Content Design Lead

at  Department for Business and Trade Digital Data and Technology

The Department for Business and Trade has a unique opportunity to unleash the power of UK businesses, reform regulation to reduce burdens and unlock post-Brexit freedoms.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Let us tell you a little bit about the role…
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) supports businesses to comply, invest, expand, and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country.
Our Content Operations team sits within the Content Design team and sets the standards and systems for managing the department’s content across 3 platforms: GOV.UK, great.gov.uk, and our intranet.
The Content Operations team is responsible for how content lifecycle is managed, making sure that content meets a user need, is up to date, and complies with the latest accessibility standards.
It also delivers insight into how well content is performing and acts on feedback. People across User-Centred Design (UCD) use this to innovate, improve and provide a better service for our users.
We’re looking for a Lead Content Designer to head up the Content Operations team and to work with Design and User Research Leads to set up UCD Operations.
You’ll be a skilled Content Designer with leadership skills and a systems-thinking approach. You will know how to manage people and projects with the goal of making our content accurate, clear, and written with the user in mind.
You will have the confidence to champion high-quality content with a wide variety of stakeholders, and the ability to design workflow to support it
A talented communicator, you should feel comfortable managing relationships between your team and other teams to ensure consistency and share good practice.
You’ll help colleagues and stakeholders in other disciplines understand what content design is, why it’s important, and how to work with content designers.
You’ll make evidence-based decisions whether working reactively or proactively. And you’ll employ a systems-thinking approach to your work generally.
This role is available in seven UK locations and can only be worked from within the UK, not overseas. If your office location is London, you will be eligible to receive London weighting. DBT employees work in a hybrid pattern, spending 2-3 days a week (pro rata) in the office on average. Changes to these working arrangements are available in certain circumstances but must be agreed with the vacancy manager and in line with the requirements of the role and can only be discussed with successful candidates. Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DBT, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.
Find out about life at DBT, our benefits and meet the team by watching our recruitment video, visiting our website or reading our blog!

ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

You will need to have demonstrable skills and experience of:

• managing high-quality, user-centred content
• reviewing and improving processes to champion better ways of working and efficiencies within a busy team
• problem-solving and trying new ideas with input from other professions
• managing multiple projects and adapting to changing priorities and deadlines
• using analytics, customer insight, and user research to evaluate and improve content
• establishing processes and directing documentation concerning knowledge information management
• managing and mentoring team members, providing them with guidance, training and constructive feedback

DESIRABLE SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

These are not necessary but would be ideal if you:

• experience of working in Content Operations or UCD Operations
• business-to-business content design
• working in an international organisation

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES AND SKILLS

• able to lead and inspire to build a positive team culture
• innovative, seeking out opportunities to learn, and creating effective change at scale
• collaborative and flexible in your leadership style and open to new ideas
• approachable with the confidence to challenge assumptions and explore the hypothetical
• passionate about making complex language and processes easy to understand
• a champion for content design, creating accessible and inclusive content
• able to use sound judgement, evidence, and knowledge to arrive at accurate, professional decisions
• able to take responsibility and accountability for quality outcomes
• comfortable working in a fast-paced environment

Benefits

• Extensive learning and development tailored to your role, with budget for training, qualifications or professional membership of a recognised body
• An environment with flexible, hybrid working options such as condensed hours
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
• Annual leave starting at 25 days per annum plus statutory bank holidays rising to 30 days with service
• Three paid volunteering days a year
• Employee benefits programme offering retail discounts, a season ticket loan for public transport, and a cycle to work scheme

• creating a robust information environment so you can improve the efficiency, measurable effectiveness, and assured quality of publishing user-centred content on 3 platforms
• taking a strategic view on how the department maintains and delivers content to support services and policy outcomes
• devising systems that apply to content delivered inside or outside time-bound delivery teams, or by devolved publishers
• advocating for Content Operations and how to apply it in a politically sensitive, enterprise-level organisation
• providing input into the set-up of User-Centred Design Operations in the department
• oversight of a Content Design Live Services team, who use GOV.UK’s Whitehall content management system and Wagtail content management systems to update content
• working with a wide range of stakeholders employing both empathy to understand their needs and diplomacy to persuade them of different approaches
  In this role, you will be responsible for managing written content for our online platforms – GOV.UK, great.gov.uk and the intranet. The role does not include graphic design or content for social media, marketing campaigns or email marketing.