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Here at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. (MHCLG), we work on things that make a real difference to people’s lives.  

Whether it's through the homes we live in, the work of our local councils, or the communities we’re all part of, our work is at the top of the political agenda. We have ambitious and far-reaching outcomes to achieve this year and, if you’re thinking of joining us, there’s never been a more exciting time. 

We have over 3,500 staff who are based in 20 offices across the UK. With ambitious and far-reaching goals this year, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.

MHCLG Digital is working with policy teams to apply digital, user-centred thinking to big important problems like building safety, homelessness, local growth and planning. Government is in the process of reacting to the societal transformation caused by internet-era business models, new technology and remote working: like other Departments, MHCLG is adapting and transforming in line with these wider changes. You can find out more about what the Digital Directorate does to assist the Department on this journey on our blog.

We’re looking for a Content Designer to join the Publishing Team to work across both the MHCLG intranet content and internal content projects. No two days are the same – from prioritising quick wins such as simple content updates on the intranet, to recognising requests that you can really get your teeth into.

You’ll work with other content designers and stakeholders to craft, crit and publish content and advise on accessibility best-practice. The team has a dedicated user researcher to work alongside, as well as a service manager to make sure workloads are managed in an agile way.

We particularly welcome candidates from an ethnic minority background and other underrepresented groups to apply, as we work to continually improve our ability to represent the places and communities we support through our work. 

Find out more about what it's like to work in a digital, data and technology role at MHCLG including our culture, ways of working, career progression and staff benefits. You can also read the MHCLG Digital blog to learn about the work we're doing. 

As a Content Designer you will:

• be part of the Publishing Team, which is based in the Digital directorate. You will also be part of the wider content design community

• work with policy or internal teams who have contacted the intranet inbox with a request

• work with other content designers to triage and manage inbox requests into business-as-usual and larger content project work, assessing the level of content design resource needed

• be involved in the end-to-end publishing process, taking requests from the draft stage to an accessible, content-designed final version

• be comfortable handling an unpredictable workload and capable of prioritising your time accordingly, as well as making quick, evidence-led decisions

• have strong stakeholder management skills to allow you to build relationships across the department and bring them with you on the user-centred design journey

• champion accessibility across the department

• work quickly and effectively to create and edit content on the intranet and wider projects

• apply user-centred design principles while creating content

• use a content management system to edit and publish HTML guidance on the intranet

• take on responsibilities related to the service such as crit sessions, content audits and user research sessions

• ensure compliance with accessibility regulations, including best practice and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

• contribute to identifying performance metrics and evaluating content

• contribute to an agile team culture and work to improve the service you provide

We will use the essential criteria below to evaluate you during the recruitment process. Make sure your CV and cover letter details how you meet the criteria.

As a Content Designer, you will be:

• familiar with user-centred design principles and content accessibility

• experienced in managing a busy inbox, working quickly in a fast-paced team, while also making use of quieter periods to use your initiative in finding other tasks

• comfortable working independently to manage your workload and prioritise tasks effectively

• experienced in working with stakeholders to communicate what you can and can't deliver, and being comfortable saying no under pressure

• understanding of how your work contributes to wider business objectives, taking the initiative to suggest improvements or efficiencies when you see them 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £38,732, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £11,220 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role

• An environment with flexible working options

• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Transfers across the Civil Service on or after 4 October 2018: 

Any move to MHCLG from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. 

For further information about the benefits available to MHCLG employees, please see the attached Candidate Pack. 

Things you need to know

We are for everyone 

At MHCLG we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce. We promote equality of opportunity in all aspects of employment and a working environment free from discrimination, harassment, bullying and victimisation. 

We would strongly recommend that applicants get in touch with the vacancy manager to find out more information about this role.  

MHCLG want to bring in a diverse workforce at all levels.  

Our application system is designed to remove as much bias as possible from the recruitment system – this means that a hiring manager does not know your name, your details, see your whole application in one go (or have your CV at review stage unless stated otherwise).  

Your answers are randomised and chunked up. This means that each assessor views sets of responses to questions for example all candidates’ responses to ‘Seeing the Big Picture’ rather than seeing a candidate’s full application. The science behind this is that recruitment can be subject to ordering and fatigue effects and we want to reduce this as much as possible.  

Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that each of your answers would be viewed by different assessors. 

When writing your application, remember: 

• The assessor won’t be reading your answers sequentially.  

• Do not assume that the same assessors will have read all of your answers.  

• If talking about something in your first answer, make sure that you write the second answer as if you had not written the first (and so on!) 

CV and Cover Letter Declaration 

We recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - this is called name blind recruitment. 

Please remove references to your: 

• name/title

• educational institutions

• age

• gender

• email address

• postal address

• phone number

• nationality/immigration status

You will need to merge your CV and covering letter into one document. When submitting your application Applied will ask you to upload a CV, when doing this you should upload your merged document of your CV and covering letter. 

Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that your application would be viewed by different assessors. 

At sift, through your CV and covering letter we will be assessing: 

• Technical

• Experience

Your covering letter should be no more than 1 page referencing how you meet the essential skills and experience required.

The interview will be of a blended nature consisting of the following success profiles elements:

• Experience

• Behaviours: Communicating and Influencing, Managing A Quality Service, Delivering at Pace

In full the campaign will test the below Success Profile Elements:

• Technical

• Experience

• Behaviours: Communicating and Influencing, Managing A Quality Service, Delivering at Pace

We do not consider direct CV applications – you must apply for this role via the application link on Civil Service Jobs: 

Please note that near miss offers may be made at the lower grade to candidates who do not meet the grade criteria for this campaign.

SEO salary 

• The salary for this role is £38,732 (National). 

• For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply and is non-negotiable. 

Benefits 

Transfers across the Civil Service on or after 4 October 2018: 

Any move to MHCLG from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. 

For further information about the benefits available to MHCLG employees, please see the attached Candidate Pack. 

Location 

Darlington

Manchester

Leeds

Wolverhampton

There may be opportunities for candidates to work flexibly depending on the business needs. This will be discussed with the vacancy manager on a case-by-case basis if you are successful for the role. 

*Please note: The Darlington Economic Campus is a pioneering new cross-government hub which will bring together people across departments and public organisations to play an active role in the most important economic issues of the day. The work of the Campus will make a real difference to people both across the UK and internationally. There will be substantial career opportunities and exciting prospects - a career at the Campus means you will be working at the heart of Government, with access to the benefits and fantastic opportunities offered by the civil service.  This role is based at  MHCLG and we will be joined on the campus by: 

• HM Treasury  

• Department for International Trade 

• Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy  

• Office for National Statistics  

• Department for Education 

For further information on the DEC, please take a look at the attached DEC candidate pack. 

Sift and Interview dates

Sifting is envisaged to take place from 11th of November 2024 with interview dates to be confirmed. All interviews are currently being held remotely via videocall. 

Reserve List 

In the event that we identify more appointable candidates than we currently have posts available, we will hold applicant details on a reserve list for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made. This may include roles at a lower grade. Candidates placed on a reserve list will be informed of this. Those candidates who do not wish to remain on the reserve list should contact recruitment@levellingup.gov.uk to be removed from the reserve list. 

Fixed Term Details

For external candidates– you will be offered an 18 months fixed term appointment with a possibility of permanency.

For existing civil servants – you will be offered an 18 months loan opportunity. Before applying for the role, you will need to seek approval from your parent department to take up a loan appointment should you be successful.

For DLUHC employees  - you will retain your existing contract

Before starting your application it’s very important to make sure that you are eligible to apply and meet the Civil Service nationality requirements. All candidates are expected to read the information provided in the MHCLG candidate pack regarding nationality requirements and rules

Candidate Pack Information

Please see attached Candidate pack for further information.

Internal Fraud Database

The Internal Fraud function of the Fraud, Error, Debt and Grants Function at the Cabinet Office processes details of civil servants who have been dismissed for committing internal fraud, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned.The Cabinet Office receives the details from participating government organisations of civil servants who have been dismissed, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned, for internal fraud. In instances such as this, civil servants are then banned for 5 years from further employment in the civil service. The Cabinet Office then processes this data and discloses a limited dataset back to MHCLG as a participating government organisations. MHCLG then carry out the pre employment checks so as to detect instances where known fraudsters are attempting to reapply for roles in the civil service. In this way, the policy is ensured and the repetition of internal fraud is prevented.

For more information please see- Internal Fraud Register 

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

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

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).

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Job contact :

• Name :DDaT recruitment Team

• Email :digitaldatajobs@communities.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email :digitaldatajobs@communities.gov.uk