Senior Service Designer (Ref: 18831)

Senior Service Designer (Prison Based)

Closing Date: 02/07/26

Interviews: 20/07/2026

Grade: 7

(MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain this grade on lateral transfer)

Salary**

National: 58,511- 73,450 ( which may include an allowance up to 14,939)

London: 63,343 -78,225 ( which may include an allowance up to 14,882)

Working pattern : Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working,

Location:

HMP Bullingdon (Bicester)

HMP Durham

HMP Exeter

HMP Pentonville (London)

Contract Type: 18-month FTC with the potential for the role to become permanent (subject to review)

Number of vacancies: 4

Vacancy number:

Minimum 4 days per week in the prison

*Please indicate which Prison location you are applying for in your application

The Role

Please note this role requires you to pass BPSS and a Enhanced DBS check Please click on the link for details.

Were recruiting four Senior Service Designers here at Justice Digital, Data and Science to be part of our warm and collaborative Prisons Digital team.

This role aligns against Senior Service Designer from the Government Digital and Data Framework

Were looking for four Senior Service Designers to join the senior leadership teams, onsite, in 4 Reception prisons: HMP Bullingdon (near Bicester), HMP Durham, HMP Exeter and HMP Pentonville (London). This initiative follows a successful pilot where an embedded service designer was able to design and implement effective operational change.

You will be trained to carry keys and move independently around residential wings and other areas of the prison. Working alongside Governors and senior leaders across reducing reoffending, security, regime and operations, you will identify and test opportunities to improve how prisons function day to day.

You will conduct research with staff and people in prison, turn findings into actionable insights, and work with staff to design, prototype and test improvements to services, processes and operational practices. You will communicate insights and recommendations to stakeholders at all levels and help shape decisions about which changes to implement and scale.

You will also help introduce and embed user-centred design approaches in an environment where many staff will have little or no experience of these methods. This includes coaching others to participate in research and design activities and demonstrating how user-centred approaches can help solve persistent operational problems and improve outcomes for people in prison.

Alongside your local prison role, you will be part of a national programme focused on improving the role of reception prisons and outcomes for prisoners. You will work with other practitioners to share learning, coordinate approaches and scale successful changes across the prison estate.

You will also be part of the Prisons Digital service design team, giving you access to collaboration, professional support and strategic context on wider digital change across HMPPS. Beyond this, you will be connected to the wider Ministry of Justice user-centred design community, working alongside researchers, designers, analysts and others improving services across the justice system.

Were committed to creating a positive work environment, as well as doing great work. We offer brilliant training opportunities, excellent kit and support from expert colleagues. On top of that, youll find flexible working, an inclusive culture and a place where your opinion is valued.

Please note that these are onsite roles, in category B local prisons for adult males. They are all reception prisons, meaning they are the entry point for people into the prison estate. The role will include direct contact with people who have been charged with or convicted of a broad range of offences, including violent and sexual offences.

If youre passionate about creating positive change and are excited to work in an environment thats equal parts rewarding and challenging, we would love to hear from you!

Youll receive a range of excellent benefits when you join our department, including:

• A generous employer pension contribution of 28.97% through the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

• 25 days of annual leave, (increasing to 30 days once you have reached 5 years of service), plus 8 bank holidays and a privilege day for the Kings birthday .

• Flexible working arrangements including hybrid working, working part time or compressed hours. Designed to support a positive worklife balance.

• Employees are allocated 10% of their working time for personal and professional development.

• A 1k per person learning budget is in place to support all our people, with access to best-in-class conferences and seminars, accreditation with professional bodies, fully funded vocational programmes and e-learning platforms.

• Compassionate maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave policies, with up to 26 weeks leave at full pay, 13 weeks with partial pay, and 13 weeks further leave. And maternity support/paternity leave at full pay for 2 weeks, too!

You can find more details of the Benefits we offer here . To help picture your life at MoJ Justice Digital, Data and Science please take a look at our blog.

Key Responsibilities:

• Conduct research with prison staff and people in prison to understand needs, challenges and opportunities for improvement across the prison system

• Synthesise research findings into actionable insights and communicate them clearly to stakeholders at all levels

• Lead the design, prototyping and testing of improvements to prison services, processes and day-to-day operations

• Work closely with prison leadership teams and frontline staff to identify priorities, shape strategic decisions and support implementation of change

• Develop service concepts and blueprints that consider the wider operational, policy, digital and non-digital prison ecosystem

• Advocate for and apply user-centred design methods in environments where these approaches may be unfamiliar

• Coach and support prison staff and colleagues to participate in research and design activities

• Contribute to the national programme of improvement across reception prisons by collaborating with other practitioners, sharing learning, and supporting the scaling of effective approaches across the prison estate

• Collaborate with colleagues across Prisons Digital and the wider Ministry of Justice user-centred design community to share learning, shape wider change and support the development and scaling of digital and non-digital solutions

If this feels like an exciting challenge, something you are enthusiastic about, and want to join our team please read on and apply!

Person Specification

Essential

• Evidence-based design - experience conducting and synthesising research in complex environments to identify actionable insights and inform service improvements.

• Designing strategically - experience designing or improving end-to-end services in complex operational or public sector environments.

• Design communication - ability to communicate complex insights and ...