Head of Role for Interaction Design Birmingham, England
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About the job
Job summary
DWP Digital offers fulfilling careers for people who want to use their skills to make a genuine difference to society. We’re part of the UK’s biggest government department, supporting millions of people every day.
As Head of Role, you will lead a vibrant and growing community of interaction designers in DWP Digital.
You will be a recognised digital leader for the profession, taking an active role in the interaction design community in DWP and across government. An expert in interaction design, you will have a solid understanding of user-centred design methodologies and experienced working in an agile way.
Confident working with senior stakeholders and service delivery teams, you will advise on effective approaches to interaction design, putting the contribution of the profession into the context of the end-to-end product design process, including the department’s common components, digital design patterns and non-digital channels.
You will be responsible for understanding the departments requirements for interaction design, ensuring these are met in terms of capabilities, workforce planning, professional development, effective software and tools, and that best practices are developed and observed across the department.
Job description
The head of interaction design is an expert practitioner with broad industry experience, who can define and assure best practice while influencing, leading and mentoring others.
Expected to:
- Influence both design and organisational strategy and priorities
- Collaborate with counterpart colleagues across government
- Focus on ensuring the right conditions and environment for designers to work effectively
Plan and lead discussions at a senior department level, supporting interaction design for existing and new DWP services. Working closely with other senior leaders, policy, legal and communications colleagues to make sure design is appropriate and consistent across all channels.
Be an effective advocate of user-centred and service-led approaches to digital development. Offering expert advice to a wide range of service teams across the department on best practice in interaction design.
Maintain a current view of the interaction design requirements in the department, managing the interaction design profession team. Support placement of interaction design professionals for service delivery teams, responsible for hiring new talent and leading professional development within the DWP interaction design community.
Take responsibility for creating and maintaining a positive and collaborative working environment alongside other key digital leaders.
Play an active part in the department’s product design community as a visible digital leader. Developing and executing a profession skills plan. Provisioning the appropriate tooling for the user-centred design process.
Person specification
If you would like to learn more about the role, please contact [email protected].
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Leadership
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- User centred agile and design practices.
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.
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.
Salary Information
Salary for this role is from £66,860 (Band min) to £74,392 (Band max).
Our offer to successful candidates will be based on an assessment of your skills and experience as demonstrated at interview.
Existing Civil Servants who secure a new role on lateral transfer should maintain their current salary.
Existing Civil Servants who gain promotion may move to the bottom of the next grade pay scale or 10% increase in salary whichever would be the greater.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Applications must include:
1. A completed Personal Details application form.
2. A curriculum vitae including education, professional qualifications and full employment history, giving details of key achievements.
When giving details in your redacted CV you should highlight your experience in line with essential criteria below:
- Experience of being a visible and recognised digital leader, and evidence of giving significant advice and guidance to others
- Experience of leading change, assessing processes and ways of working and recommending effective methods to improve them
- Experience of engaging multidisciplinary teams with a user-centred design process and of explaining design decisions so the intended audience understand them.
- Experience of leading Interaction Design on an agile service delivery team to meet the Government Service Standard or equivalent
When giving details of your redacted CV, you should therefore include details of the work and projects that you have been involved in, and your role therein.
For Hints and Tips on completing your application visit our blog Getting Hired at DWP Digital .
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.
Important information
- Please attach your redacted CV as a separate additional document in either PDF or word format.
- If your CV contains any personal details your application may be withdrawn.
Stage 2: 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 following:
- Communication and Influencing
- Leadership
- User centred agile and design practices
You will be asked to do a short (5 -10 minutes) presentation on a specific topic. Further details will be provided to candidates invited to interview.
Interviews will take place from end of March 2023.
Other information:
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.
Find out more about Working for DWP
Any move to DWP 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
Security Information
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 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 [email protected] stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
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.
Before applying for this vacancy, current employees of DWP should check whether a successful application would result in changes to their terms & conditions of employment, e.g. mobility, pay, allowances. Civil Servants that would transfer into DWP from other government organisations, following successful application, will assume DWP's terms & conditions of employment current on the day they are posted, unless DWP has stated otherwise in writing.
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
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 [email protected] 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.
The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences. If evidence of plagiarism is found your application will be withdrawn.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
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) (opens in a new window)
- 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
Working for the Civil Service
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).
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Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
Recruitment team :
Further information
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission here to visit Civil Service Commission
