Content Designer

at HM Revenue and Customs Armed Forces Covenant Disability Confident Leader UK Skilled Worker Employer  
UK Government Department
About the job

Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Nottingham, Worthing. Please note that due to workforce controls, Newcastle Upon Tyne is only available to existing HMRC staff in this location. Job Summary Discover a career in your hands at HMRC. Whether you're seeking purpose, growth, or a workplace that gives you a true sense of belonging, hear from some of our employees as they share their story about what it's really like to work at HMRC. Visit our YouTube channel to watch the full series and come and discover your potential. At HMRC, we are committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues; an inclusive and respectful environment that reflects the diversity of the society we serve. We want to maximise the potential of everyone who works for us, and we offer a range of flexible working patterns and support to make an exciting career at HMRC accessible to you.    Diverse perspectives and experiences are critical to our success, and we encourage applications from all people from all backgrounds with the experience and skills needed to perform this role. HMRC is one of the largest organisations in the UK and the biggest digital operation in Government. Our digital business runs the IT behind tax and benefits services for 45 million individual and 5 million business customers.  We're making HMRC services and information simpler, clearer and faster for our colleagues. To do that, we need content designers who will help us design end-to-end services based on user needs. We want you to come and be part of a multi-disciplinary team and transform the way we deliver HR, Finance, and Procurement services to our colleagues in HMRC, Department for Transport, and Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government – a group of departments known as the Unity Cluster. This is a collaborative initiative which aims to create a shared operation model, leveraging cloud technology to enhance efficiency and decision making across these departments.

Content designers work on content that helps to form the end-to-end journey of a service, helping users complete their goal and government to deliver a policy intent. Their work may involve the creation of, or change to, a transaction, product or single piece of content which could be from across digital and offline channels and be provided by different parts of government. Content Designer is a role for an individual with proven experience in designing content to meet user needs. In this role, you will work collaboratively with other user-centred design professionals and business stakeholders to define what will be developed to meet users' needs. You will produce clear and meaningful content based on user needs, and feed into content strategies. You will actively engage with and contribute to our active and supportive content design community in HMRC and across government.  Content designers work on content that helps to form the end-to-end journey of a service, helping users complete their goal and government to deliver a policy intent. Their work may involve the creation of, or change to, a transaction, product or single piece of content which could be from across digital and offline channels and be provided by different parts of government. Content Designer is a role for an individual with proven experience in designing content to meet user needs. In this role, you will work collaboratively with other user-centred design professionals and business stakeholders to define what will be developed to meet users' needs. You will produce clear and meaningful content based on user needs, and feed into content strategies. You will actively engage with and contribute to our active and supportive content design community in HMRC and across government.  Person specification As a Content Designer, you will: 

  • Line manage, support and mentor Junior Content Designers.  
  • Map user journeys and processes.  
  • Use best practice, data and research to design and iterate usable and accessible content.  
  • Feed into content strategies for portfolios of work to inform end-to-end journeys.  
  • Build collaborative relationships with stakeholders, including through workshops and pair-writing sessions.   You will also be expected to:  
  • Actively participate in the HMRC and cross-government design communities, both digitally and face-to-face.
  • Proactively seek new learning opportunities and look to continually improve by gaining feedback from your peers and the business.  Essential Criteria You must have: 
  • Demonstrable skill and experience in developing accessible content for online guidance or transactions and working to style and standard guidelines.
  • Experience of journey mapping and needs analysis - being able to take existing content and identify gaps and overlaps. 
  • Experience of talking about your design decisions and approach to stakeholders of various levels, and convincing them that user needs and a user-centred approach are the right way to design content.
  • Experience and an ability to use metrics and user feedback to inform content design.
  • Experience of coaching and mentoring other content designers, growing skills, and providing constructive feedback on work. Further Location Information Please ensure that you only apply for a location that you are willing and able to work from, as we will only make one offer of employment. Any additional notes included in a ‘Further Location Preferences (optional)' field within the application form, will not be considered. Please be aware that you cannot change your location preference after submitting your application. Office closures For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations. If your location preference is for the following site, it's important to note that this is not a long-term site for HMRC and we will require you to move to a new building in the future, subject to our location strategy and the applicable employee policies at that time. This Site Is
  • Benton Park View, Newcastle - moving to Pilgrims Quarter, Newcastle You will be given more information about what this means at the job offer stage. Technical skills We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
  • Designing for everyone
  • Evidence based design
  • Iterative design Alongside your salary of £45,544, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £13,194 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides . 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 Artificial intelligence 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. Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Experience and Technical skills. How To Apply As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide the following:
  • A name-blind CV detailing your job history.
  • A 750-word Personal Statement. Your Personal Statement should be used to describe how your skills and experience would be suitable for the advertised role, making reference to the essential criteria and person specification outlined in the advert. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. Sift In the event of a large number of applications being received, an initial sift may be held on the CV. At full sift the CV and Personal Statement will be assessed, with the successful candidates being invited to interview. We may also raise the score required at any stage of the process if we receive a high number of applications. Interview During the panel interview you will be asked to prepare a 10 minute presentation, using an example of your own work to demonstrate how you meet one of the technical skills listed above and the Content Designer Framework: https://ddat-capability-framework.service.gov.uk/role/content-designer. You will also be asked to describe further personal experienced based examples of work which demonstrates the remaining technical skills required for this role. Further details of the skill to be demonstrated will be included with the invitation to interview. Interviews will take place via video link. Sift and interview dates to be confirmed. Please note that circumstances may arise that require the planned interview format to change. We will endeavour to provide you with as much notice of any change as possible. Eligibility Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. Mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days (Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we may not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake with your eligibility form, or have withdrawn yourself in error and need your application reinstated whilst the campaign is still live, 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. Exceptionally, candidates who are not successful at this grade may be considered for appointment to similar roles at a lower grade where the eligibility criteria are met. If this applies, we will contact you directly. The HMRC app can help you with your application The HMRC app can provide you with your past 5 years' employment history, making the process of filling in your application quicker and easier. If successful in your application, you will need your National Insurance number for the onboarding process. Download the HMRC app now and save your National Insurance number to your digital phone wallet. How to download the HMRC app and sign up for an account Download the free HMRC app from the App Store or Google Play store. If you have an HMRC online account already, sign straight in using your ID and password. If not, you can prove your identity by answering some questions or providing your photo ID. You'll then be able to access the app quickly and easily by signing in using a 6-digit PIN, your fingerprint, or facial recognition. You can find guidance for technical issues on GOV.UK: Technical support with HMRC online services. 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. Technical Support If you are experiencing problems that cannot be resolved by our ‘help' section, then technical support is available. You will receive a reply in 2 working days. 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. This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Experience and Technical skills. Security Successful candidates must undergo a standard (or equivalent) criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks. Successful candidates must undergo a standard (or equivalent) criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard 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)
  • 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 Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code 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 . 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. The Civil Service Code 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 . 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.

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative. Contact point for applicants Job Contact

  • Name : Patrick Dennehy
  • Email : patrick.dennehy1@hmrc.gov.uk Recruitment team
  • Email : unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk Further information Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel there has been a breach of the Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly via ubsrecruitmentcomplaints@hmrc.gov.uk. Please note that we do not accept complaints or appeals regarding scoring of outcomes of campaigns, unless candidates can provide clear evidence that the campaign did not follow the Recruitment Principles. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their website.

Job ref blurredText

Posted on blurredText

Last checked on blurredText

Closing on blurredText

0 comments
0 requirements

Discuss this job

Share your intel on this vacancy and help others - anonymously. Get notified automatically of new comments when starred or saved to Tracker.

My Private Notes

Saving private notes will automatically star the vacancy to your Jobs page.