An interaction designer is a confident and competent designer who can determine the best way for users to interact with HMRC's services. You will:

• Use your experience to design user-friendly and accessible services that aligns with government standards and best practices.
• Work alongside policy experts, user researchers, designers, product managers, and tech specialists to create cohesive, end-to-end user experiences.

Person specification

Your responsibilities will include:

• Creating prototypes, using the government prototyping toolkit, to communicate and test ideas with users and improve with evidence
• Mapping user journeys, processes and visualising design problems
• Building positive relationships with stakeholders and team members, influencing and collaborating with them to improve design quality
• Helping to facilitate the design process by participating in research activities, pairing with developers, facilitating workshops and communicating design decisions
• Working collaboratively with your team to turn concepts into user-centred services

You will also be expected to:

• Participate in the design communities within HMRC and across government, both online and offline
• Use your expertise to review and provide feedback to other interaction designers on their work
• Seek out opportunities for learning and improvement by getting feedback from your colleagues and the business

Essential Criteria

To be successful in this role you will already have experience and understanding of:

• Designing accessible interactive products or services that meet user needs; including proven experience in
  • Sketching, concept creation and designing prototypes
  • Journey mapping and needs analysis with good understanding of information design/architecture
  • Working with pattern libraries and/or style guidelines, for example the GOV.UK design system
• An understanding of user research methods and practice
• Managing stakeholder needs and expectations and facilitating difficult discussions within the team or with diverse senior stakeholders.
• Prototyping at varying fidelities using a range of methods, including HTML and CSS, and collaborating with teams and stakeholders in prototyping activities
• Collaborating with user researchers, championing user research activities and designing to meet user needs
• Web technologies and how they affect design, including accessibility

Qualification

A degree in a relevant subject or equivalent background from industry experience is expected.

Technical skills

Interaction designers in HMRC are part of the Government Digital and Data profession. As part of the selection process you'll be assessed against four skills from the Interaction Design role:

• Designing together
• Evidence-based design
• Iterative design
• Designing for everyone

https://ddat-capability-framework.service.gov.uk/role/interaction-designer

Why join us in HMRC?

You will be joining a thriving and supportive design community, with regular opportunities for insight sharing, training and discussion. Our team draws together expertise from a wide variety of backgrounds and sectors and welcomes new ideas on how we can continue to improve the way we work to create real-world impact.

All members of our UCD communities can access:

• A clear career path to help you progress and develop at HMRC
• Community of practice sessions where you can learn from others, grow and develop
• Profession peer support channels where you can ask questions, share experiences and learn from others
• Opportunities to grow your skills and experience outside of your main role, for example becoming a service assessor or design reviewer

Transitional Sites

For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations .

If your location preference is for one of the following sites, it's important to note that these are not long-term sites for HMRC and we will require you to move to a new building in the future, subject to our location strategy and the applicable employee policies at that time.

These sites are:

• Benton Park View, Newcastle - moving to Pilgrims Quarter, Newcastle
• Telford Plaza, Telford - moving to Parkside Court, Telford

You will be given more information about what this means at the job offer stage.

Technical skills

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

• Presentation at Interview, as outlined within the Selection process details

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £45,544, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £13,194 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

HMRC operates both Flexible and Hybrid Working policies, allowing you to balance your work and personal commitments. We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible, considering our operational and customer service needs.

We offer a generous leave allowance, starting at 25 days and increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days.

• Pension - We make contributions to our colleagues' Alpha pension equal to at least 28.97% of their salary.
• Family friendly policies.
• Personal support.
• Coaching and development.

To find out more about HMRC benefits and find out what it's really like to work for HMRC hear from our insiders or visit Thinking of joining the Civil Service

Things you need to know

Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.

How to Apply

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide the following:

• Your employment history/CV detailing your responsibilities, skills, accomplishments, relevant qualifications and training.
• A personal statement showing how you meet the Essential Criteria in no more than 1000 words and why you want to work for HMRC. The STAR method may help you structure your statement.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

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.

Sift

In the event of a large number of applications being received, we'll sift firstly on employment history - for actual experience of design.

We'll then proceed to a full sift, where all elements of your application will be assessed against the essential criteria.

We may also raise the score required at any stage of the process if we receive a high number of applications.

Interview

Successful candidates who meet the required standard will be invited to a video interview via Microsoft Teams. During the interview we will ask you to:

• Deliver a ten-minute presentation on a piece of design work you have recently completed that demonstrates one of the technical skills, further details of this will be included with the invitation to interview
• Answer questions that let you demonstrate your experience and technical skills relevant to the role

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Eligibility

Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. We understand mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days(Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we will not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake with your eligibility form, please contact us via: unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk - Use the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example - 'Please re-open my application - [insert vacancy ref] & vacancy closing date [insert date]'.

To check that you are eligible to apply for this role, please review the eligibility information before submitting your application .

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles - if this applies to you, we'll let you know via your Civil Service Jobs account.

Merit List

After interview, a single merit list will be created, and you will only be considered for posts in locations you have expressed a preference for. Appointments will be made in strict merit order in line with the set number of roles in each location.

Criminal Record Check

Applications received from candidates with a criminal record are considered fairly in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice and the Recruitment of ex-offenders Policy.

Reasonable Adjustments

We want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact the UBS Recruitment team via unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the "Assistance required" section in the "Additional requirements" page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Important information for existing HMRC contractual homeworkers:

This role may be suitable for existing HMRC employees who are contractual homeworkers. Occasional attendance to the office will be required where there is a business need. Please consider the advertised office locations for this role when applying and only select locations from the 'location preferences' section that you can travel to.

Terms and Conditions

Customer facing roles in HMRC require the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English and/or Welsh where required. Where this is an essential requirement, this will be tested as part of the selection process.

HMRC has a presence in every region of the UK. For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations .

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences.

Any instances of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be investigated and, if proven, the relevant application(s) will be withdrawn from the process.

Recording of interviews is prohibited unless explicit agreement is sought in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulations.

Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed as detailed later in this advert.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant's details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

New entrants will join on the minimum of the pay band.

Please note that, if you are applying for roles on a part-time basis, the salary agreed will be pro-rata, reflective of the working hours agreed within your contract.

If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

For more Information for people applying for, or thinking of applying for, roles at HM Revenue and Customs, please see link: Working for HMRC: information for applicants - GOV.UK .

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

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

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) .

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : UCD Recruitment
• Email : ucdrecruitment@hmrc.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk

Further information
Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel there has been a breach of the Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly via ubsrecruitmentcomplaints@hmrc.gov.uk. Please note that we do not accept complaints or appeals regarding scoring of outcomes of campaigns, unless candidates can provide clear evidence that the campaign did not follow the Recruitment Principles. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their website.