadership 

A diverse panel will review your application against the Person Specification above. 

Successful candidates who meet the required standard will then be invited to a 90 minute panel interview, held via video conference, which will include a short task given prior to the interview. 

Should you be unsuccessful in the role that you have applied for but demonstrate the capability for a role at a lower level, we reserve the right to discuss this opportunity with you and offer you the position without needing a further application. 

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, from which further appointments may be made. 

Terms & Conditions

Please review our Terms & Conditions which set out how we recruit and provide further information related to the role and salary arrangements. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact recruitment@digital.justice.gov.uk

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.