Senior User Researcher

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

User Researchers are key figures in the teams that design and deliver services. They help their teams develop a deep understanding of the people who use the products and services. Their findings allow their teams to design and build better services more quickly and at lower cost and risk. And to continuously improve services, based on data and evidence.

GOV.UK is the groundbreaking single website for the UK government with more than 700,000 pages, 30 million monthly users, and home to hundreds of vital public services. 

The GOV.UK team’s mission is to make it simple for everyone to interact with government. GOV.UK is part of everyone’s lives in the UK, from registering a birth to starting a business. Our priorities are to ensure more people get what they are eligible for, the public is better informed, and that digital government is joined-up. GOV.UK’s recent work to help people find support with the cost of living is a great example of this, and you can read about some of the GOV.UK team’s other work on the Inside GOV.UK blog (https://insidegovuk.blog.gov.uk/).

GOV.UK is currently one of the top 25 most visited websites in the UK, and it’s our responsibility to be iterating and improving all the time as technology and user needs change. This role includes opportunities to experiment with new technologies and platforms with the potential to transform how the public interacts with GOV.UK.

GOV.UK aims to set the bar for the user experience and accessibility of public services internationally. Our work has been recognised with D&AD wins for design, the Horace Hockley award for our work on the Coronavirus pandemic, and multiple Women in Tech Excellence awards. This is grounded in a culture of user-centred working and investing in our team’s expertise.

The GOV.UK programme is part of the Government Digital Service (GDS). GDS also works on a wide range of products that help government build better public services. These include shared platforms for payments and notifications, a government-wide design system, and new unified digital identity product. As a result, there’s a range of opportunities to learn about and work on different kinds of products as your career develops. Our CEO Tom Read’s blogpost is a good overview of what GDS works on.

Job description

We are looking for a Senior User Researcher who has exceptional research skills,  with a track record of conducting impactful strategic and tactic research in order to direct decision making. You will plan and lead user research projects in a team, build user centred practices, and translate quality research into design, product and organisational decisions by informing propositions and directions. 

GOV.UK is the best place to find government services and information, and user needs are at the heart of everything we do. Our vision is for GOV.UK to offer users joined-up, trusted and personalised interactions. 

As a Senior User Researcher, you’ll:

• lead and conduct a wide range of complex user research projects (from discovery to evaluative research, and from qualitative to quantitative research) by aligning with GOV.UK vision and goals  
• be bold and creative in trying out new methods and approaches, and actively seek out better ways to improve and do research
• run high quality research projects end-to-end: planning, recruiting participants, conducting the research, analysis and reporting findings and insights and ensure learnings are being acted upon
• involve colleagues and relevant senior stakeholders throughout the end-to-end research process 
• produce impactful and reusable insights to inform, guide (or even reset) design, product and strategic decisions at team and organisational level 
• be actively identifying research opportunities that would bring great value and impact to GOV.UK and GDS in supporting our vision 
• persuade colleagues and stakeholders on evidence-based decision-making and the introduction of new research initiatives

Person specification

We’re interested in people who:

• are rigorous and have exceptional research skills, but who also understands the balance between scrappy and rigour, and know when to adopt which approach
• have extensive experience in a wide range of research methodologies and are able to execute them to high standards, from diary studies, ethnography to planning quantitative research 
• have strong analysis skills to distil hidden and longevity insights from research data to inform business decisions
• have a good understanding of the social and technological context for product and services and align research to understand the changing user behaviour
• know it is not enough to just report interesting things about users and have a track record of translating research into real impact and value
• have experience working with a variety of multi-disciplinary colleagues and stakeholders, including  them in the research journey, and experienced in advocating user centred design to persuade sceptical colleagues and stakeholders
• are expert in communicating results and illustrate suggestions in compelling and creative ways to a broad and diverse audience including senior stakeholders
• always being reflective of your own practice for continuous improvements
• ideally, you are someone who is experienced in quantitative and experimentation methods, and can use basic applied statistics (such as correlation, T-test, regression), and has experience of applying them in the context of user experience
• please note that you don’t need to have experience working in government to apply for this role

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:

• stage 1: a simple application screening process - We only ask for a CV and cover letter of up to 1000 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 interview. We will use this to understand your 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 - research technical exercise session. 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 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:

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

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 Senior User Researcher 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.