Senior User Researcher

HM Revenue & Customs; Glasgow; Hybrid; GBP 52,686 - 64,395; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension contributions

Family friendly policies

Personal support

Coaching and development

Job summary

HM Revenue & Customs seeks a Senior User Researcher to enhance user-centric design within Unity Business Services in Glasgow. In this role, you will lead planning and conducting user research, collaborating with stakeholders to improve guidance for both internal advisor colleagues and customers.

Key responsibilities include applying various research methods and managing user researchers. The position offers a salary of £58,541, generous leave allowances, and contributions towards a Civil Service pension.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in senior user research improving digital services.
• Skilled in tackling complex problems to guide decisions.
• Expert in a variety of research methods including usability testing.

Responsibilities

• Lead on planning and conducting user research.
• Align research activities to influence decision-making.
• Advocate for all kinds of users in research activities.

Skills

User research methods

Analysis and synthesis

Research management, leadership and assurance

Inclusive research

Stakeholder relationship management

Education

Relevant degree or equivalent experience

Job description

As a Senior User Researcher in PTT, you will help shape and lead user‑centred design within Unity Business Services, with a strong focus on improving the guidance used by both Unity customers and internal adviser colleagues.

Job Description

• Leading on planning, recruiting and conducting user research in larger teams and on more complex services, including playing back user research to stakeholders and digital teams.
• Understanding the service problem then aligning user research activities to influence and support decision‑making.
• Applying a range of techniques to analyse and synthesise user research insights, creating research outputs in an actionable way.
• Advocating for, and including, all kinds of users in appropriate research activities to help teams design accessible services for all users.
• Contributing to the user research community at HMRC.
• Managing and/or mentoring User Researchers.
• Participating in HMRC’s cross‑government research and conferences.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in senior user research, improving digital services and applying GDS standards to meet user needs.
• Skilled in tackling complex problems, aligning research activities to guide decisions and deliver practical solutions.
• Expert in a wide range of research methods, including usability testing, surveys, ethnographic techniques, and data analysis, producing clear, actionable insights.
• Strong advocate for user‑centred design, influencing stakeholders and embedding research practices into agile workflows.
• Excellent communicator, able to present complex ideas clearly and persuasively; supported by a relevant degree or equivalent experience.
• Demonstratable experience in coaching and mentoring of team members.

Technical Skills

• User research methods
• Analysis and synthesis
• Research management, leadership and assurance
• Inclusive research
• Stakeholder relationship management

Transitional Sites

If your location preference is for one of the following sites, it’s important to note that these are not long‑term sites for HMRC and we will require you to move to a new building in the future, subject to our location strategy and the applicable employee policies at that time.

• Benton Park View, Newcastle - moving to Pilgrims Quarter, Newcastle

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £58,541, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £16,959 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. HMRC operates both Flexible and Hybrid Working policies, allowing you to balance your work and personal commitments. We offer a generous leave allowance, starting at 25 days and increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days.

• Pension - We make contributions to our colleagues’ Alpha pension equal to at least 28.97% of their salary.
• Family friendly policies.
• Personal support.
• Coaching and development.