Senior User Researcher

Job summary

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government. We are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government.

Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government, by:

1. joining up public sector services
2. harnessing the power of AI for the public good
3. strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
4. elevating leadership and investing in talent
5. funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation
6. committing to transparency and driving accountability

We are home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (I.AI), the world-leading GOV.UK and at the forefront of coordinating the UK’s geospatial strategy and activity. We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government.

We’re part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and employ more than 1,000 people all over the UK, with hubs in Manchester, London and Bristol.

The Government Digital Service is where talent translates into impact. From your first day, you’ll be working with some of the world’s most highly-skilled digital professionals, all contributing their knowledge to make change on a national scale.

Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You'll solve some of the nation’s highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need.

Job description

We are hiring 3 Senior User Researchers for GOV.UK. GOV.UK is the trusted online home for government information and services, every week millions of people rely on it to complete essential and often life-changing tasks. GOV.UK also supports government colleagues to publish content, ensuring accurate and accessible information is always available to the public.  

As a Senior User Research, you will:  

• make an impact: work on and tackle some of the toughest challenges in public infrastructure, improving millions of people’s lives through solutions that are informed by high quality, evidence-based, insights 
• deliver work that matters: driving change, delivering better value and outcomes for users and government, to empower and transform. 
• grow with us: thrive in a supportive research community that values experimentation, learning, failing fast and reflection as key steps to growth. With dedicated development resources, training and cross-government networks, you will have plenty of opportunities to grow.  

Your main responsibilities are:  

• to lead and conduct a wide range of user research projects that are aligned with GOV.UK’s vision and goals using a range of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
• to deliver high quality research projects end-to-end: from planning, recruiting participants, data analysis and reporting, ensuring key insights are acted upon 
• to collaborate with multidisciplinary colleagues and stakeholders throughout the research process, and work with analytics colleagues and use a wide range of data to build a rich picture of user behaviour
• to produce impactful and reusable insights to inform, guide (or even reset) design, driving, tactical product and strategic decisions at both the team and organisational level
• to advocate for evidence-based decision-making, persuading colleagues and stakeholders to adopt research approaches and research initiatives that can deliver significant value to GOV.UK and GDS
• mentor, guide and line manage more junior user researchers to assure and improve research practice
• consistently explore and implement innovative ways to deliver better outcomes, whether by refining existing methods or experimenting with new, creative, approaches
• help colleagues understand when and when not to do research and advocate the value and demonstrate the importance of research by ensuring that impact is tracked and visible to others
• be a reflective practitioner who continually strives to improve their own practice and will contribute to our thriving User Research Community to share knowledge, case studies and examples of best practice

Person specification

You don't need government experience to apply for this role. We’re interested in seasoned research practitioners who are experienced in both evaluative and foundational research, leveraging a wide range of data and techniques. You should be a skilled communicator with a proven track record of influencing stakeholders and advocating for users, driving decisions and shaping direction at both tactical and strategic levels.  

We want people who can demonstrate: 

• the execution of research projects following best practice, delivering high impact results that have directly influenced important design and product directions both tactically and strategically
• strong analytical skills, with the ability to distil hidden and actionable insights from diverse data sources and communicate them effectively through storytelling
• a proven ability to advocate for research and build strong relationships with colleagues and stakeholders. Skilled in collaborating with multidisciplinary teams and senior stakeholders throughout the product development process to drive actions and meaningful change
• proven experience in educating and directing team(s) focusing on the right research and adopting a wide range of methods/approaches to deliver best results. 
• demonstrable experience in developing engaging and impactful team workshops to assist with research scoping, prioritisation of research insights, and ideas generations 
• a good understanding of social and technological contexts and how that influences user behaviour and solutions; and accessibility and inclusion practices. 
• someone who thrives on the demands of delivery pressure, ambiguous environments by combining pragmatism, professional judgement and flexibility (not just playing it by the book) to overcome challenges
• tenacity and proactivity: seek solutions with creativity, curiosity and collaboration, while continuously reflecting on own practices to drive improvements and deliver meaningful change
• educated to at least Batchelor's level in a field related to User Centered design (e.g. HCI, Human Factors, Anthropology, Design, Psychology) or related work experience

Benefits

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 28.97%
• 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
• 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 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

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 

Office attendance
The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period.
DSIT does not normally offer full home working (i.e. working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home).

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

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
• stage 2: a 60 minute interview. We will use this to understand your work, experience, and assess in terms of competency and behaviours. You will receive a brief beforehand if preparation is needed. This will be conducted over video conferencing.  
• stage 3: Final stage. 120 minute research technical exercise session (60 minutes to prepare, 60 minutes for interview / tasks). In this session, we will assess your research practices and skills using a series of hands-on tasks. You will receive a brief with more info about this before attending the exercise session. This will be conducted over video conferencing.  

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 event we receive a high volume of applications, we will conduct the initial sift against the lead criteria which are:

• the execution of research projects following best practice, delivering high impact results that have directly influenced important design and product directions both tactically and strategically
• strong analytical skills, with the ability to distil hidden and actionable insights from diverse data sources and communicate them effectively through storytelling

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: 

• seeing the big picture
• delivering at pace
• working together
• communicating and influencing
• changing and improving
• making effective decisions  

We’ll also be assessing your experience and specialist technical skills against the following skills defined in the Government Digital and Data Capability Framework for the Senior User Researcher role: 

• agile research practices
• analysis and synthesis
• inclusive research
• research management, leadership and assurance
• stakeholder relationship management
• user research methods
• user-centred practice and advocacy 

Want to know more about who Government Digital and Data are? Click Here

Recruitment Timeline

Sift completion: 6th August 2026

Panel interviews: w/c 11th August 2026

Technical interviews: w/c 18th August 2026

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.

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

Security

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check. 

Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years’ UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible. 

For meaningful checks to be carried out, you will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. Whilst a lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance, and expectation of UK residency may range from 3 to 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements needed for the role may result in the withdrawal of provisional jobs offers. 

Sponsorship

DSIT cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. DSIT holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.