Social Media Team - Graphic Designer

The Home Office works to build a safe, fair and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter-terrorism, policing, fire, crime, drugs policy, immigration and passports.

The Communications Directorate is a multi-disciplinary team delivering the Home Office’s communications strategy. We are insight-led and results-driven, and our marketing campaigns support strategic objectives using a wide range of channels. We seek to provide high quality media, rebuttal and social media services. Our Internal Communications team supports employee engagement and business transformation.

Do you have a passion for visual design? Are you at your best in fast-paced, high-impact environments, turning ideas into compelling visual content that cuts through? If you're looking for a role where your design work will be seen by millions and help shape important national conversations, this could be the opportunity for you.

This is a rare chance to join the Home Office social media team, a highly creative unit that produces powerful and engaging content across digital platforms, bringing some of the most significant stories in government to life.

In this role, you'll be helping shape the visual identity of the department across social channels, creating graphics that inform, engage and inspire. One day, you might be designing assets to support a national campaign on policing; the next, crafting thumbnails for a behind-the-scenes YouTube video with frontline teams.

Job description

The Social Media Team sits within the Home Office’s Communications Directorate and is at the forefront of showing how the department’s work impacts people across the UK. You’ll report to a Senior Content Creator and work alongside videographers, photographers, and content strategists to create high-quality, high-performing designs.

This role offers a talented designer an exciting challenge—delivering work that spans social media, campaign branding, and internal communications. You’ll be designing content for the likes of Border Force, Immigration Enforcement, and the police, as well as collaborating with some of the UK’s biggest influencers and digital media platforms.

Your work will be seen by millions across the Home Office’s social media channels (with a combined following of over 1.8 million) and through wider partnerships and campaigns. You'll play a vital role in shaping our presence across channels like Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and YouTube - especially through eye-catching graphics and thumbnails that grab attention and drive reach.

Key responsibilities:

• Graphic Design: Create compelling designs in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign. Knowledge of Premiere Pro, After Effects and Cinema 4D is a bonus.
• Rapid Response Content: Produce high-quality content at pace in response to department priorities or breaking news.
• Social Media Optimisation: Tailor designs for specific platforms (Instagram, YouTube, X, Facebook) while maintaining brand consistency and maximising audience engagement.
• Thumbnail Design: Design standout YouTube thumbnails that grab attention and drive click-through.
• Branding: Contribute to the development of brand assets and guidelines, support external-facing design work, including pitch decks, branding toolkits and rebrands.
• Content Innovation: Keep up to date with design trends and emerging formats, ensuring our content remains creative and engaging.
• Collaboration & Coordination: Work closely with teams across the department and external partners to deliver high-quality designs that supports our social media strategy.
• Organisation: Manage and prioritise multiple design requests, helping shape briefs and meet tight deadlines.
• Video & Photography: While your focus will be on graphics, there will be opportunities to contribute to other formats, including video, animation and photography.

Working pattern

Due to the business requirements of this role, it is only available on a full-time basis.

Person specification

Essential criteria:

• Professional graphic design experience, ideally in news, media, government, or social content creation.
• Expertise in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign.
• Strong understanding of social media platforms and how to tailor visual content for Instagram, YouTube, Twitter/X, and Facebook.
• Excellent time management skills, with the ability to balance multiple projects and meet tight deadlines.
• Creative and innovative mindset, with the ability to translate complex policies into engaging visual content.
• Clear written communication skills, with the ability to write and proof short-form copy and strong typographic and layout skills.
• Confident working with colleagues at all levels, including negotiating and influencing senior staff. 

Desirable criteria:

• Experience working in a high-profile or fast-paced environment, such as government, news, or media organisations. Have an understanding of how political and news events impact communications.
• Knowledge of motion graphics and animation, using After Effects, Cinema 4D or similar tools.

Behaviours

• We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

In addition to your salary, a career with the Home Office offers a range of benefits, including:

• Successful candidate will be eligible for a Recruitment Retention Allowance (RRA) of up to £2,300 annually.
• Learning and development tailored to your role
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• In-year reward scheme for one-off or sustained exceptional personal or team achievements.
• 25 days annual leave on appointment, rising with service to 30 days.
• Eight days of public holidays, plus one additional privilege day.
• Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office.