Digital People in Government: Amina Omar

What made you want to work in the public service sector?

You get to work on the most interesting problems, from the critical stuff like “oh I saw this on the news!” to the important but everyday things people need from government. 

I’ve always been interested in people. At university, I studied Anthropology, the study of humans, and I was taught everything from biology, economics, psychology to history. I was never bored. And I knew I wanted to have the same level of breadth and diversity in my career as well.

Thankfully, the public sector is probably the only place where you can work on issues that affect almost every part of life. From climate change, health, foreign policy to something entirely different like space exploration! There isn’t a ‘standard’ job in government either, you can do anything from HR to designing services citizens use. Whatever your interests may be, I bet there is a public sector organisation that does it.

Equally, the perks of working in the public sector are true. You get a good work-life balance, career stability, and lots of training opportunities. I completed my full-time masters at LSE whilst working part-time at the Government Digital Service (GDS) in 2020!

Tell us about your previous role and your current role. What are the main differences between the two?

I joined the GDS in 2019 as a technology policy advisor. It was my first permanent job after university and I was lucky enough to settle into a great team. As a policy advisor, I developed technology standards and guidance on GOV.UK, prepared briefings and submissions for ministers and worked with awesome people across government to understand what new technologies are emerging.

When the pandemic started, I began to think about where I wanted my career to go and what skills I wanted to develop further. I was skilled at gathering information from different technologists and specialists to build a better understanding of a problem. I was also good at organising events and workshops across government to share knowledge and make connections. 

But I wanted to take those skills to the next level and build things. There is something special about making or improving processes that help users solve their problems.

Luckily, at GDS we have tons of great User Centred Design (UCD) practitioners who specialise in content, interaction, service and graphic design. So after a lot of coffee chats and shadowing, I realised that I was doing service design in my role without knowing!

Now as a service designer, my job is mostly centred around helping users meet their goals in the most efficient, user friendly and accessible way. This can be through helping the team understand our users, their needs and the wider journey through a particular service. I do this by using different design tools like facilitating workshops to help the team map out problems, brainstorm ideas and develop prototypes.

Service designers often put on different hats depending on the phase of the project and I love the variety and flexibility this brings. For example, I can pair up with a user researcher to map areas to test with users or a content designer to help users understand the content along the journey of a service. I’ve found that there are no two service designers doing the same thing, they often have similar approaches or principles but their own unique way of making an impact.

How did you transition from policy to service design?

This is probably the question I get asked the most!

Initially I was afraid my lack of formal design qualifications would hold me back from applying for any service design positions. I hadn’t done any courses and didn’t have a Masters in design. But it turns out it’s not a requirement at all, most designers in government usually have unique career and educational backgrounds.

The thing you actually need is experience. But how do you get relevant experience if you don’t have any?

I first looked into what service design looked like in practice and how I could apply it within my previous role as a technology policy advisor. Whenever I started a new project, I’d ask myself ‘what service design tools can I use here?’ and I would try out different things so that I could build experience whilst doing my day job. This helped build my portfolio but also test if this was the right career path for me.

Another thing I did was get an amazing mentor to guide me through the process. I cannot stress how important it is to speak to people who are actually doing the thing you want! My mentor helped me understand what a service designer does day-to-day and what skills I needed to develop further.

Finding a mentor doesn’t have to be a formal process, you can identify someone who you admire and is a few steps ahead of you and ask them for a coffee, and see where it goes from there!

Within 6 months of working on my portfolio and building up my experience, I was ready to apply for a junior service design position.

Are there any challenges have you encountered, and how are you overcoming them?

Transitioning into a new job is hard. You go from knowing a lot in one area to basically being elementary in the other! I found it hard to feel really confident in my decisions and knowledge, even though I had the right instincts.

It’s important to step back, learn and re-charge when you need to. Be kind to yourself and remember you’re probably harder on yourself than anyone else. Also, asking for help when you need it. It’s a hard lesson to learn, especially if you’re someone who wants to prove you can do it!

One of the practical things I’ve done to manage imposter syndrome is to give myself a chance to learn. If I’m in a new situation or solving a new problem, I take the time to understand the process and enjoy learning a new thing and not just delivering! Another thing I found super helpful is listening to Brené Brown’s podcasts and YouTube videos about courage and vulnerability.

What interests you the most or offers the greatest opportunity in this role?

I love the whole process of scoping, prototyping and testing. Going forward I want to continue to upskill in interaction design so I can become a hybrid service and interaction designer. I want to do a short course in User experience design this year so I can build my knowledge of design theory and principles.

One of the greatest opportunities in this role is the variety of the work in government right now. At GDS, we have a brilliant design community who help make sure we have the right resources to do our best work.

What is your focus moving forward?

I’ve recently been promoted to a mid-weight service designer which is super exciting!

I think for now, I want to continue to develop my skills and work on different projects with other government departments.

What advice would you give to anyone else thinking of making a similar career change?

First of all, you can do it! Figure out what role you want and dig out the job description. Tick off the things you can already do in the job description based on your experience and then turn the rest into your goals. Remember that not all experiences have to be ‘work’ related. Some of my best examples were university initiatives or personal projects I’ve started- these examples also tend to be the most interesting to interviewers!

There has never been a better time to switch careers. UCD is a relatively new field, open to people who are passionate about improving things for users and can show they have transferable skills and experience. So don’t be afraid to make the leap!

If you’re passionate about putting user needs first and helping digital government work better for everyone, then check out GDS’ open roles