Overview
Content Designer – Newport
About the job
Job summary
Please note: Applicants should review all aspects of this advert to ensure a thorough understanding. If reviewing via a screen reader, please note that the Job summary, Job description, Person specification, Benefits and Things you need to know sections have been emphasised
Content Designer
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is seeking a content designer to contribute to its digital transformation. This role involves designing user-centred public services at scale within multidisciplinary teams , aligning with Government Design Principles . Our designers use plain English to make complex processes and guidance easy to understand. They help people get the information they need; in the way they need it. Key responsibilities include working as part of a user-centred design team to resolve complex challenges and promoting best practices and standards in content design. The successful candidate will be proactive, take ownership of design activities (like facilitating critiques and documenting content guidelines), and possess excellent collaboration, presentation, and communication skills to work effectively with various stakeholders.
Find out more on our Design in Government blog .
Working Style
This role will be carried out in-line with IPO Hybrid working arrangements where staff are currently expected to spend at least 20% of their time working onsite from one of our offices. This role is based in our Newport Office.
The requirement for attendance at an office location can vary by role so we would encourage candidates to discuss working arrangements with the recruiting manager to agree a reasonable balance between working from home and the office.
Job description
Main duties consist of but are not limited to:
- Write clear, informative content for our digital services.
- Make good decisions and can recognise when to ask for further guidance and support.
- Support and contribute to the IPO designer community of practice, helping to share knowledge, learning and best practice.
- Apply content design best practice and principles across products and services.
- Collaborate with interaction designers and user researchers to design digital services that are usable and accessible to all users.
- Be comfortable presenting your designs as part of a collaborative feedback process.
- Build relationships across Intellectual Property Office and government to focus on the needs of our users and to influence stakeholders.
- Use the GOV.UK Style Guide, in house IPO content style guide and GOV.UK Design System to create high-quality content.
- Play an important role in ensuring that services meet the GOV.UK Service Standard and confidently present evidence at service assessments.
Person specification
Essential criteria
- Experience in writing plain English content that is accessible, usable and complies with writing styles and standards, such as the GOV.UK writing style.
- Experience of user-centred design methods and using user research insights to inform content design decisions.
- Knowledge of agile ways of working, and experience of working with user researchers, service and interaction designer and other user-centred design professions.
- Experience of working with senior stakeholders and ability to negotiate important design decisions.
- Comfortable in designing collaboratively and in the open and engaging with people in a variety of ways (for example, workshops or co-design activities).
- Can work to tight deadlines and manage their workload across several projects.
Desirable criteria:The below criteria are desirable only. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates.
- Experience or understanding of service blueprints and journey mapping diagrams.
- Experience of working with HTML and CSS prototypes, for example the GOV.UK Prototype Kit.
How to apply
Click the ‘Apply now’ button and complete the application form by providing the following:
CV
- Upload an anonymised copy of your current CV.
- Make sure it clearly shows how you meet the essential criteria listed in the Person Specification.
500-word Personal Statement
- Use this to explain why you’re suitable for the role.
- Structure your statement around the essential criteria in the Person Specification.
- Make sure to provide clear examples to show how you meet each requirement.
AI Usage
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.
For further information on the sift and interview stages of this recruitment campaign, please head to our ‘Things you need to know’ section below.
Please visit our Civil Service Careers page – IPO – Recruitment Support , Civil Service Careers (civil-service-careers.gov.uk)
If you require job-specific information, please contact Dominic Read.
E-mail: dominic.read@ipo.gov.uk
Telephone: 01633 433189
Behaviours
We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Working Together
- Delivering at Pace
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £35,579, Intellectual Property Office contributes £10,307 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
- Unlimited Pluralsight video learning access
- Access to Microsoft’s ESI training suite
- Hybrid working with no core hours
- Substantial support for career progression
- 25 days annual leave moving to 30 days in annual increments
- You will also get 8 days public leave and 1 day privilege leave
For more information about what’s on offer at the Intellectual Property Office please review our IPO benefit pack attached to the bottom of this advert.
Please note that benefits may be subject to change.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
Additional details on security and vetting
Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check and if successful you must also hold, or be willing to obtain, a higher Security Clearance .
For meaningful checks to be carried out individuals will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, depending on the level of clearance, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. For this role the successful individual will need to have consistently lived in the UK for a minimum 5 years in order to meet the relevant security clearance.
Further information on the vetting process can be found at National security vetting: clearance levels – GOV.UK
If you have questions regarding this or are unsure if you meet the eligibility criteria, please contact Recruitment@ipo.gov.uk
The assessment process will comprise of the following:
Stage 1- Sift
An initial sift of applications will be carried out to create a shortlist. This will be based on the evidence provided for the following Success Profile elements:
Experience
Your CV and your 500-word personal statement will be used to assess your suitability for the role .
Stage 2 – Interviews
If invited to interview Ability, Behaviours and Experience based questioning will be used.
Please note candidates that proceed to the interview stage will be required to deliver a presentation. Details will be provided in the invite to interview information.
Specific information regarding the Success Profile elements that will be assessed at interview will be contained within the interview invitation.
Interviews for this role will be carried out virtually.
Reserve List
This recruitment campaign will keep a reserve list for 12 months. If you meet the requirements for this role but aren’t offered after passing the interview, you’ll be placed on the reserve list. If a suitable position opens up during this time, we will reach out to individuals in merit order.
Applicants to note:IMPORTANT: CVs sent direct to the IPO will not be accepted.
This post is being advertised to Internal, Across Government and External candidates at the same time.
Incomplete and/or late submissions will not be accepted or considered. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
We do not routinely reimburse travel expenses for candidates, however if participating in the selection process would cause you undue financial hardship or if it restricts your ability to participate, please contact the recruitment team for more information.
In line with Government guidance, successfully appointed candidates will need to provide documents for our Right to Work checks. Information on this will be sent within the invite to interview text.
If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process, then please let the recruitment team know via; recruitment@ipo.gov.uk
For more information on the IPO’s terms and conditions, please review the attached IPO Modernised Terms and Conditions document attached at the bottom of this advert.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window) .
See our vetting charter (opens in a new window) .
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) .
