Head of Content Design

Summary

A head of content design is an expert practitioner with broad industry experience who can define and assure best practice while influencing, leading and mentoring others. At this role level, you will:

develop a strategy for content that meets the organisation's objectives

lead a team capable of executing that strategy

work with senior stakeholders to influence organisational strategy

prioritise and collaborate with counterpart colleagues across government

champion good content design practice within government and industry

Work Activity Components

Title	Details
Risk management (Level 6) INCA	Implements risk management guidelines for content designers and creators to ensure that the implications of content publishing are taken into account and appropriate action undertaken to mitigate against any risks to the organisation.
Moderation and standards (Level 6)	Champions the use of clear language and sets the quality standards for drafting and final copy.
Formal appraisals (Level 5)	Conducts formal appraisals of the performance of team members. Facilitates a dialogue with team members about expectations, progress, performance and development needs. Participates, as appropriate, in formal processes such as compensation negotiations, grievance procedures, and disciplinary procedures.
Empowerment and role model(PEMT) (Level 5)	Facilitates effective working relationships within and between teams of staff. Motivates groups of staff and teams towards a high level of performance. Engages with, and empowers groups of staff. Acts as a role model for groups of staff, setting a standard, acting professionally at all times and working to a professional code of conduct and ethics.

Behavioural Skills

Title	Details
Strategic Perspective	Keeping organisational objectives and strategies in mind, and ensuring courses of action are aligned with the strategic context.
Decision Making	Making decisions at the appropriate time, taking into account the needs of the situation, priorities, constraints, known risks, and the availability of necessary information and resources.
Initiative	Being proactive, anticipating opportunities for systems, service or product improvement or development and taking appropriate action(s).
Creativity	Taking innovative approaches to problem solving and/or devising inventive and creative solutions.
Organisational Awareness	Understanding the hierarchy and culture of own, customer, supplier and partner organisations and being able to identify the decision makers and influencers.
Interacting with People	Establishing relationships, contributing to an open culture and maintaining contacts with people from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines. Effective, approachable and sensitive communicator in different communities and cultures. Ability to adapt style and approach to meet the needs of different audiences.
Influence, Persuasion and Personal Impact	Conveying a level of confidence and professionalism when engaging with stakeholders, influencing positively and persuading others to take a specific course of action when not in a position of authority.
Leadership	Clearly articulating goals and objectives, and motivating and leading others towards their achievement.
Providing Direction	Directing others to undertake specified tasks within a defined timescale.
Follow-up and Monitoring	Checking progress against targets, taking action to resolve exceptions/ issues and reporting and escalating where necessary.

Technical Skills

Title	Details	Depth
Application Development Tools	Software tools which automate or assist part of the development process.	Familiar with
Database Software	Software that enables the user to capture, create, populate and manipulate data structures and where appropriate unstructured data.	Familiar with
Programming Languages	A set of codes and syntax (supported by software tools) that enables the unambiguous translation of specified functionality into source code for the creation of computer programs.	Familiar with
Web Specifics	Knowledge of web specific file extensions, Web 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 and other latest standards/ practices. Use of multimedia and Active-X controls. Understanding of the nature of browsers and how to design cross-browser layouts. Effective knowledge of metadata (e.g. tags, XML) and related aspects of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).	Expert in
Information and Data Visualisation/Presentation	The ability to visualise and present information and data in an appropriate format that helps stakeholders understand the significance of the information and data.	Expert in

Other Skills

Title	Details	Depth
Appraisal Techniques	Methods and techniques for appraising an individual's performance and potential.	Proficient in
Project Planning and Control Techniques	Methods and techniques associated with planning and monitoring progress of projects.	Proficient in
Resource Allocation	The effective and efficient routine deployment of resources, (but also including reassessment and reallocation in a dynamic multi-project environment), to achieve optimum results.	Proficient in
Performance Monitoring	Identifying, agreeing and monitoring (usually by face-to-face interviews) objectives and deliverables with individuals. Identifying under-performance issues against agreed quality standards and performance criteria. Identifying gaps in capability and causes, disciplinary or ability-related (needing assistance, training or other support).	Proficient in
Disciplinary Issues and Procedures	Managing episodes of unsatisfactory behaviour or performance in accordance with appropriate policies and legislative conformance. Includes changes to circumstances, such as sickness, disability and other personal issues.	Familiar with

Training

Title	Details
Coaching	Concepts, methods and techniques for providing coaching in subject specialisms to individuals or groups (e.g. GROW model).
Diversity and Inclusion	Raise diversity in-the-workplace awareness in order to better understand how the world looks through the eyes of people of a different age, race, gender, sexuality, etc, improve communications with people from diverse backgrounds and reduce the levels of unconscious bias in decision-making.
Graphic Design and Web Development	Tools and techniques for graphic design, user interface design (UI design), content authoring using standardised code and proprietary software, user experience design (UX design), web development and search engine optimisation.

Professional Development Activity (PDA)

Title	Details	PDA Group
Mentoring	Acting as a mentor, advising those for whom there is no direct responsibility, on matters to do with their job role, career and professional development.	Broadening Activities
Gaining Knowledge of Broader IT Issues	Increasing and maintaining currency of knowledge of broader IT issues through reading, attending and participating in seminars or conferences, special studies, temporary assignments etc.	Increasing Knowledge
Gaining Strategic Knowledge of Employing Organisation	Developing a comprehensive understanding of the business environment in which the employing organisation operates and its position, policies and direction in relation to health and care, country and global issues.	Increasing Knowledge
Gaining Knowledge of Standards and Legislation	Gaining and maintaining knowledge of relevant national and international standards and legislation.	Increasing Knowledge
Participation in Professional Body Affairs	Taking an active part in professional body affairs at branch, specialist group, committee or board level.	Participation in Professional Activities
General Management	Continuing learning and development in general management skills, such as effective communication, leadership styles and skills, team building and team roles, motivation and delegation, planning and resource scheduling, influencing, persuasion and negotiation, so as to be in a position to accept greater responsibility at senior management or director (including non-exec) level.	Developing Professional Skills

Organisational Skill Name and Description

Framework	Skill	Level
Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework	Agile working (content design) Agile delivery involves encouraging teams to build incrementally, test and iterate their work based on regular feedback and other useful data.	Expert Agile working (content design) You can: coach and lead teams in Agile and Lean practices, determining the right approach for the team or the project evaluate and review the approach through the life of a project and can iterate and pivot accordingly think of new and innovative ways of working to achieve the right outcomes act as a recognised expert and advocate the approaches proposed, continuously reflecting on the work of the team and constructively challenging them to improve processes and delivery regularly assess and review capability within teams and ensure individuals have the skills needed to deliver
Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework	Content concepts and prototyping Consultancy involves providing specialist advice to address stakeholder and business needs.	Awareness Content concepts and prototyping You can: show an awareness of prototyping and explain why and when to use it understand how to work in an open and collaborative environment (by pair working, for example)
Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework	Stakeholder relationship management (content design) Stakeholder relationship management involves managing stakeholder requirements and communications throughout a project, while remaining focused on the user needs.	Expert Stakeholder relationship management (content design) You can: manage long-term strategic relationships with stakeholders, identifying where new connections need to be made and existing ones nurtured direct the strategic approach for stakeholder relationships, establishing stakeholder objectives and ensuring these are clearly represented act as a point of escalation if stakeholder relationships break down or become challenging for more junior members of the team influence important senior stakeholders and arbitrate when blockers are escalated facilitate discussions across high risk and complex areas or projects under constrained timelines
Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework	Strategic thinking (content design) Strategy involves creating a plan to achieve a team or organisation's objectives.	Expert Strategic thinking (content design) You can: help lead the design and implementation of strategies, evaluating their impact and progress to ensure business objectives and the needs of users are being met lead and direct strategic content improvement projects, focusing effort in the areas of greatest priority and ensuring goals and objectives are met
Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework	User focus (content design) User focus involves understanding the user needs to develop a detailed understanding of the problems that need to be solved.	Expert User focus (content design) You can: give direction on which tools or methods are best for teams to use demonstrate extensive experience in meeting the needs of users across a variety of channels understand complex user journeys and can direct solutions to meet different needs within these journeys bring insight and expertise in how user needs have changed over time to ensure these are still relevant and being met apply strategic thinking in how to provide the best service for the user while also considering business needs and the wider cross-government context
Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework	User-centred content design	Expert User-centred content design You can: direct the approach to content life cycle management to ensure content is regularly reviewed and evaluated by teams oversee teams’ work to ensure the right content is being produced to meet the needs of users demonstrate extensive experience in creating, iterating, managing and overseeing content across multiple channels encourage teams to review and evaluate the effectiveness of processes and systems, and support them to iterate for improvements be accountable for the production of high quality, user-focused content identify gaps in content design skills and capability, and can help teams to grow and develop

Framework

Skill

Level