User-centred Design Lead


Company:	Government Recruitment Service
Salary:	£71,734 to £83,355 a year
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	York
Job type:	Temporary
Posting date:	6 Oct 2026
Closing date:	20 Oct 2026

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Summary

The Test, Learn and Grow (TLG) team is at the heart of the UK government’s initiative to drive innovation and reform in public service delivery. Through the TLG Programme, our team collaborates with local authorities, mayoral strategic authorities, government departments and the wider public sector across the United Kingdom to design, test, and grow innovative solutions that enhance public service outcomes.

As UCD Lead, you will focus on providing leadership, coaching, line management and professional oversight to design practice (including design, user research and content design) across the Test, Learn and Grow programme. You will work with the Head of Design to set the strategic design direction, build design capability, and assure the quality of design across multidisciplinary teams working on place-based initiatives.

Mapped to the Lead Service Designer role in the Government Digital and Data capability framework, you will bridge policy, digital, and user-centred design practices. You will work closely with senior leaders, local authorities, and policy leads to ensure test and learn approaches are grounded in clear theories of change, while nurturing a high-performing design culture.

This role will require travel within the UK to work closely with local partners.

Responsibilities

You will:

Work closely with the head of design to set overall design direction across the programme.
Provide leadership, coaching, line management and professional oversight to designers and user researchers across the TLG programme, building capability and setting high design standards.
Look for and use opportunities to leverage design across the whole programme ecosystem
Assure the quality of design across multiple complex place-based projects and teams.
Work with senior leaders and departmental stakeholders to frame systemic problems, map service ecosystems, and build consensus around evidence-based cases for change.
Champion inclusive, equitable, accessible, and ethical design practices across all programme interventions.
Build and maintain relationships across government digital and policy networks, driving shared design patterns and cross-organisational collaboration.

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