Senior User Centered Designer - Working for Essex

About the role

Senior User Centered Designer

Permanent

Full Time, 37 hours per week

£60,048 to £70,645 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Anywhere worker

Closing Date: 8th February 2026

Join a Council Shaping the Future of Public Services

Essex County Council is ambitious and by 2030 it will be one of the most forward looking, effective and financially sustainable Councils in the country. ECC will be a leading-edge digital council that drives excellent customer service with transformation at the heart of service excellence. The vision for the Architecture and Design area is to focus on user-centred design, data driven innovation and future-proofing architecture.

This role is responsible for developing service designs that will support the council’s ambition to become a leading digital council and deliver better public services for citizens and businesses in Essex. The postholder will champion a user-centred, service design approach through the entire process, from Discovery through to roll-out and on-going service improvement. They will align user research and service design methods to develop a deep understanding of the people that use ECC services and identify opportunities to improve service outcomes and efficiency As a lead member of a multi-skilled team covering service design and user research, the postholder will be proficient in both domains and expert in one.

To read more about our business area, please visit: Corporate Services

Key Responsibilities:

Lead the design work of multidisciplinary teams, specifying and designing end-to-end digital services, that meet user needs and business objectives and ensuring the work is consistent with organisational standards and Government Accessibility Regulations.
Accountable for working collaboratively with service areas to scope new service design statements of work which should be considered for approval based on ECC’s strategic aims and financial considerations
Use visual tools to align stakeholders on project goals, progress, and outcomes, and develop compelling narratives that effectively communicate complex service design concepts to engage stakeholders and foster collaborative decision-making.
Responsible for identifying and developing service patterns and standards to create consistent user experiences across services as well as efficient service delivery built on common components.
Lead the development and selection of appropriate design standards, methods and tools and ensure they are applied effectively and that all work is documented using the appropriate standards, methods and tools, to ensure the application of best practice in service design and user research to complex and technically challenging projects.
Oversee the planning, arranging and facilitating of appropriate user research using a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods and take responsibility for the ethical conduct of this research to industry standards.
Communicate to council teams an understanding of the diversity of users of government services, advocate for inclusive practices and help design and deliver inclusive and accessible services that work for all users.
Proactively contribute to Communities of Practice and support the Head of Design in the coaching and mentoring of business architects and user centred designers to develop a team of multi-skilled individuals.
Operational planning and performance review, to maintain exceptional service delivery and ensure the political objectives and priorities of the council are met.
Working collaboratively within and across functions and thinking commercially to support the delivery of best possible outcomes for our customers, on a financially sustainable basis.
Maintaining and nurturing collaborative relationships with other teams in the function and external organisations that support the delivery of annual plans.
Implementing changes and continually evaluating the service to improve the area of work, while maintaining continual delivery of the highest possible levels of service quality.
Managing complex issues and resources to meet the needs of customers and deliver the best possible outcomes.
Using professional expertise to translate goals and plans into ways of working that comply with relevant legislation and statutory requirements, manages a level of appropriate risk.
Delivering exemplar customer interactions to individuals and communities which support strong relationships and a reputation for achieving outcomes and resolving issues.
Champion the value of user-centred design and user research across the council and work in the open to promote awareness and understanding amongst all staff to put the user at the centre of their thinking.
Delegated responsibility for project budgets authorising low level spend and tracking spend commitments.
People management responsibility for fixed term project teams (approx. 6-8) of multi-disciplined professionals.
Influencing internal stakeholders and multiple external stakeholders.
The role will have critical and defining input to complex projects which impact significantly across the Council and carry high reputational risk.

The Experience You Will Bring:

Educated to RQF level 6 (bachelor’s degree) in design, research or equivalent by experience.
Experience of successfully delivering user-centred design in Agile environments.
Experience of balancing the needs of users with organisation priorities to make the right decisions and empowering teams to act upon them.
Proven ability to understand technical complexity, risks and to communicate this in simple and accessible language to a wide range of audiences.
Experience of developing ideas using sketching, prototyping (including working with developers to prototype in code), testing tools and iterative design to make sure services meet user needs.
Experience of using analytics and user insight to define, improve and guide decision making.
Experience of building and nurturing teams to adopt a range of user-centered design and delivery practices and embed them into their agile workflow.
Knowledge and practical application of the Government Service Standards, Government Accessibility Regulations and Information Governance principles.
Proven evidence of continuing professional development knowledge relevant to technology operations, including remaining abreast of developments in delivery and new ways of working, professional development and expert knowledge in relevant professional area.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR)) on our careers site

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk

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