Job responsibilities
About the team
The UCD team draws together experts in design and delivery with a shared mission to create an organisation that puts an understanding of users, their needs, and experiences at the heart of policy making, and service and product design and delivery, to improve organisational performance.
To achieve our mission, the UCD team will:
- Influence Advocate for user-centredness. Building awareness and understanding of UCD principles and practices across UKHSA, actively influencing decision makers to apply UCD standards and practicestopolicy making and service and product design and delivery.
- Enable Grow the UCD profession and give all staff the tools they need to embody user-centricity; providing a place for expert UCD capability to flourish, and the tools, guidance and frameworks needed toenable all staff to build UCD knowledge and skills.
- Deliver Deploy our expert capability to help the organisation to solve problems and improve products and services by bring a problem-focused user-centric approach to transformation initiatives.
As Head of UCD you will be part of the leadership team establishing the UCD function within UKHSA. You will lead on the Enable pillar of our mission growing and fostering expert UCD capability across the organisation and embedding UCD practices into the way in which we design and deliver products and services, supporting UKHSA to deliver against its mission to save lives and protect livelihoods.
You will be supported directly by 3 Grade 7 Leads for Content, Service Design and User Research, who will each manage a G7 Senior and SEO in their respective fields. Further you will work closely with the G6 Head of UCD Business Partnering and Capability who will lead on the Influencing stand and the G6 Head of Product who leads on the Deliver strand. You will be joining a team of 26 UCD professionals to support the delivery of these ambitious goals. The successful candidate will be able to develop and shape the role and the team working with key partners in Technology Group and Health Protection Operations to best understand how to embed expert UCD practice within change and improvement activities to drive lasting and transformative change for our users and supporting UKHSA in its objective to become a high performing organisation.
This is a great development opportunity for an experienced Grade 7 to take on new and challenging work or for an existing Grade 6 who wants to be at the forefront of driving digital and user-centred maturity in a complex and young organisation.
About Us
We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.
UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.
Location
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) offers hybrid working this means that whilst the role will be based in one of our 4 offices in Birmingham, Leeds, London Canary Wharf or Liverpool, there will be opportunities to work from home or remote working.
You will be asked to express a location preference during the application process.
Please be aware that this role can only be worked from within the UK and not overseas. Relocation expenses are not available
Selection process details
STAGE 1 - APPLICATION & SIFT:
You will be required to complete an application form and a statement of suitability. Your Statement of Suitability should outline your skills, experience, and achievements, providing evidence of your suitability for the role, against the essential criteria (outlined in the person specification section). Your Statement of Suitability must not exceed 750 words.
You will also be asked to provide information within the Employer/ Activity history section of the application form. This is equivalent to the information you would provide on a CV, setting out your career history. The sift selection panel will only consider relevant career history information from the last 5 years.
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to an interview.
STAGE 2 INTERVIEW:
The scenario for the interview, and instructions on how to prepare, will normally be sent approximately three days in advance. No presentation will be necessary, although candidates may choose to create one. Candidates can also refer to notes.
Depending on how many applications we get, there might also be an extra stage before the video interview, for example a phone interview or a technical exercise.
In the Civil Service, we useSuccess Profilesto evaluate your skills and ability. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, increases performance and improves diversity and inclusivity. Well be assessing your technical abilities, skills, experience and behaviours that are relevant to this role.
For this role well be assessing you against the followingCivil Service Behaviours:
- changing and improving
- communicating and influencing
- developing self and others
Well also be assessing your experience and specialist technical skills against the following skills defined in the Digital, Data and Technology Profession Capability Framework and candidates should expect questions on the initial 3-4 skills during the interview:
- community collaboration
- user focus
- leadership and guidance
- agile
Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade.
A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Expected Timeline:
Advert close: 23:55hrs on 12/12/2023 unfortunately, late applications will not be considered. Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Interviews: TBC (likely to be after Christmas)
Please note these dates could be subject to change.
Eligibility Criteria
Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants)
Nationality requirements
Appointments to roles within UKHSA will be made in accordance with the Civil Service nationality rules. These can be found athttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rulesThis job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- Nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- Nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of theEuropean Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
- Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
- Certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.
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 welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment.
Security clearance level requirement
Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Enhanced Personnel Security Standard.
For posts on UKHSA Civil Service terms and conditions, new entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. For existing Civil Servants and roles advertised across government, the rules of transfer apply, i.e., level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive a 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.
Please Note
This role is to be appointed under Civil Service Terms & Conditions. Full details on the T&Cs are found https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/
Are you already a civil servant, or employed by a Civil Service Commission accredited public body? Please state home department on your application form.
Do you meet the nationality requirements for this post? https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/
The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact UKHSA Public Accountability Unit via email: Complaints1@ukhsa.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website.
