Senior Interaction Designer

Job Description Job Title: Senior Interaction Designer

Band: 5

Salary: £59,877- £69,457

(plus allowance up to £9000 per annum depending on technical assessment)

Available Locations: Liverpool, Newport, Norwich, Glasgow or Birmingham

The following locations listed below are restricted to contracted GCA staff already based in one of these offices: London, Bristol, Manchester or York. External applicants are not eligible for these sites. If you select one of these locations as an external applicant your application will unfortunately be withdrawn. Contract Type: Permanent

Hours: Full time

Closing Date: 25th October Interview Date(s): 10th/11th November (subject to change) Insight into GCA - Webinar Watch our Webinar on the above link and gain valuable insight into GCA and our recruitment processes. 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.

Essential Criteria (to Be Assessed At Application Stage) Proven End-to-End Interaction Design Experience: Extensive track record of designing complex, intuitive user journeys and interfaces within an Agile delivery environment.

Prototyping: Demonstrated capability in creating low-to-high fidelity interactive prototypes (using Figma, HTML/CSS, or design toolkits) to test hypotheses and validate user flows.

Expertise in Accessibility & Inclusion (WCAG 2.2): Deep knowledge and practical application of inclusive design principles and WCAG 2.2 standards to ensure products work for all users, including those using assistive tech.

Evidence-Based & Collaborative: Track record of using user research, data, and usability testing to defend design decisions and iteratively improve digital services alongside cross-functional teams.

Influencing: Proven ability to impact direction of projects, outcomes of the team and build consensus among diverse stakeholders and delivery squads.

Behaviours Success Profiles (to be assessed at interview):

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