Job summary

The Buildings, Fire and Resilience Group delivers policy, analysis and interventions to keep people safe in their homes and communities and leads and supports industry to build 1.5 million new homes which are safe, healthy and energy efficient. Within the group, the Building Insights division is a digital and policy team that includes the delivery of Energy Performance of Buildings Register and Energy Calculation as a Service and the group’s System Design team.

We apply user-centred approaches and system thinking to tackle the complex challenges in the sector including working with policy teams to ensure that digital services are supporting good outcomes for citizens, providing evidence for teams to make decisions that will meet policy aims within the system and supporting teams to design and implement policy, thinking through system risks and consequences for end users enabling the group to steward the building safety and quality system effectively. We often work through ambiguity to deliver high quality work that will help to shape the future of the built environment. 

It's an exciting time to join the team. We're in the process of working on Energy Performance reform and redesigning Energy Performance Certificates so that they reflect desired policy outcomes; we're mapping and developing a system wide view of building safety, embedding this into decision making forums, bringing together insights fand establishing system design as a new function within MHCLG.

Find out more about our Digital teams and what they are working on through our MHCLG Digital blog.  Please note that MHCLG do not offer visa sponsorship and applicants will need a valid visa for the duration of your employment.

Job description

As a Senior Service Designer, you’ll:

• Lead user-centred system design projects in a multi-disciplinary team with responsibility shaping, communicating and delivering a clear design approach to complex challenges

• Produce visual products including user journeys, system maps and service blueprints, taking a creative approach to make complex information accessible

• Lead policy and service design at a range of scales, prototyping and testing of interventions to deliver system and user outcomes 

• Work iteratively and reflectively, incorporating feedback from users and stakeholders in your designs 

• Develop an understanding of the current and future landscape, to identify opportunities for improvement and understand when implementation of new policies or service changes would impact the built environment and our users 

• Identify dependencies and incentives within the current system and between services, using this understanding to inform design 

• Implement a user-centred systems approach, bringing and embedding knowledge of user-centred design to a complex policy and service landscape 

• Consider how your designs are inclusive, accessible, sustainable and meet relevant standards 

• Build relationships with teams across the group and profession boundaries, working collaboratively and facilitating cross-team outcomes and understanding 

• Embody inclusive leadership, advocating for user-centred design, line managing others and supporting the development of practice within the division and department

Person specification

We are seeking a Senior Service Designer that can engage at a strategic, systems level in complex landscapes in a way which priorities users and their needs. 

As a Senior Service Designer, you'll have:

• Significant experience of working as a lead/senior level service designer in a user-centred design team, project or programme

• Experience of working in complex policy environment and applying strategic user-centred approaches to policy challenges

• Experience of developing strategic and/or systems visualisations or conceptual models that can bring clarity to a large, complex and interconnected landscape using creative and innovative designs

• Experience of using strategic end-to-end products to tell a compelling story which can communicate complex information to non-experts in a way that brings information to life

• Experience of critically analysing end-to-end journeys to identify pain points and challenges, and using this to help set a strategic direction for the future

• Experience of building and managing relationships with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders, including the ability to work across organisational boundaries

• Experience facilitating research and workshop sessions with a range of participants

• An understanding or experience applying system thinking or system change approaches

• An understanding and ability to work with complexity, uncertainty and organisational constraints in a political context

• Skills to be an inclusive leader that can support and coach other team members, direct work, and support career development

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,167, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £16,271 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

At MHCLG we offer many benefits that range from tailored career pathways and flexible working to MyLifestyle Childcare Voucher and Cycle to Work Schemes. For more information, please click here.

Things you need to know

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 (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Application and Selection

The application process will be split into 2 stages, testing the following Success Profiles:

Behaviours , Experience ,  Technical

Please ensure your CV does not contain any personally identifiable information.

Note: We do not consider direct CV applications. All applications must be submitted via the provided application link.

Important: Your CV and Cover Letter must be merged into a single document before uploading.

Stage 1: Sift (CV & Cover Letter)

Experience: Please provide your CV and a statement of suitability of no more than 1 page describing how you meet the criteria we have described under “Person Specification”, including evidence of your experience and skills.

Stage 2: Interview

• Behaviours: "Seeing The Big Picture", "Delivering at Pace", "Communicating and Influencing", "Working Together"

• Technical: Technical questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.

Sift and Interview Dates

Sifting is envisaged to take place the week commencing 9th March 2026.

Interviews are envisaged to take place the week commencing 30th March 2026 and are currently being held remotely via videocall. This could be subject to change.

Group 1 Digital & Data Roles

MHCLG has implemented the Digital and Data capability framework for Group 1 roles. Applicants that are successful and have been offered a position will be required to complete a capability assessment after the interview.   

MHCLG will honour completed capability assessments for this role from other Government Departments for existing civil servants on level transfer only. Please provide a copy of your capability assessment to the Hiring Manager when applying. If you have any queries on pay, please contact the Hiring Manager. 

Each experience or technical skill is assessed between 1-3, representing working towards, at or above the job level requirements. You are awarded a proficiency level accordingly, and you will be given opportunity to annually re assess your capability and potentially increase your overall remuneration, through payment of allowances, depending on level of assessed capability. 

Candidates moving from another government department have the option to retain their current basic pay if this is within our pay band for the relevant grade.

Grade 7 Group 1 Digital and Data salary 

• The basic pay for this role will be between £61,745 - £72,112 (London), £56,167 - £66,581 (National).  Candidates will usually be recruited to the median of the payscale.

• A digital allowance may also be payable depending on the level of assessed capability, in order to meet the MHCLG overall targeted remuneration rate for the specific grade, location and capability rating.

• For applicants in receipt of existing allowances, we will assess each case individually, but we would seek not to exceed the MHCLG overall targeted remuneration rate for the specific grade, location and capability rating for existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply, subject to the statements above.

How We Recruit

Find out everything you need to know before applying here..

• Applying

• Sifting

• Interview

• Interview Results & Feedback

• Reserve List

• Near Miss

• Civil Service Grades

• We are a DCS, RIS & GPTWV employer

• Reasonable Adjustments

How to Apply

What you need to know before applying.

• Security Clearance Requirements

• Civil Service Nationality Requirements

• Right to Work

• Artificial Intelligence

• Civil Service Code and Recruitment Principles

• CV Declaration

• Sponsorships

• Salary and Grade

• Existing Civil Servants

• Conflict of Interest

• Location and Flexible Working

• Fixed Term Contracts

• Internal Fraud Database - Internal Fraud Register

• Appeals and Complaints

• Conflict of Interest

Security Clearance Requirements

National Office: BPSS 

London Office: BPSS + CTC 

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

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window). See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

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)

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.

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

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