Head of User Research

Job summary

GDS exists to help government make brilliant public services that empower people in the UK. We work at the very centre of government to drive digital transformation, focused on users. We build and maintain common platforms, products and tools for others to use and create great public services that are accessible, inclusive and easy to use. We also work with departments to identify patterns, share learning and create change to make government more efficient.

Our teams are organised around delivering on our priorities. These are:

• making it easier for people to find what they are looking for on GOV.UK
• building common service platforms to make it simpler and cheaper to build quality digital services
• promoting agile, user-centred design practices both in the UK and across the world

GOV.UK is at the heart of digital government, and central to the experience of citizens in the UK, working in partnership with government departments. It is critical that GOV.UK is accessible, available and usable for everyone, and building on work to date GOV.UK has developed an ambitious strategy to expand its reach and optimise the experience for every user. You can read more about GOV.UK's strategy on our blog.

Job description

The Head of User Research will play a critical role in supporting the GOV.UK growth strategy, by identifying and communicating new and existing user needs to leadership and product teams to inform strategic decision making and delivery.

This research also forms a critical part of defining underserved groups and understanding and addressing complex needs. 

You will lead a team of User Researchers working both across delivery teams, and in a central strategic research team. It requires a highly organised person able to manage both the operational and strategic needs of this role, able to put in place the right team structure and environment to enable their commitments to both.  

You will be expert in your field, a hands-on practitioner knowledgeable in a wide range of research methods, and a skilled team leader. You will be confident in explaining user needs to senior civil servants and delivery teams alike. You will be comfortable working with a range of stakeholders, and be able to quickly understand your strategic context and build credibility, influence and the ability to deliver through others.  

You will work as part of a multidisciplinary Senior Management Team who are responsible for the delivery of the GOV.UK strategy and roadmap. These colleagues represent the full range of agile development and user-centred design skills: product, delivery, design, content design, policy & strategy, engineering, architecture and data & insights.

This is a fantastic opportunity to operate at the heart of an exciting and fast-moving digital agenda and make government work for users.

As Head of User Research you will be:

• setting a user research strategy and vision for GOV.UK.
• constantly and consistently reviewing existing processes and methodologies across the programme, ensuring maximum value
• ensuring delivery of impactful user research across all relevant product development teams
• managing the recruitment of user researchers for GOV.UK establishing a resilient and flexible team structure
• working with UR leadership across GDS to manage career development of the GOV.UK user research team
• widening the impact and scope of the user research team across GOV.UK, increasing capability and unblocking strategic and cultural obstacles to progress 
• building the capabilities of the user research team so that they can use a wide range of research techniques efficiently, and work in a coordinated way within the team to maximize the value of the research undertaken across projects.
• working across key GOV.UK deliverables, ensuring success of prioritised developments
• leverage both qualitative and quantitative data, as appropriate, to ensure optimum data-informed decision making

Person specification

It’s essential that you have:

• demonstrable experience of leading and developing a mixed-level team of user researchers
• examples of developing innovative vision and research delivery across a complex, user-facing organisation
• experience of delivering both tactical and strategic solutions in a dynamic environment
• extensive experience of proactively identifying and implementing improvements to the way the  user research community is run
• extensive experience of a wide range of user research methodologies
• an inclusive communicator, able to sell the discipline and output to both practitioners and senior stakeholders 
• demonstrable experience of performance and people management 
• experience of deploying research methodologies to build an understanding of users at the macro level and to inform wider strategy development
• the ability to be flexible and pragmatic, and to prioritise what's most important in a fast-paced and changing environment

Benefits

The benefits of working at GDS

There are many benefits of working at GDS, including:

• flexible hybrid working with flexi-time and the option to work part-time or condensed hours
• a Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
• 25 days of annual leave, increasing by a day each year up to a maximum of 30 days
• an extra day off for The King’s birthday
• an in-year bonus scheme to recognise high performance
• career progression and coaching, including a training budget for personal development
• paid volunteering leave
• a focus on wellbeing with access to an employee assistance programme
• job satisfaction from making government services easier to use and more inclusive for people across the UK
• advances on pay, including for travel season tickets
• death in service benefits
• cycle to work scheme and facilities
• access to children's holiday play schemes across different locations in central London
• access to an employee discounts scheme
• 10 learning days per year
• volunteering opportunities (5 special leave days per year)
• access to a suite of learning activities through Civil Service learning

GDS offers hybrid working for all employees. This means that everyone does some working from home and also spends some time in their local office. You’ll agree to your hybrid working arrangement with your line manager in line with your preferences and business needs.

Any move to Government Digital Service from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Things you need to know

Selection process details

The standard selection process for roles at GDS consists of:

• a simple application screening process - We only ask for a CV and cover letter of up to 750 words. Important tip - please ensure that your cover letter includes how you meet the skills and experience listed in the “person specification” section above
• a 60 minute video interview - as part of the interview process you will be asked to prepare a presentation without the use of slides. Details of the presentation will be sent in advance of your interview

Depending on how many applications we get, there might also be an extra stage before the video interview, for example a phone interview or a technical exercise.

In the Civil Service, we use Success Profiles to evaluate your skills and ability. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, increases performance and improves diversity and inclusivity. We’ll be assessing your technical abilities, skills, experience and behaviours that are relevant to this role.

For this role we’ll be assessing you against the following Civil Service Behaviours: 

• leadership
• communicating and influencing
• delivering at pace
• making effective decisions
• seeing the bigger picture

We’ll also be assessing your experience and specialist technical skills against the following skills defined in the Digital, Data and Technology Profession Capability Framework for the Head of User Research role

• Analysis and synthesis
• Inclusive research
• Research
• Society and technology
• Strategic insight
• Technical understanding (user-centred design)
• User-centred and Agile practices

Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade.

A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.