Senior Interaction Designer

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Ready to shape government-wide procurement? Join us as our first permanent Senior Interaction Designer and become a driving force in our growing UCD team. You’ll lead the design of complex, high-impact transactional services, ensuring every user enjoys seamless, inclusive, and intuitive digital experiences. If you’re passionate about evidence-based design, mentoring others, and building services that deliver real value to the nation, we want you on our team. Ready to make a lasting impact?

Job Summary

This role will join a growing UCD team that currently contains 5 permanent team members, and a host of wonderful contractor colleagues. It will report directly to the Head of UCD, and will take over line management of any contractors assigned to the same programme of work.

Key Accountabilities:

• Lead End-to-End Journey Design: Map complex user flows, wireframes, and digital interaction touchpoints to ensure services are simple, intuitive, and seamless for all users.
• Rapid Prototyping & Iteration: Create low-to-high fidelity interactive prototypes (in Figma, HTML/CSS, or design kits) to test design hypotheses and refine interaction models rapidly.
• Drive Accessibility & Inclusive Design: Guarantee all digital touchpoints strictly comply with WCAG 2.2 AA standards, ensuring equal access for citizens with varying digital skills or assistive technology needs.
• Apply and Extend Design Systems: Champion established standards (such as the GOV.UK Design System) while developing new reusable UI patterns.
• Evidence-Based Design Decisions: Collaborate closely with User Researchers, Content Designers, and Performance Analysts to iterate interfaces based on real user data.
• Balance Policy, Legal & Tech Constraints: Work alongside software engineers, policy leads, and product managers to translate complex regulatory or backend constraints into elegant human-centred solutions.
• Lead Co-Design & Strategic Workshops: Facilitate design critiques, co-design sessions, and cross-functional alignment workshops to build consensus among diverse stakeholders and delivery squads.
• Shape Service Strategy Across Project Phases: Provide design leadership across Discovery, Alpha, Beta, and Live phases, ensuring the team builds the right thing before committing resources to scaling.
• Line Management & Mentoring: Lead and guide contract team members, manage performance to ensure a high-performing team, and support staff development through regular feedback.

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, Experience and Technical skills.

Selection Process

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, which the Civil Service may use to fill future suitably similar vacancies across government for candidates who are considered appointable following interview. Should you be placed on a reserve list and want to be removed please contact recruitment@gca.gov.uk.

Please note that as part of this recruitment process, if you are unsuccessful at the interview stage but are close to the benchmark score you may be considered for and offered a role at a lower pay band within the same job family.

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