Lead Content Designer
We provide the Research Ethics Service (RES), Confidentiality Advice function, assessments and assurances on behalf of the NHS, and learning, guidance and advice for the research community. Our ambition is to make the UK a great place to do research, where more money invested in research goes into carrying out relevant, good quality research.
Our purpose is to ensure that research involving NHS patients and members of the public is approved through a proportionate and robust system, that they are provided with the information they need to help them decide whether they wish to take part, and that their opportunity to do so is maximised by simplifying the processes by which high quality research is assessed.We have already delivered significant improvements by centralising and simplifying the approval of research in the NHS in England, and are undertaking a range of significant programmes to deliver further improvements.
Job overview
In this role you will lead the content design community in the HRA’s journey to develop its digital services.
The Digital Directorate is modernising and transforming the business, ensuring the user is at the heart of everything; including the delivery of business solutions using agile methods in a continuous delivery environment.
You will be an active leader based in one of our offices or from home, with occasional travel for face to face meetings. Working under general direction and within a clear framework of accountability you will exercise substantial personal responsibility and autonomy to meet objectives and delivery timeframes, as well as providing leadership across the directorate.
Demonstrating excellent communication skills, influencing across multiple groups and partners, you will form a deep understanding of wider customer and organisational needs, participating in both internal and external activities to keep your skills up to date.With a clear ability to rationalise complex technical information, you will transform this to ensure it is understandable for others to work with.
Engaging with stakeholders, you will facilitate collaborative approaches to prioritise requirements and deliver key user insights to constantly improve the design of services; demonstrating a proactive approach to alignment with Government service standards, so that optimum outputs and solutions are delivered to meet user needs, organisational objectives and policy intent.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will:
- Develop and assure good content design practice across the Research Systems Programme and the wider organisation.
- Rationalise highly complex technical information, transforming this to make it understandable for others.
- Engage with stakeholders to facilitate and foster collaborative approaches to prioritise the content requirements of users and partners.
- Advise on standards, methods, tools and applications, so that optimum approaches and solutions meet user needs, organisational objectives and policy intent.
- Ensure alignment with Government service standards and deliver key content insights to constantly improve services.
- Ensure that teams take a user-centred, evidence based approach to service design and delivery.
- Represent content design at service standard assessments.
- Consider accessibility and additional needs for inclusive design.
- Work across multiple services and lead User Centred Design (UCD) professionals to set direction.
- Interpret strategy and translate emerging trends which might impact or benefit the organisation.
- Draw together and present reasonable conclusions from a wide range of incomplete and complex evidence and data.
- Manage the content design function within the UCD team.
- Support the content design team to maintain focus on delivery, whilst instilling the importance of professional development and learning.
- Coach and lead teams in UCD principles.
- Onboard new staff within the team.
Working for our organisation
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for you, not just us and the work we do.
We’re committed to creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know from experience that different ideas, perspectives, and backgrounds create a stronger, more creative workplace that help us to deliver the best services.
We welcome applications which represent the rich diversity of our community. This includes:- age
- disability
- ethnicity
- gender identity and expression
- religion or belief
- sex
- sexual orientation
- other diverse characteristics
We have policies in place to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process.
When applying to work here, speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement – if it works for you, we’ll do our best to make it work for us.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
This role sits within HRA Digital. The digital directorate is responsible for developing, delivering and supporting complex solutions within the HRA’s portfolio of UK-wide information systems for health and care research. This includes a major programme to build new systems, and to achieve the successful migration and eventual closure of current systems.
The HRA Digital team is a collaborative, supportive team consisting of HRA employees, secondees, contractors and vendors.
To find out more and to understand the full duties of the role, please refer to the job description attached.
In submitting your application with us, please note the following:
We currently do not accept applications via recruitment agencies.We do not hold a sponsorship licence and are unable to offer employment under any sponsorship arrangement.
Where applicants fail to demonstrate how they meet any one of the essential criteria of the person specification, the application will not be shortlisted. You will be considered based only on the information in your application form. CVs will not be considered.
The HRA reserves the right to close this vacancy early should it receive a sufficient number of applications.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- Educated to Post Graduate level (or relevant qualifications) in a relevant field, or significant relevant working experience of the subject matter
- Master’s Degree or equivalent qualification
Knowledge, Skills and Expertise
Essential criteria- In depth specialist knowledge of implementing content strategy to enable good service design.
- Determining content standards and policies.
- Providing advice and guidance across projects on both content design methodologies and GDS standards related to content and deliverables
- Thorough knowledge of user centred design process and product development process
- Significant experience in a senior/lead content design role
- Past experience in government or NHS organisation
- Ongoing Continuous Professional Development
- GDS/CDDO or NHS Service Standards
Experience
Essential criteria- Onboarding of new staff within a team or professional community
- Identifying content needs and ensuring they are captured and implemented as part of a project
- Manage accessibility of content and testing user understanding whilst maintaining compliance
- Demonstrable experience of managing content design as a lead or as part of a user centred design team
- Working within multidisciplinary agile teams, and experience of creating epics and user stories
Analytical and Judgemental Skills
Essential criteria- Able to have an overall perspective on business issues and activities, understand their wider implications and long-term impact
- Multi-tasking, analysing opportunities, defining successful approaches, and proactively solve problems
- Evaluate design proposals from external suppliers, and make recommendations to senior stakeholders
- Working across multiple services and leading groups of UCD professionals to set direction, assuring the quality of content design
- Interpreting strategy and translate emerging trends and technologies which might impact or benefit the organisation
Interpersonal Skills
Essential criteria- Engaging and building relationships with a range of stakeholders to support delivery of user and business needs
- Coaching and leading teams in user centred design principles
- Influence and manage in a complex matrix department
Other
Essential criteria- Commitment to inclusivity and valuing diversity
Knowledge, Skills and Expertise
Essential criteria- Significant experience in combining user research and analytics to problem solve through design iterations and improve user experience.
- Understand and communicate to others the benefits and applicability of user interface design, development and testing tools, methods and standards to non-technical and technical stakeholders
- Direct the approach to content life cycle management, ensuring content is regularly reviewed, evaluated and iterated where needed
- Extensive experience in creating, iterating, managing and overseeing content
Analytical and Judgemental Skills
Essential criteria- Multi-tasking, analysing opportunities, defining successful approaches, and proactively solve problems
Interpersonal Skills
Essential criteria- Supporting the content design team to maintain a focus on delivery whilst instilling the importance of professional development and continual learning
- Facilitating conflict resolution within teams or professions
Reasonable adjustments to the interview process can be made upon request, for candidates with a disability. The HRA welcomes applicants who are interested in flexible working including job share, part time work, secondments or home-based working.
Please discuss any preferred flexibility at your interview.
The HRA reserves the right to close this vacancy early should we receive a sufficient number of applications.
The HRA does not hold a sponsor licence in respect of skilled worker visas and so is unable to employ candidates requiring sponsorship.
In order to be considered for this position you must address the criteria outlined in the person specification in your supporting statement. You will be considered based on the information in your application form. CVs will not be considered. All contact is made via our Trac recruitment system.Please check your account regularly.
After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our Third-party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. If you are appointed to a post, information will also be transferred into the NHS Electronic Staff Records system.
If you have a query relating to your application, please contact the recruitment team on [email protected] or 0300 330 9416.
The NHSBSA is responsible for the processing of your application; a privacy notice is available at the following link to advise you on how we will process your personal data.
HRA Recruitment Privacy Notice