As the living, growing home of our national story, The National Archives is already a special place to work. We’re an institution nearly 200 years old with a collection spanning 1,000 years of history. But it’s where we go next that makes things really interesting. In our strategic vision: Archives for Everyone, we set ourselves the challenge of becoming the 21st Century national archive - a different kind of cultural and heritage institution: Inclusive, Entrepreneurial, Disruptive. We won’t become this overnight. It will take time, focus, effort and daring. That’s where you come in. Because we can’t do this without you. Job Overview Salary: £49,000 Contract type: Permanent Band: F / SEO Closing date: Sunday 9th February at midnight About us Archives matter. Without records, we could not hold government to account, carry out pioneering research or learn from the past. Whether they are websites, the evidence heard by inquiries or the algorithms which support official decision-making, the survival of our digital public records is vital. The National Archives is the archive of UK Government and the courts. We are one of the world’s leading digital archives. Our business strategy, Archives for Everyone, describes our vision to become an inclusive, entrepreneurial, and disruptive archive that harnesses emerging technology to reaffirm and transform our historic mission for the digital age. The Digital Archiving department’s role is to bring digital records into the archive, preserve them for the future and open up access for diverse audiences. We build and operate a suite of digital products and services to enable this, some of which are used by other archives and heritage organisations internationally. The department offers a supportive, welcoming, and collegiate working environment. We work in multidisciplinary agile teams, focused on delivering innovative services that ensure the digital Public Record survives, thrives and is useful. We are based in the beautiful surroundings of Kew, easily accessible by public transport, car and bike. Staff benefits include admission to a range of exhibitions at national museums and galleries; access to nearby Kew Gardens; on-site gym, restaurant, shop and staff bar; discounts with local businesses. Our excellent Civil Service benefits package includes the opportunity to join the defined-benefit Civil Service Alpha Pension Scheme, which offers an employer contribution rate of up to 27.9% of salary. About the role The National Archives collects and secures the future of the public record, preserving it for the nation and making it as accessible and available as possible. Our collection is one of the largest in the world, containing over 11 million historical records from medieval parchment to modern papers, digital documents, datasets, and tweets. The records we collect are increasingly created, managed, and transferred to us digitally. Working as a Senior Interaction Designer at The National Archives, you will provide user-centred design direction and leadership within the Digital Selection and Transfer team in Digital Archiving. In this senior role, you will create intuitive, innovative and engaging interface designs that reflect our coding and style guidelines and are built with re-use in mind. You will look for opportunities to continuously improve our approach to interaction design, keeping abreast of developments and initiatives in the cross-government design community and the wider public sector. You will help grow our design culture and community, coaching junior members of the team and will take responsibility for ensuring this critical area is positively led and visible. You will work in an open, transparent and collaborative environment and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders to ensure their needs are represented alongside those of our users. This is a full time post. However, requests for part-time working, flexible working and job share will be considered, taking into account at all times the operational needs of the Department. A combination of onsite and home working is available and applicants should be able to regularly travel to our Kew site for a minimum of 60% of their work time. About you You are seeking to develop a career in a world leading institution using your skills and experience to meet the challenges presented by digital records. You are enthusiastic, organised and an excellent communicator. You enjoy the challenge of finding solutions to complex problems to help meet our ambitions and will frequently look for opportunities to do things better. You love to learn and to share knowledge with others. How to apply To submit your application please click the 'Apply' button on this page. You will be asked to provide details of your work experience and write a personal statement, not exceeding 1200 words. In your personal statement please explain, using examples, how you meet the essential criteria below. You may draw on knowledge, skills, abilities, experience gained from paid work, domestic responsibilities, education, leisure interests and voluntary activities. Please note selection for interview will largely be based on the information you provide in this section. We understand that you might use artificial intelligence (AI) and other resources to assist with your application; however, please ensure all information you provide is factually accurate, truthful, and original and doesn’t include ideas or work that isn’t your own. We encourage you to showcase your unique knowledge and skills using your own voice. Essential criteria: Significant experience delivering digital services that work across a range of devices and browsers, meeting WCAG standards for accessibility. Demonstrable ability to take ideas from concept through to completion as part of an Agile multidisciplinary team helping to visualise outcomes, influence the priority of tasks and iterate designs based on data and research. Knowledge of modern HTML and CSS (including pre-processors such as SASS) and related accessibility techniques. Solid understanding of accessibility, browser and platform compatibility and experience of producing rich interfaces that work across older (IE11) and less featured browsers while using progressive enhancement to leverage the features available in newer browsers. Knowledge of User Centred Design with the ability to quickly research, learn new techniques, gather and interpret the needs of users, technical and stakeholders, in a way that is clear for all audiences and make decisions about the best way forward. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to engage with stakeholders at all levels, manage expectations and facilitate difficult discussions with the team or stakeholders. Proactivity and enthusiasm about developing and sharing knowledge and growing an open, collaborative community, with the ability to lead and mentor others, work strategically and represent our work to the wider organisation and cross-government channels. Desirable: Knowledge of Government Service Standards and the Government Design System Version control with Git and GitHub. Project management tools such as Jira. Experience of the full software development lifecycle. Experience of working in or with relevant sector(s) (government, archives, information services, culture and heritage). Adobe Creative Suite or equivalent design software. Building templates/components within Content Management Systems such as WordPress, Wagtail or equivalent. Job Description Role and Responsibilities Working as a Senior Interaction Designer at The National Archives you will: Work across complex services, taking responsibility for strategic end-to-end service design helping to set direction and embed good practice within teams. Create intuitive, innovative and engaging interface designs that respond to organisational aims and user needs. Design experiences that facilitate access to complex content, enabling users to carry out tasks such as describing, finding and re-using archival resources. Build and maintain positive, collaborative relationships with stakeholders and colleagues at all levels to develop a shared understanding of objectives, priorities, constraints and commitments. Create designs and prototypes that adhere to government service and accessibility standards, which includes our legal obligations as a public sector body. Work effectively in a multidisciplinary, Agile environment, adapting quickly to changes in requirements, priorities or user needs. Identify the best processes, help manage and visualise outcomes, define scope and prioritise work to an agreed minimum viable product (MVP). Design collaboratively and in the open, engaging your whole team with the design process and adapting it if necessary. Use a variety of tools or methods to deliver user-centred designs based on decisions grounded in research and analytics. Design, share and test prototypes using appropriate methods such as paper prototyping, wire-framing and the creation of dynamic prototypes in HTML and CSS. Work with developers to ensure our designs and front-end follows the principles of progressive enhancement to ensure interfaces work for as many users as possible. Identify and implement solutions for assisted digital. Work with and extend the Government Design System (GDS) and GOV.UK Prototype Kit Manage your own workload to deliver a high standard of work within delivery cycles or against project goals. Be an active part of the wider design community, sharing knowledge, representing The National Archives externally and maintaining a keen interest in relevant innovations in digital, data and technology to promote the adoption of beneficial standards and practices. Proactively contribute to creating and supporting communities of practice including coaching and mentoring junior colleagues. 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 and the Civil Service D&I Strategy. Benefits Generous benefits package, including pension, sports and social club facilities, onsite gym, discounted rates at our on-site cafe and opportunities for training and development. Annual leave entitlement of 22 days per calendar year (rising to 25 after the first year, and incrementally to 30 days after six years) and 10½ days public and privilege holidays per annum. Any move to The National Archives 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/ ( opens in new window) Reasonable adjustments If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact The National Archives via careersnationalarchives.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs Complete the ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ section of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check. People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks (opens in new window) Nationality requirements 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 new window) Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code (opens in 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 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. This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative. (opens in new window) Contact point for applicants: Name: The National Archives Recruitment Team Email: careersnationalarchives.gov.uk Further information If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact The National Archives via email: careersnationalarchives.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/recruitment-complaints/ (opens in new window)