Senior User Researcher

Job summary

The main aim of DSA is to deliver a robust Data Analytics capability to drive an intelligence-led evidence-based organisation, in order to help make our communities safer and improve the public's customer experience of interacting with the Home Office.

We are looking for a Senior User researcher to join our team to conduct comprehensive research into our services to ensure we deliver services to our users that allows them to function long term, the user researcher will explore the problem areas and its impacts.

Job description

We're looking for a skilled and experienced Senior User Researcher who is passionate about what they can bring to delivering better services at the Home Office and prepared to be a vocal advocate for user needs.

You will work within a fast-paced delivery team - either across several smaller services or dedicated to one larger programme of work. Your research will inform policy, proposition, service, content and interaction design so that digital services work well for users and achieve their policy intent.

As a Senior User Researcher, you will plan and lead user research activities in large teams and on complex services. You will develop research strategy and test design, as well as leading on expansive discovery research and analysis within the broad problem space. You will lead research using a range of methods, including usability testing, contextual interviews, pop-up testing, and will lead on rapid analysis that involves the wider team whenever possible.

What you will do

Your main day to day responsibilities will be:

• leading the planning, design and execution of user research and usability testing to understand user needs and behaviours and inform the design and development of government services
• influencing how decisions are made and constructively challenging ways of thinking at both the team and senior stakeholder level
• leading other user researchers within a digital delivery team, mentoring and up-skilling researchers and supporting the growth and development of the team
• taking a user centred, evidence-based approach by turning user research findings into actionable insights that influence service/product development
• supporting digital delivery teams to build accessible digital services by ensuring that participants with access needs and low digital skills are included in all research
• sharing insights from research and examples of best practice where they can help other researchers across the Home Office
• aligning user research activities with wider organisational objectives to provide strategic insights that inform policy and proposition

Person specification

UK residency and security requirements - You need to have lived in the UK for the past 5 years.

Essential criteria

As a Senior User Researcher, you will have experience of:

• understanding and applying a range of user research methods correctly for different life cycle phases, and advising others on these methods
• communicating insights from research in a clear and impactful way that drives change in the design of services and informs policy and proposition
• establishing an effective user centred design culture in a team, and supporting them to embed user centred design practices into their agile workflow
• ­convincing senior stakeholders about the benefits of adopting a user-centred approach, based on evidence
• establishing and applying ethical research standards and practices to ensure the safeguarding and wellbeing of participants and researchers
• researching diverse audiences to help teams deliver accessible and inclusive digital services

Our skills align with the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework Digital, Data and Technology Profession Capability Framework - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)