Lead Service Designer

The Role

We’re recruiting for Lead Service Designers here at J ustice Digital, to be part of our warm and collaborative team.

These are exciting times at Justice Digital. We have a clear vision — to develop a digitally-enabled justice system that’s better and simpler for everyone. We’re looking for talented people who are passionate about this mission and ready for the challenge.

We have a thriving design community of 70+ designers who all work in multidisciplinary teams, alongside user researchers, business analysts, product owners, delivery managers and developers, to deliver world-class, user-centred services.

As well as doing great work, we’re creating a place that’s great to work in. We offer brilliant training opportunities, excellent kit and support from expert colleagues. On top of that, you’ll find flexible working, an inclusive culture and a place where your opinion is valued.

To help picture your life at MoJ Justice Digital please take a look at our blog and our

Digital and Technology strategy 2025

The role

In Justice Digital, our teams are developing simpler, clearer and faster services for prisoners, people on probation and those that supervise them. We’re building these to help people break the cycle of crime. Reoffending rates are very high in the UK and we’re working hard to help people avoid reoffending. In building these services we are contributing to keeping members of the public safe from criminal behaviour. We also strive to enable front line and headquarters staff do their jobs more efficiently and effectively by reducing the burden of administration and by providing the data they need for good decision making.

A lead designer is an expert practitioner who influences and mentors others. You will be expected to work with service owners and the Head of Digital to influence design direction and support designers across teams to do their best work.

Working closely with the other MoJ Design Leads, you’ll also be a part of advancing our approach across the department, helping to grow our design culture, and standardising and systemising the way we work to allow the design function to scale.

Key Responsibilities:

As a Lead designer, you will: People & community

●    Lead the recruitment of a talented and diverse team of designers that meet the growing needs of Justice Digital
●    Support the professional development of designers through coaching, line management & career progression
●    Lead Communities of Practice that inspire designers to learn, share best practice and collaborate on strategic problems.

Design standards & operations

●    Work with the Head of Design to set an ambitious vision for Design at MoJ, pushing the boundaries of what design can do to transform government
●    Work with other Design Leads to define, develop and embed design standards that ensure all our design work is consistently inclusive, accessible and easy to use.
●    Support our Design Operations specialist to standardise and systemietise our tools and processes as we scale

MoJ Digital Strategy
●    As a member of the Design Leadership Team, work closely with service owners, other profession leads, and the Heads of Digital to set and

communicate strategy, and ensure the teams are supported and equipped to deliver against that strategy
●    Collaborate closely with other profession leads (e.g. user research, product, software development) to champion digital transformation and continuously improve capability across the department

Cross-government collaboration
●    Be an active leader in the cross-government design community, sharing our work, learnings and developing best practice

If this feels like an exciting opportunity, something you are enthusiastic about, and want to join our team please read on and apply!

Person Specification

Essential

●    You have a strong grounding in user-centred design, and have experience working on multiple or highly complex services. You know how to give direction on which tools or methods to use, how to bring agile multi-disciplinary teams along with you, and how to advocate for user-centred design in a way that others understand.
●    You know what good public services look like and how to design in an inclusive, accessible way. You can set design standards and coach others.
●    Having worked as a designer, you can create high-quality, compelling design concepts and you are experienced in rapid prototyping.
●    You advocate for end-to-end service design at a strategic level, agnostic of teams, departments and organisations.
●    You are passionate about growing talent and developing design culture. You create a collaborative, inclusive environment, and you have experience of coaching and mentoring designers and coordinating communities of practice.
●    You can interpret the needs of senior leaders and stakeholders. You use design thinking to help solve complex organisational challenges and influence strategy.

Desirable

●    You have experience designing at scale and in technical environments

Willingness to be assessed against  the requirements for BPSS clearance

We welcome the unique contribution diverse applicants bring and do not discriminate on the basis of culture, ethnicity, race, nationality or national origin, age, sex, gender identity or expression, religion or belief, disability status, sexual orientation, educational or social background or any other factor.

Our values are Purpose, Humanity Openness and Together. Find out more here about how we celebrate diversity and an inclusive culture in our workplace.