Senior Content Designer

UK Research and Innovation

Salary: £46,743.

Band: UKRI Band E.

Contract Type: Fixed Term until 31 March 2028.

Hours: Full-time (minimum 0.8 FTE) (flexible working available).

Location: Swindon - Hybrid working available including minimum of 2 days a week in office.

Closing Date: Sunday 9 August 2026.

Employees applying for any opportunity which may mean being away from your substantive role for a temporary period of time, please refer to the Recruitment Policy and associated guidance (link) for further information in the first instance. If you are made an offer, please ensure you liaise with your line manager and the designated HR team as soon as possible in order that implications of any move are clear and understood, prior to a move taking place.

About the role

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a non-departmental public body that invests in research and innovation. Our mission is to advance knowledge, improve lives and drive growth.

The UKRI website is UKRI's primary owned external channel. It connects researchers, innovators, businesses and the public with authoritative, compelling content that demonstrates how publicly funded research and innovation improves lives, drives economic growth and supports national priorities. It is where our funding community finds what it needs and where our wider audiences see why UKRI matters.

The Web team provides strategic oversight of ukri.org, partnering with colleagues across UKRI to deliver the Lives and Livelihoods communications plan and support EAC's wider objectives. We help UKRI speak with one voice - through a website that is accurate, accessible and inspires confidence in all our audiences.

The Senior Web Content Designer reports to the Content Design Lead in the Web team, part of External Affairs, Communications and Public Engagement.

The team is passionate about delivering a consistent, high-quality customer experience, building brand trust and harnessing digital innovation.

As a Senior Web Content Designer, your role is to lead on the design, creation, review and development of web page content on ukri.org in collaboration with subject experts from across the organisation.

Your responsibilities:

You'll be an expert practitioner who develops content strategies and solutions as part of the multidisciplinary Web team. This role can involve working on a single piece of web copy or on an entire end-to-end journey through the site and to other services, helping users complete their goals while delivering UKRI objectives.

You will:

• Lead strategic content improvement projects, focusing effort on the highest priority areas, ensuring objectives are met and influencing senior stakeholders to secure the right resources to support their strategic vision.
• Create, evaluate, update and review content strategies and solutions for ukri.org, using professional expertise, user understanding and evidence to drive continuous improvement.
• Ensure all web content meets high quality standards and accessibility requirements, and review other content designers' work to maintain consistency and quality across the site.
• Champion and participate in user research, playing an active role in journey mapping to better understand user needs and how the website and its content fits into the wider experience.
• Deliver workshops and training to colleagues across the organisation, acting as an advocate for content design, the website and Government Digital Standards.
• Build and maintain a network of internal and external stakeholders, fostering proactive collaborative working and establishing productive relationships with subject matter experts.
• Help colleagues and stakeholders understand what web content design is, why it's valuable and how to work effectively with content designers.
• Actively stay abreast of UKRI objectives and priorities, and proactively keep up to date with the latest content design best practice and thinking.

Personal Specification

The below criteria will be scored during Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I).

Essential

• Significant experience in a web content design role, making strategic decisions about content creation on a large, complex, information-rich website, ideally within a public sector or similarly regulated environment. (S&I)
• Robust experience writing, editing and publishing accessible digital content, applying Government Digital Standards, and working with content management systems, data analytics tools and workflow management systems. (S&I)
• Up-to-date knowledge of accessibility, including the needs of different users and assistive technologies, combined with exemplary editorial skills in writing plain, accessible language. (S&I)
• A deep understanding of end-to-end user journeys, including content structure and user experience, and experience applying user-centred design principles and clearly articulating decisions to stakeholders. (S&I)
• Experience using data, research and evidence to evaluate web content and drive improvements, including familiarity with prototyping tools and agile multidisciplinary team working. (S&I)
• Proven ability to negotiate with stakeholders, handle challenging situations and remove blockers, balancing business objectives with user needs — including putting forward the case for content design at a senior level. (S&I)
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to explain content decisions to non-experts, handle constructive criticism of your own work and provide constructive feedback on others. (S&I)

Benefits

We recognise and value our employees as individuals and aim to provide a favourable pay and rewards package. We are committed to supporting employees' development and promote a culture of continuous learning!

A list of benefits below:

• An outstanding defined benefit pension scheme.
• 30 days' annual leave in addition to 10.5 public and privilege days (full time equivalent).
• Employee discounts and offers on retail and leisure activities.
• Employee assistance programme, providing confidential help and advice.
• Flexible working options.

Plus, many more benefits and wellbeing initiatives that enable our employees to have a great work life balance!

For further information on our benefits please see:

Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Please apply online, if you experience any issue applying, please contact [email protected]

Please note, if you will require sponsorship to work in the UK, as part of your sponsorship application, you and any dependants travelling with you, will be required to pay costs directly to The Home Office for the application before you start your role with us. UKRI is normally able to reimburse some, or all of these fees after you have become an employee and this can be discussed with the Hiring Manager. For more information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/how-much-it-costs or contact [email protected].

UKRI - UK Research and Innovation

UKRI is an organisation that brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Together, we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision ensuring the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation.

Supporting some of the world’s most exciting and challenging research projects, we develop and operate some of the most remarkable scientific facilities in the world. We are pushing the frontiers of human knowledge through fundamental research and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy through world-class research, skills and business-led innovation.

More information can be found at www.ukri.org.

Choosing to come to work at UKRI means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme, excellent holiday entitlement, access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme. For more details, visit benefits of working for UKRI.

How we support EDI in the workforce

At UKRI, we believe that everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be provided with equal opportunities to thrive and succeed in an environment that enables them to do so. We also value diversity of thought and experience within inclusive groups, organisations and the wider community. For further information, please visit ‘How we support EDI in the workforce’.

Disability Confident Employer

As users of the disability confident scheme, any candidate who opts into the scheme and best meets the essential criteria, will be shortlisted for interview. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

How to apply

Online applications only preferred for this role. Please submit a CV and covering letter which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation for UKRI and the role. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit an application without a covering letter may result in the application not being considered. Assessment will only be based upon the content of your submitted covering letter and CV and not the ‘experience’ section of the application.

UKRI seeks to ensure it creates and maintains a system of openness, fairness and inclusion – a collaborative, trusted environment, which is attractive to and accessible to everyone who is interested in developing their career with us.

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be rejected and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

As part of the pre-employment checks there is a requirement to undergo Baseline Personnel Security Screening. BPSS is a pre-condition of employment and failure to achieve it may mean that the employment offer is rescinded. UKRI reserves the right to run, or re-run, security clearance as required during the course of employment.