Fractional Games Designer – Education / EdTech - #2136046

Games Designer – Education / EdTech
Location: Remote / Flexible
Duration: Initial 3–6 months
Rate: £500 to £750 PD Outside IR 35

The Opportunity
We are looking for an experienced Games Designer / Learning Games Designer to join an exciting digital education programme on a short term / fractional basis.

We are particularly interested in individuals who have designed interactive educational games and digital learning experiences for children and young people, ideally within environments comparable to BBC Bitesize or other leading EdTech, educational publishing and digital learning platforms.

The challenge is to take educational content and learning objectives and transform them into engaging, intuitive and genuinely enjoyable digital experiences.

This is not traditional entertainment gaming. We need someone who understands how game mechanics, storytelling, interaction and reward systems can be used to improve learning, engagement and knowledge retention.

Key Responsibilities

• Design engaging educational games and interactive learning experiences.
• Translate curriculum, educational content and learning objectives into compelling game concepts.
• Develop game mechanics, challenges, progression systems, rewards and feedback loops.
• Design age-appropriate experiences for children and young learners.
• Create concepts, prototypes, user journeys and game design documentation.
• Work closely with product, UX/UI, content, learning and software development teams.
• Balance educational outcomes with engagement and enjoyment.
• Support user testing and iterate designs based on feedback from learners and stakeholders.
• Advise on gamification and how it can be used effectively without distracting from learning outcomes.
• Provide senior games design expertise and creative direction throughout the programme.

We are particularly interested in candidates with experience across:

• Educational games / learning games
• EdTech and digital learning platforms
• Children's digital products
• Curriculum-aligned digital experiences
• Gamification within education
• Interactive learning
• Game mechanics and gameplay loops
• UX and player/learner journeys
• Prototyping and playtesting
• Accessibility and inclusive design

Previous experience working on products or platforms comparable to BBC Bitesize, BBC Education, educational publishers, children's digital products or established EdTech organisations would be highly desirable.