Conversational Designer & UX Writer

What ReachOut does

At ReachOut we are guided by a clear, simple ambition – helping young people feel better. This means that everything we do is designed to help young people feel: 

• better in the moments when they most need help 
• better about who they are and their place in the world. 

And be:

• better able to cope with the challenges they’re facing today
• better set up and equipped to manage when life doesn’t go as planned. 

Anonymous and confidential, ReachOut is a safe place where young people can openly express themselves, get a deeper understanding and perspective on what’s happening in their lives, connect with people who will provide judgement-free support, and build the resilience to manage their challenges now and in the future.

100 per cent online and designed specifically for – and with – young people, ReachOut lets young people connect on their terms at anytime from anywhere. From one-to-one support from experienced peer workers, to tips, stories, and resources, ReachOut offers a wide range of high quality and safe support options that allow young people to engage in the ways they want to, when they want to. 

And, ReachOut Parents and ReachOut Schools provide valuable information, resources and advice to help parents, carers and educators to better understand the young people in their lives and to play an active role in their wellbeing.

About you and the role

As a conversational designer, you will lead the design of intuitive, empathetic, and safe interactive experiences for young people, parents, and carers at ReachOut. You bring a strong foundation in UX writing and microcopy, understanding that the right words at the right time are crucial in a mental health context when designing for impact. You’re confident in combining people, process and technology in the ideal way to make content sing.

We are looking for a designer who thrives across the entire product lifecycle—someone with a proven track record of staying actively involved in projects from initial discovery through to final delivery. You possess a deep understanding of natural language user interfaces, conversational flows, and AI technologies, including practical knowledge of prompt engineering to shape safe, effective, LLM-driven interactions. Embedded within both the content and product teams, you will turn complex user journeys into seamless, supportive experiences and service provision.

You take initiative when you see something not quite working the way it should. You love collaborating with others, and tackling challenges head-on to get the best result for our end users.

This is a 12 month fixed term contract, part-time (4 days per week).

Key Responsibilities

Conversational design and UX writing

• Actively participate in the full product lifecycle, staying embedded from initial user discovery, research, and ideation through to final delivery, testing, and optimisation. 
• Craft intuitive conversational flows, script natural-sounding dialogues, and design multi-modal interactive journeys for ReachOut tools and products. 
• Leverage foundational knowledge of prompt engineering to design, test, and refine system instructions for AI models
• Ensure all conversational content and AI behaviors are safe, trauma-informed, evidence-based, and strictly adhered to ReachOut’s  brand and style guidelines and Duty of Care Framework. 
• Apply UX writing principles to create microcopy, buttons, system messages, and interface text that guide users flawlessly through highly complex and non-linear journeys. 
• Partner with product managers and designers to run user research, identify user pain points during the discovery phase, and translate insights into conversational prototypes. 
• Stay up-to-date with industry trends and best practices in conversational design.
• Use data and insights to continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of our content.

Content processes and procedures

• Create and maintain conversational design guidelines, voice and tone guardrails for AI, and UX writing best practices for the broader team to follow. 
• Steward our Tone of Voice guidelines in a technical writing context. 
• Build strong collaborative relationships between the Content and Product, Research and Technology teams and support effective workflow.
• Mentor and capacity-build other staff around conversational design and UX writing processes and best practice.

Cross organisational support

• Represent the content team on cross-functional working groups as required. 
• Participate actively in the Service Delivery team.
• Proactively communicate with internal stakeholders in cross-functional meetings, highlighting operational risks and flagging concerns.

To be successful in the role, you need:

• 3 – 5 years in conversational design and UX writing
• Experience with user-centred design principles and a passion for creating content that is accessible to all
• Experience owning projects from discovery to delivery, showing a strong capability to conduct user research, map complex journeys, prototype flows, and support final implementation. 
• Experience working alongside product and engineering teams to test, implement and tune copy and prompts. 
• Exceptional UX writing and scripting skills, with the ability to write succinct, human, and empathetic copy that drives seamless user interactions. 
• Experience with Content Management Systems and common tools such as the Atlassian suite.
• Ability to utilise data, transcript analysis, and user feedback sessions to continuously optimise conversational accuracy and user satisfaction. 
• Ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams, including product managers, designers, and subject matter experts.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines.
• An upbeat, dynamic, ‘can-do’ attitude.
• A commitment to ReachOut’s values

We also think it would be useful to have:

• Experience and understanding of prompt engineering principles
• Experience working with young people and/or in the health sector.
• Understanding of mental health and wellbeing concepts.
• Experience with design thinking and agile methodologies.
• Experience using trauma-informed and accessibility focused design principles.

ReachOut is an inclusive workplace, committed to providing opportunities for people from diverse and often marginalised groups. We encourage applications from people of all ages, backgrounds, and identities. This includes but is not limited to people with living experience of mental health issues and/or recovery, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, people who identify as LGBTQIA+ and people with disability.