Senior content designer

Band 7 · Content designer · 481 job evaluation points

UK GDaD PCF level: Senior content designer

Most often performed at Civil Service grade SEO or G7.

A senior content designer is an expert practitioner who develops content strategy and solutions for large-scale problems and high-profile events.
At this role level, you will:
take responsibility for content quality, manage small teams and mentor content colleagues
write and map user stories
review the work of others to assure quality
lead on cross-government content projects
engage with and contribute to the cross-government content community

Contains public sector information from the UK Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework (https://understand-digital-data-roles-skills.service.gov.uk/), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.

Responsibilities

Develop content strategy for large or high-profile areas, such as a major condition area or a public health campaign.
Design content for sensitive and high-risk topics, such as urgent symptoms, mental health, and end of life care.
Set up clinical assurance, evidence sources, and review cycles for a body of health content.
Review others' work to assure quality, and manage or mentor content designers.
Write and map user stories with the team.

Skills

Skill	Expected level	What this level means
Content management and architectureUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: establish workflows for designing and publishing content as part of an end-to-end content life cycle develop ways to organise and categorise information help design ways for content to be effectively reused in different channels and contexts
Design communicationUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: clearly explain complex problems and ideas to teams or stakeholders clearly document and communicate design decisions, related risks and any unresolved issues
Designing for everyoneUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: advise teams on how to design inclusive, accessible and environmentally sustainable content or services design and deliver ethical content or services that consider the personal and social context of users ensure your design work meets appropriate standards, for example accessibility regulations
Designing strategicallyUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: develop a strategy defining the purpose, impact and stages of your work to design content or services, aligning it with wider goals use risks, opportunities and constraints in technology, systems and policy to shape your design work identify and create new design patterns and components
Designing togetherUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: advise others how to effectively plan and run design sessions with a team, users or stakeholders adapt a design session to ensure you achieve a useful outcome build consensus around a design approach, for example by challenging assumptions work across team or profession boundaries, for example with policy teams
Evidence-based designUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: independently find, analyse and synthesise evidence from trusted sources work collaboratively with researchers, analysts and other specialists to design appropriate research and analyse the results help your team use design hypotheses effectively use complex research and data to develop and test design ideas
Iterative designUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: help other designers apply iterative design principles and agile methodologies to their work and create materials to test their ideas adapt designs effectively to changes in requirements, priorities or user needs help your team to define a minimum viable product (MVP) and determine what to prioritise for iteration
Leading designUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: lead and coordinate design work for a team advocate for user-centred design with leaders outside of digital and data create an inclusive, productive environment for designers to work in mentor and coach other designers iterate and improve design processes within your team
Understanding health and care servicesThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: analyse how a service fits into care pathways across organisations work with clinicians, care staff, and patients to shape digital services explain the effect of digital decisions on care, safety, and staff workload
Health information contentThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: design content for sensitive and high-risk topics, such as urgent symptoms, medicines, and end of life care set up clinical assurance, review dates, and evidence sources for a body of health content balance clinical precision, legal requirements, and user understanding in contested content
Equality, diversity, and inclusionThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: carry out equality impact assessments build inclusive teams and practices
Clinical terminology and classificationThis reference	Working (2)	You can: find and use the right codes for a data item or form use terminology browsers and reference sets
Designing for clinical safety and human factorsThis reference	Working (2)	You can: design interfaces that make the safe action the easy action, for example by reducing ambiguous labels and needless alerts test designs in realistic clinical scenarios, including interruptions and time pressure raise design-related hazards with the clinical safety officer and record how designs control them

Typical qualifications and experience

Substantial experience of content design, at a level equivalent to a master's degree.

Band 7 outline

Knowledge: Highly developed specialist knowledge, typically to master's level or equivalent experience.
Autonomy: Works to organisational policy; decides how results are achieved; is the expert others consult.
Scope: Several products or services, or a specialist function.
Leadership: Leads a team or a professional practice area.
Accountability: Delivery of a service or specialist function, and its budget if held.

Job evaluation (illustrative)

Factor	Level	Level summary	Points
Communication and relationship skills	5	Gives highly complex or contentious information needing developed persuasion and negotiation, presents to large groups, or communicates where there are significant barriers to acceptance.	45
Knowledge, training, and experience	6	Specialist knowledge across the range of the specialism (postgraduate diploma level or equivalent).	156
Analytical and judgemental skills	4	Judgements on complex facts or situations needing analysis, interpretation, and comparison of options.	42
Planning and organisational skills	4	Plans a broad range of complex activities or strategies, adjusting them as needed.	42
Physical skills	3	Developed skills needing speed or accuracy, such as advanced keyboard use.	27
Responsibility for patient and client care	1	Helps patients, clients, or relatives during incidental contact.	4
Responsibility for policy and service development	3	Implements policies for own area and proposes changes that affect other areas.	21
Responsibility for financial and physical resources	2	Handles cash or valuables, looks after equipment used by others, controls stock, or authorises small payments.	12
Responsibility for people	3	Manages a group of staff day to day, teaches core or specialist training, or gives core HR advice.	21
Responsibility for information resources	5	Designs and develops major information systems, or runs information systems for several services as the main duty.	34
Responsibility for research and development	2	Regularly does research, development, trials, or equipment and system testing as part of the job.	12
Freedom to act	4	Results are defined, but the job holder decides how to achieve them, within broad policy.	32
Physical effort	1	Sitting, standing, and walking, with little physical effort.	3
Mental effort	3	Frequent concentration on unpredictable work, or occasional prolonged concentration.	12
Emotional effort	2	Occasional exposure, or frequent indirect exposure, to distressing circumstances.	11
Working conditions	2	Occasional unpleasant conditions, frequent travel or outdoor work, or near-continuous screen use on most days.	7
Total (Band 7: 466 to 539)			481

Emotional effort is level 2 because senior content designers regularly work on distressing topics, such as serious illness, self-harm, and bereavement.