Location
Edinburgh
Office
Parliament Communications Office
Advertising Salary:
£32,884 - £40,000

About The Role

Since 1999, the Scottish Parliament has outsourced all of its design requirements to an external design agency. Last year we explored the option of bringing some of this work in-house. We undertook a 9-month pilot to see how this worked – with the majority of work delivered by an in-house graphic designer but continuing to use our external agency when needed.  

The pilot was successful; therefore, the Parliament is now looking to fill the post on a permanent basis. This post will be the sole graphic designer within the organisation. The role is varied- covering everything from updating templates, to marketing campaigns to updating existing collateral - but we’re looking for someone with experience across different methods of graphic design, but a lot of the work will be focused around digital channels.  
 
Working pattern: This is a full-time post working 37 hours per week, however we are happy to talk about flexible working. It will be a hybrid working position, where you will be expected to work in the office at Holyrood (2 days a week on a Wednesday and Thursday) with the rest at home.  

This is an excellent opportunity to join the Parliament Communications Office (PCO) as the Parliament’s Graphic Designer in our Marketing and Engagement Team. PCO sits within our People, Communications and Inclusion directorate. To see where the office fits within our organisation, view our organisation chart here.  

PCO provides a comprehensive and integrated communications function for the Parliament. We use our communications channels to promote and increase understanding of the Parliament and to encourage and facilitate inclusive public engagement in its work.  Our overarching aim is to improve trust and confidence in the institution. We strive for excellence, working collaboratively with other teams in delivering a high quality and innovative communications service. 
 
The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body is responsible for providing the Parliament with the property, staff and services required for the Parliament’s purposes.  We place a high value on excellence, and we are continually looking to improve how we can deliver the Parliament's core purpose of representing the people of Scotland by debating issues of national importance, passing legislation, and holding the Scottish Government to account. We are a diverse workforce, and our embedded values shape the way we work and treat each other. We have a culture of respect and inclusion, and everyone has the ability to make a difference. 
 
The Marketing and Engagement Team is one of 4 small teams that make up PCO. Reporting to the Production and Brand Compliance Manager, you’ll work with the 4 other members of the team to deliver the engagement needs of internal clients.  

As the Parliament’s Graphic Designer you’ll work collaboratively with internal teams to deliver design solutions on a variety of different outputs. Working collaboratively with them.  While this will mainly be digital and social platforms this would also including leaflets, posters, adverts and web content. 

You will also be a brand ambassador for the Parliament, ensuring that all designs produced by you meet the Parliament's brand guidelines and help support other colleagues in using the brand correctly.
 
Working at the Parliament  
 
We offer a great range of benefits including: 41.5 leave days (including public holidays), flexible working, paid professional subscriptions, family-friendly policies, Season Ticket advance loans, an onsite gym, Health and Wellbeing Schemes including discounted gym membership, a confidential counselling and information service, and the Cycle to Work Scheme.  
 
You’ll also have the opportunity to join the Alpha Civil Service pension scheme, where we’ll offer you an employer contribution of up to 30.3% of your basic salary.  

For further information about the role please contact [email protected] 

Please apply before 11:59 pm on Wednesday 8 May 2024.  Full details of our selection process are outlined below and further details about the role can be found in the job description and the application pack. 
 

About You

The successful candidate will have good experience working in a similar graphic design environment, either in-house or with an agency.  

You will have experience of creating engaging, multi-platform products. Outputs will mainly be on digital and social platforms but also including leaflets, posters, adverts and web content. Therefore, you will also have print production knowledge and skills to ensure content is developed and prepared for print. 

You will have proven ability and experience in creating engaging content for different audiences and platforms, through the use of Adobe Creative Cloud, specifically InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and After Effects. 

You will have excellent organisation and planning skills to manage a number of completing work projects with varying deadlines. 

You will enjoy working in a fast-moving environment and have the ability to think creatively, working collaboratively with colleagues from across the Parliament. 

For full information about the role, have a look at the job description and application pack. 

The Selection Process

Stage 1 

How to apply and our selection process 

Click ‘apply’ and this will allow you to upload your CV in order to register with us (if you’ve not done so already). 

We’ll ask you to complete a values-based statement and submit up to 10 examples from your portfolio. Your application will be assessed on your statement and portfolio.  

Values Based Statement 

We are a values-based organisation. Our values are a central part of our working culture and our people management processes and are used to recruit, manage and develop our staff. For more on our values and behaviours framework, please visit our Staff Handbook site.  

To apply for our roles, you’ll be asked to write a values-based supporting statement based on the job description of the role you’re applying for. The job description will detail the main recruitment selection criteria under each value, in the sections titled “And in delivering these, you will have”  

You’ll need to provide examples that cover each bullet point within the  “And in delivering these you will have” sections. 

For example, within the Excellence value your response should address the following requirements of the job role:  

“And in delivering these, you will have”   

-Proven ability and experience in creating engaging content for different audiences and platforms,  using Adobe Creative Cloud, specifically InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and After Effects  

-Excellent organisational and planning skills to manage a number of competing work projects with varying deadlines  

-Print production knowledge and skills to ensure content is developed and prepared for print 
 
Your response should provide examples from your background or career, of where you have demonstrated that value.   

When completing the values-based statement for your application:  

-Please provide evidence against each of our four values, a maximum of 400 words is allowed per value    

-Please use the STAR format (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to address the key requirements under each value in the Job Description. More information on STAR is in the How to Prepare for Interview section below   

-Each value should be clearly formatted, and your examples may include specific skills, experience, abilities, knowledge and strengths you have  

-We have a separate box for you to input each value  

-It’s a good idea to complete your answers to the questions offline, perhaps in Word, and then copy and paste your answers into the system when you're ready to submit your application   

-We recommend that you check your answers once you've copied and pasted the information into the system, just to ensure it's all there  

-Please only 'submit' your application when you're content it’s complete. Once you've submitted your application, you won't have the option to go back  

-If you 'cancel' then your work won't be saved    

-The system will time out after an hour and your work will be lost if you don’t complete it in that time. You don't have the option to save your application and return to it later  

-If the system times out, you can go into your ‘candidate profile’ to access and complete your statement  
 

Submission of portfolio 

The successful applicant will be designing materials for a wide range of different audiences and in different formats, from digital and social platforms but also including leaflets, posters, adverts and web content. 

Therefore, as part of your application you should submit up to 10 examples from your portfolio within one PDF document. The portfolio submission should not contain your name within the document or within the file name.  

The content of your portfolio should contain materials that were designed by you. You may wish to reference these examples as part of your values-based statement.  

To upload examples from your portfolio, you will need to add these examples to a PDF and submit this document via our application portal. The PDF should not contain your name within the document or in the file name. The maximum file size that can be accepted is 1MB.  

If you have technical issues with the upload, please email [email protected] with the subject line Graphic Designer.  

Your supporting statement and portfolio will be assessed at this stage. Please note that only your supporting statement and Portfolio will be submitted to Hiring Manager, without any personal details, and they will then select candidates for further assessment and interview.  
 

Stage 2   

At the final stage, you’ll be invited to undertake a practical assessment, which will be to produce design concepts in response to a brief. You’ll be given at least a week to complete this. You will be asked to attend an interview in person at Holyrood, where you will present your assessment and will be asked questions on your experience and skills that are required to fulfil this post.  

If you are unable to attend in person, we can arrange a virtual interview.   

Assessments are expected to be completed by Wednesday 29 May. The dates for interview are expected to be on 4 and 5 June. Although this is subject to change. 

Feedback will only be provided on request to those who attend interview.   

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please email [email protected] 

After the interview  

We’ll aim to let you know the outcome of your interview as soon as we can. This will normally be within 10 working days. If you’re unsuccessful at interview stage, you can ask us for feedback. We want to ensure a positive candidate experience, so we’ll also contact you to ask for your feedback on the whole recruitment process.  

Onboarding Process  

If you’re successful at interview, you’ll be asked to complete our onboarding process. This includes security clearance and you’ll also be asked to provide proof of your eligibility to work in the United Kingdom.  

We will provide you with details of our security vetting policy and you will be required to complete a security questionnaire. Some of our roles will require membership of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. For further information, please see our Policy on the employment of ex-offenders and use of disclosure.  

Referees  

If you’re successful, we’ll approach previous and/or current employers for a reference. If you have no employment history we may approach any school, college or university you have attended.  

We can only make a formal offer of employment once we have received your security clearance, eligibility to work in the UK and references. Your health assessment will be used to inform us of any adjustments you require before you start with us.  

Our commitment to an inclusive workforce  

We are a Disability Confident Leader Employer and guarantee to interview any disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for the role.  If you have a disability and would like to talk to us about any aspects of this job, please contact us.  More details can be found here.  
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