Senior Interaction Designer

HMRC is looking for a passionate Senior Interaction Designer, who can champion user-centred design across our department. They'll work as part of our User-centred Design practice in the Chief Technology and Design Office, shaping key initiatives that impact millions of people, ensuring our services meet real user needs. Our UCD practice provides consultancy services, tools and capabilities to major programmes and business areas across the department. Through this highly successful approach we have helped shape and design some of HMRC's most impactful products and services, and we now need an Interaction Designer to join us so that we can continue to ensure we are designing the right things for our users. The successful candidate will play a vital role in shaping the interactions between users and HMRC's GOV.UK content and guidance, ensuring simple and inclusive user experiences. They'll work in a supportive environment with plenty of opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive. This is an opportunity to make a real difference - to improve services, influence decisions with evidence and data, and help to simplify the tax system for everyone. Plus, you'll be part of a user-centred design practice/community that's breaking the mould of traditional government work. If you're an interaction designer who is looking for their next opportunity, we'd love to hear from you., A Senior Interaction Designer is an experienced designer who works with minimal support and can influence and mentor others. You will:

• Use their extensive experience to design user-friendly and accessible services that align with government standards and best practices.

• Work alongside policy experts, user researchers, designers, product managers, and tech specialists to create cohesive, end-to-end user experiences.

• Coach and mentor other designers. Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading the hands-on interaction design for a service or product team/programme.

• Creating prototypes, using the government prototyping toolkit, to communicate and test ideas with users and improve with evidence.

• Mapping user journeys, processes and visualise design problems.

• Building strong relationships with stakeholders, influencing and collaborating with them to improve design quality.

• Facilitating the design process by participating in research activities, pairing with engineers, facilitating workshops and communicating design decisions.

• Working collaboratively with your team to turn concepts into user-centred services.

• Reviewing and providing feedback to other interaction designers on their work, as well as advising other disciplines on interaction design best practice. You will also be expected to:

• Line manage, support and mentor Interaction Designers - providing them with guidance, support, constructive feedback and design direction.

• Lead peer review sessions with other profession members.

• Actively participate in the HMRC and cross-government design communities, both digitally and face-to-face by leading sessions and supporting collaboration activities.

• Seek out opportunities for learning and improvement by getting feedback from your colleagues and the business., + Managing stakeholder needs and expectations and facilitating difficult discussions within the team or with diverse senior stakeholders, convincing people that user needs and a user-centred approach are the right way to design products and services.

• Leading workshops, for example collaborative design sessions or design sprints.

• Ability to recognise and predict use cases and user interaction, incorporating them into designs.

• Prototyping at varying fidelities using a range of methods, including HTML and CSS, and collaborating with teams and stakeholders in prototyping activities.

• Collaborating with user researchers, championing user research activities and designing to meet user needs.

• Web technologies and how they affect design, including accessibility., Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use. Sift In the event of a large number of applications being received, we'll sift firstly on employment history - for actual experience of design. We'll then proceed to a full sift, where all elements of your application will be assessed against the essential criteria. We may also raise the score required at any stage of the process if we receive a high number of applications. Interview Successful candidates who meet the required standard will be invited to a video interview via Microsoft Teams. During the interview we will ask you to:

• Deliver a ten-minute showcase of two pieces of design work from your portfolio that demonstrate the technical skills required for the role. Further details will be included with the invitation to interview.

• Answer questions that let you demonstrate your experience and technical skills relevant to the role. Interviews will take place via video link. Sift and interview dates to be confirmed. Eligibility Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. We understand mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days (Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we will not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake with your eligibility form, please contact us via: unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk - Use the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example - 'Please re-open my application - [insert vacancy ref] & vacancy closing date [insert date]'. To check that you are eligible to apply for this role, please review the eligibility information before submitting your application. Reserve List A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles - if this applies to you, we'll let you know via your Civil Service Jobs account. Merit List After interview, a single merit list will be created, and you will only be considered for posts in locations you have expressed a preference for. Appointments will be made in strict merit order in line with the set number of roles in each location. Criminal Record Check Applications received from candidates with a criminal record are considered fairly in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice and the Recruitment of ex-offenders Policy. Hybrid working at HMRC HMRC is an office-based organisation, and colleagues are expected to spend 60% of their working time in the office. Our offices provide opportunity for interaction, collaboration which aids learning and development and a sense of community. Where the role allows it, and where the home environment is suitable, colleagues can work from home for up to 2 days a week, averaged over a calendar month (or a proportionate amount of time for colleagues who work less than full time). Reasonable Adjustments We want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact the UBS Recruitment team via unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. Complete the "Assistance required" 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. Important information for existing HMRC contractual homeworkers: This role may be suitable for existing HMRC employees who are contractual homeworkers. Occasional attendance to the office will be required where there is a business need. Please consider the advertised office locations for this role when applying and only select locations from the 'location preferences' section that you can travel to. Terms and Conditions Customer facing roles in HMRC require the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English and/or Welsh where required. Where this is an essential requirement, this will be tested as part of the selection process. HMRC has a presence in every region of the UK. For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations. The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences. Any instances of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be investigated and, if proven, the relevant application(s) will be withdrawn from the process. Recording of interviews is prohibited unless explicit agreement is sought in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulations. Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed as detailed later in this advert. 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. New entrants will join on the minimum of the pay band. Please note that, if you are applying for roles on a part-time basis, the salary agreed will be pro-rata, reflective of the working hours agreed within your contract. If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section. For more Information for people applying for, or thinking of applying for, roles at HM Revenue and Customs, please see link: Working for HMRC: information for applicants - 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. 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.

Diversity and Inclusion 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 (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

To be successful in this role you will already have extensive experience and understanding of:

• Designing accessible interactive products or services that meet user needs; including demonstrable experience in o Sketching, concept creation and designing prototypes. o Applying critical design thinking to redefine problems and use a variety of methods to investigate these problems. o Journey mapping and needs analysis with good understanding of information design / architecture. o Working with pattern libraries and / or style guidelines. o User research methods and practice, with proven experience using metrics and user feedback to define/refine service. o Planning design work.

• Designing inclusive services that meet a wide range of access needs and has a deep understanding of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines., A degree in a relevant subject or equivalent background from industry experience is expected., A degree in a relevant subject or equivalent background from industry experience is expected.

Technical skills We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Designing communication
• Evidence-based design
• Iterative design
• Designing for everyone

Alongside your salary of £58,541, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £16,959 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. HMRC operates both Flexible and Hybrid Working policies, allowing you to balance your work and personal commitments. We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible, considering our operational and customer service needs. We offer a generous leave allowance, starting at 25 days and increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days.

• Pension - We make contributions to our colleagues' Alpha pension equal to at least 28.97% of their salary.
• Family friendly policies.
• Personal support.
• Coaching and development. To find out more about HMRC benefits and find out what it's really like to work for HMRC hear from our insiders or visit Thinking of joining the Civil Service