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Contract Type: Permanent
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Salary: £38,052 to £49,150– London: £41,553 to £49,150 / National: £38,052 - £43,900 (including allowance)
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Grade: SEO
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Number of open roles: 5
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Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working
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Closing date for applications: Monday 13th May 2024 at 12pm (noon)
Senior User Researcher
Location: London, Darlington, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast, Birmingham, Salford
About us
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the department for economic growth. The Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) directorate develops and operates tools and services to support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country.
About the role
We are recruiting 5 Senior User Researchers to join us at the Department of Business and Trade (DBT). User researchers at the Department for Business and Trade plan, design and carry out research activities with users that help teams develop a deep understanding of the people that use government services, citizens, businesses, and government. User research informs policy, proposition, service, content, and interaction design so that services work well for users and achieve policy intent. As a Senior User Researcher, reporting to a Lead User Researcher, you will need to be an experienced practitioner who can plan, design, and conduct user research activities in larger teams and on complex government services.
Main responsibilities
As a User researcher at the Department for Business and Trade, you will:
- Conduct user research in complex subject areas and supervise and develop other user researchers to ensure research practice is high quality, ethical, and safe.
- Build user-centred practices in multi-disciplinary teams using agile and iterative user-centred design methods.
- Effectively communicate user research findings to the team and the wider organisation, to influence delivery.
- Help teams to research inclusively with a wide range of users, including those with additional needs and other hard-to-reach groups.
- Take a dynamic role in the DBT user research community, helping develop and improve our practice across the department.
- Help teams build services that apply the government Service Standard, supporting teams to prepare for service assessments in line with Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) guidelines for building a good service.
- Identify metrics and other data that’s available to support user research and use this data to enhance your team’s understanding of user needs.
Skills and experience
It is essential that you have:
- Research methods and research design. You can plan, design, and conduct complex user research using a range of methods and applying them correctly.
- Analysis and synthesis. You can understand and synthesise outputs from research activities, involving teams and stakeholders, and presenting clear and actionable findings.
- Research leadership. You can work with teams and stakeholders, helping them adopt user-centred practices and iterative workflows that are informed by user research insights.
How to apply
As part of the application process you will be asked to upload a two-page CV and complete a (500 word) personal statement outlining how you meet the essential skills and experience listed above. You can use bullet points and subheadings if you prefer.
Sift will be from week commencing Monday 13th May 2024
Interviews will be from week commencing Monday 20th May 2024
Please note these dates are indicative and may be subject to change.
If there is a high volume of applications, we will sift looking at your personal statement only. You may then be progressed to full sift or straight to interview.
How we interview
At the interview stage for this role, you will be asked to demonstrate relevant Technical Skills and Behaviours from the Success Profiles framework. These are role specific and in line with the DDaT Capability Framework.
Technical Skills
- Analysis and synthesis
- Researching skills
- Inclusive research
- Research management, leadership, and assurance
- User-centred and Agile practices
- Stakeholder relationship management
Behaviours
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
- Changing and Improving
You will also be asked to deliver a presentation and will be informed on the topic following the sift.
How we offer
Offers may be made in merit order based on location preferences. If you pass the bar at interview but are not the highest scoring you will be held on a 12-month reserve list in case a role becomes available. If you are judged a near miss at interview, you may be offered a post at the grade below the one you applied for.
Benefits
If you join us, you will get:
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- A flexible, hybrid working environment with options like condensed hours
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
- Annual leave starting at 25 days rising to 30 days with service
- Three paid volunteering days a year
- An employee benefits program including cycle to work
More about us
This role can only be worked from within the UK, not overseas. If you are based in London, you will receive London weighting. DBT employees work in a hybrid pattern, spending 2-3 days a week (pro rata) in the office on average. Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DBT, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.
You can find out more about our office locations, how we calculate salaries, our diversity statement and reasonable adjustments, the Recruitment Principles, the Civil Service code and our complaints procedure on our website.
Find out more about life at DBT, our benefits and meet the team by watching our video or reading our blog!