Interaction Designer at UK Research & Innovation, Bristol/Remote, 7 Months, £Contract Rate

As an interaction designer you will plan, design and participate in research activities with users that helps the teams gain a deep understanding of the people using UKRI services. In this case for the REF29 systems.

You will:

•    Provide hands-on interaction design for multiple systems, some of which are being developed in parallel

•    Use best practice and standards consistent with the rest of government using the Government Digital Service  (GDS) Framework

•    Advise and support software engineers in the development of designs, and iterate gov.uk patterns and components

•    Work closely with service designers to gather and interpret evidence from service design walkthroughs and analysis, using this insight to design solutions and communicate well-reasoned rationale to stakeholders, ensuring that chosen approaches are grounded in user needs and service context

•    Ensure designs are intuitive, standards compliant and accessible.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

Agile working:

•    Create and iterate prototypes to test and communicate ideas using a variety of methods (including Figma)

•    Develop designs and user flows for transactional services used by multiple types of end-users 

•    Deliver high-quality, efficient and cost-effective digital products and services, with clear, manageable plans for delivery within given constraints.

•    Manage and visualise outcomes, prioritise work and adhere to agreed minimum viable product (MVP), priorities and scope.

Communicating between the technical and non-technical:

•    Listen to the needs of technical and business stakeholders and interpret them.

•    Clarify your own understanding and stakeholder needs and expectations using evidence, before making decisions.

•    Analyse and accurately interpret data from various sources to support decisions. Find the best option by identifying positives, negatives, risks and implications. Present reasonable conclusions from a wide range of complex and sometimes incomplete evidence.

•    Communicate with others in a clear, honest and enthusiastic way in order to build trust. Explain complex issues in a way that is easy to understand.

•    Understand the complexity and diversity of customer needs and expectations with emphasis on the importance of considering the different needs and contexts of end users.

•    Support or host difficult discussions within the team or with diverse senior stakeholders.

•    manage active and reactive communication

•    Manage stakeholder expectations

Community collaboration:

•    Work collaboratively in a group, actively networking with others in similar roles within the wider organisation.

Digital perspective:

•    Apply a digital understanding to work. Identify and implement solutions for assisted digital users.

Evidence and context-based design.

•    design systems for use across multiple services and identify the simplest of a variety of approaches.

•    understand user needs, user journeys and processes and how to design products and services that meet them

•    Understand user research methods and practice, with proven experience of using metrics and user feedback to inform designs 

•    Leading workshops and discussions to facilitate the development of interactive designs through collaboration with other professions 

•    Work with product owner and manager, user researchers, interaction and content designers and software developers to turn concepts into user-centred design and explain design decisions and how they were impacted by user research 

Prototyping:

•    Use a variety of prototyping methods.

•    You can create and validate a dynamic prototype 

•    An understanding of software development 

•    A reasonable understanding of HTML and CSS

•    Share best practice and coach others. You can look at strategic service design end to end. 

User focus:

•    Demonstrate experience in meeting the needs of users across a variety of channels. Bring insight and expertise in how user needs have changed over time to ensure they’re met by the business.

•    Apply strategic thinking to provide the best service for the end user.

Working within constraints:

•    Identify, communicate and work within constraints.

•    Challenge the validity of constraints.