Lead UX Designer GDS Programme in City of London

Job description

Lead UX Designer GDS Experience Needed

£70-80pa + Bens

HYBRID/LONDON (2 days onsite)

‍Designing Services that protect National Security

Valid SC Clearance or past SC Clearance is a must

We are working with a trusted global innovator with over 100,000 professionals in 50+ countries, helping them find a Lead UX Designer with GDS experience to deliver transformation within a design studio dedicated to humanising complexity. The studio combines Strategy, Technology, and Design to create meaningful, inclusive, and impactful services that improve lives and systems.

The Role

As a Lead UX Designer, you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping public-facing services across the UK government. You will lead end-to-end UX delivery in agile, multidisciplinary teams, ensuring that the services we design are inclusive, accessible, and aligned with user and business needs.

You will work across Discovery, Alpha, Beta, and Live phases, leading the development of digital experiences that meet GDS service standards. From mapping user journeys to producing high-fidelity prototypes, you will guide clients and teams toward evidence-based decisions. You will also help define and maintain a consistent UX strategy across products and ensure design intent is preserved through development.

What you'll be doing:

• Lead UX design from discovery through to delivery, championing user needs and shaping intuitive, accessible public services
• Plan and conduct user-centred design activities such as contextual research, usability testing, journey mapping, and service blueprinting
• Collaborate with service designers during discovery and design phases to align UX with broader service goals and end-to-end journeys
• Create wireframes, flows, and high-fidelity prototypes to support stakeholder alignment and enable early design sign-off
• Work closely with Business Analysts and Tech Leads to translate requirements into usable and scalable design solutions
• Facilitate co-design workshops, ideation sessions, playback reviews, and internal critiques
• Define and maintain a consistent design approach across the product or service, ensuring alignment with the overarching UX and service strategy
• Collaborate closely with developers during build, clarifying interaction patterns and design intent to support smooth implementation
• Ensure all solutions adhere to accessibility (WCAG 2.2) and usability best practices
• Contribute to or help establish design systems and standards that support consistent delivery at scale
• Support GDS service assessments and advocate for users in governance and decision-making
• Mentor and guide junior designers, providing feedback and support for their growth
• Represent UX in client meetings, agile ceremonies, and internal leadership forums

What experience you'll bring:

Eligible for SC clearance (British citizen or equivalent, with 5 years of continuous UK residency)

• 8+ years of experience in UX, digital product design, or interaction design
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in UX Design, Interaction Design, HCI, or a related field
• Solid experience of Salesforce
• Strong portfolio demonstrating UX leadership across large-scale digital services
• Proven experience delivering to GDS service standards in central or local government
• Ability to design intuitive experiences through wireframes, flow diagrams, IA, and high-fidelity prototypes
• Proficient in tools such as Figma, Adobe CC, Miro, etc.
• Strong understanding of accessibility (WCAG 2.2) and inclusive design
• Practical knowledge of HTML/CSS to support collaborative handoff with developers
• Experience working in agile environments with multidisciplinary teams
• Experience contributing to or maintaining design systems in a public sector context
• Familiarity with design governance and GDS service assessments
• Experience working with policy, legal, or content teams to shape service journeys
• Exposure to prototyping tools or low-code platforms used in government delivery
• Understanding of public service KPIs (e.g. Cost per transaction, conversion, channel shift)
• Comfortable with AI-enhanced design tools or auto-layout systems for rapid prototyping
• Experience designing services for vulnerable or underrepresented user groups
• Knowledge of mobile-first design and platform-specific guidance (e.g., iOS HIG, GOV.UK Design System)

Join us and help shape the future of digital public services!

At Pixelated People, we don’t just do inclusion and diversity. We embrace people that have different opinions, perspectives and personalities. Because we believe that by seeing the world from all sorts of angles, we can make life better for all the people who live in it. So we want you to know that the things that make you, you — like your age, ability, background and identity — are things that we celebrate and support.

Extra information

Status

Open

Education Level

Secondary School

Location

City of London

Type of Contract

Part-time jobs

Published at

01-08-2025

Profession type

Design / Fashion

Full UK/EU driving license preferred

No

Car Preferred

No

Must be eligible to work in the EU

No

Cover Letter Required

No

Languages

English