Senior User Experience Researcher

John Lewis plc; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 52,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Night Premium £5.25 per hour

Hybrid working

Employee-owned organisation

Job summary

John Lewis Partnership is seeking a Senior UX Researcher to lead research across Waitrose and John Lewis, shaping loyalty propositions and customer engagement across digital and physical touchpoints.

You will own research from discovery through to concept testing and continuous improvement, remaining hands-on while guiding teams to evidence-based decisions.

Qualifications

• Proven experience independently leading UX research and influencing product strategy and design decisions.
• Strong qualitative and quantitative research skills with method selection and interpretation.
• Ability to connect customer needs with business outcomes.
• Excellent communication to align senior audiences and teams.
• Experience delivering inclusive, ethical research.

Responsibilities

• Own the research plan for loyalty and customer engagement across brands.
• Lead discovery into customer behaviours and needs to strengthen loyalty propositions.
• Evaluate concepts and live experiences to understand engagement with rewards and personalization.
• Deliver qualitative and quantitative research with customers and Partners.
• Combine research with behavioural data to influence product priorities.
• Collaborate with Design and UX Research teams to share insights and coach colleagues.
• Communicate clear recommendations and track impact on loyalty outcomes.
• Embed ethical, accessible, and inclusive research practices.

Skills

Research Leadership

Methodology Expertise

Commercial Awareness

Stakeholder Alignment

Inclusive Research

Job description

ABOUT THE ROLE

As a Senior UX Researcher working across Waitrose and John Lewis, you will lead research that shapes loyalty propositions and customer engagement experiences. You will help teams understand what customers value, what builds lasting engagement, and how loyalty connects with the core shopping journey across digital and physical touchpoints. Taking ownership from early discovery through to concept testing and continuous improvement, you will remain a hands‑on practitioner while challenging assumptions and helping teams make confident, evidence‑based decisions.

In addition to your contractual pay, any time worked between 22:00 - 06:00 will attract Night Premium at a rate of £5.25 per hour. This will also apply to existing Partners who have enrolled onto Enhanced Hours Premium arrangements.

Expected Salary - Salary up to £60,000, depending on experience

Contract type - Permanent

Location - London Pimlico Head Office

Working pattern/flexible working - The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach, meaning you’ll be able to work flexibly between the office and home based upon the needs of the business. The team aims for around 2-3 days a week in the office to connect and on a more ad-hoc basis to attend key meetings.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Owning the research plan for loyalty and customer engagement across both brands and agreeing on priorities with stakeholders.
• Leading discovery into customer behaviours and needs to strengthen loyalty propositions.
• Evaluating concepts and live experiences to understand how customers engage with benefits, rewards, and personalisation.
• Independently delivering qualitative and quantitative research with customers and Partners.
• Combining research with behavioural data and customer insight to influence product priorities and design decisions.
• Working alongside each brand's Design and UX Research functions to maintain standards, share reusable insights, and coach colleagues.
• Communicating clear recommendations and tracking how research improves customer understanding, engagement, and loyalty outcomes.
• Embedding ethical, accessible, and inclusive research practices for consent and data handling.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS/EXPERIENCE YOU’LL NEED

• Research Leadership: Proven experience independently leading UX research and influencing product strategy and design decisions.
• Methodology Expertise: Strong qualitative and quantitative research skills, with sound judgement in method selection, analysis, and interpretation across different project life cycles.
• Commercial Awareness: The ability to navigate ambiguity, understand complete customer journeys, and connect customer needs with business outcomes.
• Stakeholder Alignment: Strong communication and influencing skills to align senior audiences and multiple teams.
• Inclusive Research: Practical knowledge of delivering inclusive, accessible, and ethical research.

DESIRABLE SKILLS/EXPERIENCE YOU MAY HAVE

• Domain Knowledge: Experience in loyalty, rewards, membership, personalisation, or customer engagement.
• Retail/Ecommerce: Experience in the retail sector spanning digital and in‑store customer journeys.
• Scale: Experience working across multiple brands or within a large, complex organisation.
• Mentorship: Experience coaching others and elevating research practice.

#LI-HYBRID #LI-BF

Closing Date: November 8, 2026

Pay: £52,000.00 - £80,000.00

Annual Contract Type: Permanent

Hours of Work: 35

Job Level: Partnership Level 7

Where You'll Be Working: London Central Office, 1 Drummond Gate, London, , SW1V 2QQ

ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world.

As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us. We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food‑lovers in Waitrose.

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect. We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective. As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE:

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre‑employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays.

Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third‑party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.

We also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants. We want all of our Partners to have a good work‑life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.

At the John Lewis Partnership we’re not just employees; we’re co‑owners, and that’s why we’re called Partners. Being a Partner means not only do we all collectively share the responsibilities of being the UK’s largest employee‑owned business, but we also share in its rewards and successes. It’s this ownership model that makes the Partnership a very unique place to work.