Senior Content Designer

At the Crown Prosecution Service, we design user-centred services that make the criminal justice system easier to use, quicker to deliver, and fairer for all.

As a senior content designer, you work in multidisciplinary teams in our User-Centred Design and Analysis profession, alongside user researchers, designers, business analysts, product managers, and policy and operational colleagues. You take complex legal and operational information and turn it into content that people can understand and act on, across digital and non-digital channels.

You use research, data and testing to understand what users need, and you make and explain design decisions based on that evidence, working to the GOV.UK style guide and the Service Standard.

You also help colleagues understand content design and why it matters. You share good practice, give feedback, support other content designers and help build our community of practice.

This role is a good fit if you want your work to make a real difference to public services, and you’d like to help shape how a profession grows in an organisation that’s ready for it.

The Crown Prosecution Service is based in England and Wales. If you’re applying for this role and live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you must let us know when accepting this offer as you need permission to work from your home address if hybrid working is part of your role. There’s no guarantee that we will grant this approval.

You must be aged 16 or over at the point of starting in this role. The expected start date is approximately 8–12 weeks after the application closing date. You are expected to commence employment as soon as possible following the expiry of your notice period. Requests for significantly later start dates may not be accommodated.

Your roles and responsibilities

• You design, write and iterate content for complex services, making sure it’s clear, accessible and meets user needs
• You use evidence from user research, analytics and usability testing to understand user needs, map content journeys, and shape design decisions
• You work in multidisciplinary teams with user researchers, designers, product and delivery managers, and policy and operational colleagues
• You apply the GOV.UK style guide, the Service Standard and government design principles, so content is inclusive and accessible
• You help grow content design at CPS by sharing good practice, giving feedback and mentoring other content designers

A copy of the full job description is attached.

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)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

Recruitment process

The recruitment process consists of an online application, assessment and interview.

Personal statement

We ask you to complete a personal statement of no more than 1,250 words. You need to demonstrate the following experience required for this role:

• significant experience using evidence to design and iterate user-centred content for complex services
• experience of working in multidisciplinary teams
• a firm understanding of the Government Design Principles, Service Standard and agile ways of working

In addition, you need to demonstrate the Crown Prosecution Service or Civil Service values.

Behaviours

You are also asked to complete a statement of no more than 250 words for the behaviour Communicating and Influencing, setting out how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience match the specified behaviours and requirements:

The panel has the right to assess the lead behaviour ‘Communicating and Influencing’ first. If the standard on this behaviour isn’t met, the personal statement won’t be considered and your application won’t progress. The panel also has the right to raise the minimum standard pass mark. The panel may also refer to the lead behaviour at the interview stage to determine merit order.

CV

You’re not required to upload your CV. However, when submitting your application there is a ‘CV section’. You are required to provide information about your employment and/or academic history for the past three years, skills, and qualification details. The CV section will be assessed.

It’s your responsibility to provide the specified information in the requested format to ensure that you're considered for the post.

If you're unable to cover three years through employment or academic history, you must provide a character reference for clearance purposes.

Interview and Assessment

The interviews and assessments are expected to take place on w/c 7 December.

Your interview takes place online through Microsoft Teams. A member of our recruitment team will be in touch with guidance. If you have any queries about this, contact dimitra.siakavara@cps.gov.uk

You should keep this week free or notify us if you're not available. We'll make every effort to accommodate your date preferences but we can't guarantee it.

We ask you to complete an assessment as part of the recruitment process for this role. We will provide details on invitation to interview.

We use behaviours to help us understand your experience, to see if you're a good fit for the role. You are assessed against SEO in the Civil Service success profiles behaviours framework. We are assessing 4 behaviours at interview and assessment stage:

• Communicating and Influencing – interview
• Making Effective Decisions – interview and assessment
• Seeing the Big Picture – interview
• Working Together – interview

Essential Experience - assessed at interview

Strengths

Strengths are tested at interview stage - the strengths tested are not shared before the interview.

Other

This is a full-time post. We do consider requests for flexible, part-time working and job share, always considering the operational needs of the department.

Please note that the CPS is unable to offer visa sponsorship. If you require visa sponsorship to work in the UK, you will not meet the eligibility criteria for this role.

Clearance

If successful, you are required to secure a Disclosure and Barring Service check, for which you must have a current valid UK address.

If successfully appointed, we ask you to complete a character enquiry form, and nationality and immigration questionnaire.

If you're a Crown Prosecution Service member of staff, you won’t need to do a Disclosure and Barring Service check as you already hold this clearance.

The job you’re applying for is covered by Article 3(a) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, consequently Section 4(2) of that Act doesn’t apply. You’re required to disclose all previous convictions and cautions including spent convictions. Failing to make a full declaration will result in withdrawing your offer of employment if our checks reveal convictions that haven’t been disclosed.

Reserve list

If you're recommended by the selection panel but not appointed to the current vacancies, you’re put on a reserve list for 12 months. You may be offered another Senior Content Designer post in the CPS if a vacancy comes up during this period. We may also approach candidates on the waiting list to fill other roles that require similar knowledge and experience.

Civil Service Commission

If you’re dissatisfied with the recruitment process and wish to make a complaint, please contact Strategic.Resourcing@cps.gov.uk with your concerns.

If you remain dissatisfied and wish to make a further complaint, please click on the following link to the Civil Service Commission complaints page Recruitment Complaints - Civil Service Commission

Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles can be found at https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/

Details of the Civil Service Nationality Rules are located at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

Candidates are subject to UK immigration requirements. For the most up-to-date information on the requirements of working in the UK, please go to the UK Visas and Immigration website at https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.