Digital

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service

Directorate: Strategy and Change

Workstream: User Experience and Insight Team

Job title: Junior Content Designer

Location: National (with regular travel to London and operational sites as required by business)

Duration: Permanent, Fixed-term contract (1 year)

Pay span or equivalent: HEO (Band C)

London: £35,405 – £39,000

National: £31,265 – £34,446

This role qualifies for a DDaT (Digital, Data and Technology) skills-based salary supplement which is applied after assessment.

This position is available for external applicants as well as existing civil servants on level transfer or promotion. New recruits to the Civil Service joining MoJ are expected to join at the band minimum. For an exceptional applicant and under exceptional circumstances, managers have discretion to set starting salaries above the pay range minimum.

Background:

It is an extremely exciting time here at HM Courts and Tribunals Service. We have been undertaking a change programme aimed at delivering pioneering judicial services that better serve the public.

As part of the Strategy and Change Directorate, you will be at the forefront of facilitating and implementing change in our world-leading justice system. As services are reformed, you’ll be part of their transition into Digital and Technology Services, supporting service owners to continuously improve our services based on research, insight and best practice. It’s an exciting opportunity to influence ways of working from a design perspective.

Can you deliver in a fast-paced environment that is changing constantly? Do you have broad relevant experience of user-centred design, using user research and insight to shape the way people interact with services? Can you help develop others to do the same? If so, please read on and apply. We’re particularly keen to hear from people in under-represented groups.

This Programme is one of the largest across Government and you will gain a deep understanding of how a large complex portfolio operates as well as develop a broad range of effective business skills. Your development will be supported throughout with coaching and mentoring from senior professionals across the Directorate, and you also can attain relevant professional qualifications/certifications. 

Find out more in the HMCTS blog. 

About the team:

The User Experience and Insight Team at HMCTS is redesigning and rebuilding our courts and tribunal services around the needs of our users – ensuring our services are accessible, easy to use, digital (where necessary and appropriate) and well supported for all users.

We are a portfolio function and provide expertise in a range of areas, including user research, accessibility, designing, prototyping and optimising user experiences across all channels. Our support ranges from research and analysis, embedding designers, researchers and analysts in projects, providing consultancy and advice, to designing tools and frameworks.

Within User Experience and Insight, the User-Centred Design Team works with HMCTS projects and programmes to support our core design principle of being user-led in everything we do. As designers, we work closely with researchers, analysts and frontline staff to understand pain points for our internal and external users, then design, test and iterate consistent ways to fix these issues.

The role:

We are looking for a Junior Content Designer who is passionate about developing digital services that meet user needs and are simple enough for everyone to use.

In this role you will design inclusive and accessible content, working alongside other user-centred design professionals. You will own the content and its quality throughout a user’s journey and be comfortable using evidence, data and research to back up your decisions. 

You will be expected to share knowledge and actively participate in the HMCTS content community and cross-government content groups. You will also work with other content designers to manage content requests from stakeholders and support publishing processes.

This is an exciting opportunity to join one of the largest change programmes in government as we continue to build and improve our court and tribunal services. 

Location of post:

The post-holder can be based in London or at any of our HMCTS sites. If you are London-based, you will be expected to work in the offices at 102 Petty France 2 days a week. If you are Nationally based, you will be expected to travel to the offices at 102 Petty France at least twice a month, coinciding with the in-person community events scheduled. 

Travel to other HMCTS sites may also be required as part of these working arrangements. In line with the department’s policies, travel and subsistence and, where appropriate, overnight accommodation will be available in line with organisational policies.

Key responsibilities:

As a Junior Content Designer, you’ll:

●    work in agile, multi-disciplinary teams to develop user-centred content for HMCTS end-to-end services, with direction from more senior content designers
●    support the content design team with publishing guidance content to the GOV.UK website
●    use best practice and standards to write clear and accessible content, consistent with the rest of government and HMCTS
●    use evidence, research and data to identify user issues and write and map user stories
●    work collaboratively with other designers to agree the right design approach to improve service processes and performance
●    work with and influence stakeholders to deliver clear and relevant user-centred content, explaining content decisions and managing policy and legal checks
●    engage with, and contribute to, the HMCTS and cross-government content design communities
●    help colleagues and stakeholders understand what content design is, why it’s important and how to work with content designers

Essential skills and criteria:

You need to have experience of:

●    creating and improving content based on user needs 
●    working with other designers to create clear user journeys to and from content
●    making complex language and processes easy to understand
●    working with stakeholders to understand their goals 
●    influencing stakeholders to make sure content is user-centred, usable and accessible
●    applying content standards and style guidelines to your work
●    using evidence and data to identify user needs and inform content decisions
●    explaining your design decisions and approach to stakeholders
●    reviewing content to make sure design standards and accessibility requirements are met, providing attention to detail
●    working in a fast-paced environment with tight deadlines

Desirable skills and criteria:

It would be great if you also have experience of:

●    working in agile teams 
●    working on end-to-end services
●    working to the government service standard and GOV.UK content standards

Technical skills:

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

•    User focus
•    User-centred content design
•    Stakeholder relationship management

Application process:

To apply for this position please complete the online application form, ensuring you submit the following 2 documents:
 
1.    A copy of your CV which details your experience and achievements. 

2.    A 500-word statement of suitability which demonstrates your suitability against the key responsibilities and essential skills and criteria outlined above.

If selected for interview, please note that these may be held via video conferencing. At interview, you’ll be asked to complete a content design task, focusing on your approach.

If we receive applications from more suitable candidates than we have vacancies for at this time, we may hold suitable applicants on a reserve list for 12 months, and future vacancies requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without a new competition.

The MoJ is proud to be Level 3 Disability Confident. Disability Confident is the approach through which we offer guaranteed interviews for all people with disabilities meeting the minimum criteria for the advertised role as set out in the job description.

Terms and conditions

Flexible working options

HMCTS offers a flexible working system in many of its offices.

Job sharing and reduced hours

All applications for job sharing or reduced hours will be treated fairly and on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the MoJ’s flexible working policy and equality policy.

Excess fares and relocation allowances

This job is not eligible for relocation allowances but excess fares may be considered in accordance with MoJ’s excess fares allowance policy.

Salary

The national salary range is £31,265 - £34,446, London salary range is £35,405 - £39,000. Your salary will be dependent on your base location.

Additional Information

Working Arrangements & Further Information

The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and / or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review.

For nationally advertised roles, the successful candidate(s) will be appointed to a MoJ office location, which may include their nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. This will be discussed and agreed on the completion of pre-employment checks.

Some of MoJ’s terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on ‘modernised’ terms in their current post or onto ‘unmodernised’ MoJ terms if they are on ‘unmodernised’ terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.

Flexible working hours

The Ministry of Justice offers a flexible working system in many offices.

Benefits

The MoJ offers a range of benefits:

Annual Leave

Annual leave is 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years’ service.

There is also a scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year. Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day. Leave for part-time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.

Pension

The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Training

The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.

Networks

The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

Support

• A range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
• Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits, retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
• For moves to or from another employer or moves across the Civil Service this can have implications on your eligibility to carry on claiming childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for alternative government childcare support schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. More information can be found on GOV.UK or Childcare Choices. You can determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
• Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
• Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.

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. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order

• To Shared Service Connected Ltd (0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am – 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com);
• To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team (resourcing-management-office@justice.gov.uk);
• To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns.

You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team.

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.