Senior User Researcher

UK Home Office; Sheffield; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

UK Home Office seeks a Senior User Researcher to enhance policies and services crucial to migration and borders. The ideal candidate will lead user research activities, mentor others, and work collaboratively to foster user-centered design approaches in policy-making. This role offers flexible working options, generous annual leave, and significant employer contributions to pensions.

Benefits

Exceptional pension

Generous leave

Flexible working

Learning and development

Inclusion and recognition

Qualifications

• Experience leading complex research projects and teams.
• Ability to apply various user research methods effectively.
• Proven communication skills for influencing senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead the planning and execution of user research.
• Engage with stakeholders and present findings.
• Mentor and develop team members in user research.

Skills

User research

Analysis and synthesis

Managing people and leading

Communication

Research ethics

Accessibility and inclusion

Job description

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Lead Technical Recruiter (Digital Data and Technology DDaT) - for Engineering, Quality Assurance and Test (QAT) and UCD Professions at UK Home Office

The Home Office Policy and Innovation Lab (CoLab) is a creative team of designers and researchers, that work closely with policy and operations teams from across the Home Office to bring user-centred and explorative approaches to policy making.

CoLab works in policy spaces that require a deeper understanding of service users, like how we can improve the experiences of asylum seekers in the UK or how we can improve users’ experiences of the passport system.

We’re looking for a Senior User Researcher to help us deliver impactful policies in the Migration and Borders area, which spans asylum, border security, visas and immigration and passports.

What will you be doing?

Your main day to day responsibilities will be:

• Leading the planning, design and execution of user research to understand user needs and behaviours and inform the design and development of government policy and services.
• Facilitating activities that help teams and stakeholders understand the problem space and assess the implication of policy decisions.
• Engaging with senior stakeholders and presenting project findings and related recommendations to senior decision makers across government.
• Identifying and evidencing opportunities to improve existing policies and services.
• Creating compelling policy and service solutions, in collaboration with designers, by drawing on findings from user research, data patterns, policy and operational intent and technical architecture.
• Leading other user researchers within the team, mentoring and up-skilling researchers and supporting the growth and development of the team.

Your skills for this role

As a Senior User Researcher, you will have experience leading complex research projects and encouraging teams to use user-centred design practices. During the selection process, you’ll be assessed on your experience of this and the following technical skills:

• Managing people and leading: planning and leading research projects and teams, including experience developing research plans, overseeing recruitment and managing stakeholders.
• User research: understanding and applying a range of user research methods to understand issues affecting policies and services, and design solutions.
• Analysis and synthesis: communicating insights from research in a clear and impactful way that drives change in the design of policies and services.
• Communicate, persuade and advocate: convincing senior stakeholders about the benefits of adopting a user-centered approach, based on evidence.
• Research ethics: establishing and applying ethical research standards and practices to ensure the safeguarding and wellbeing of participants and researchers.
• Accessibility and inclusion: researching with diverse audiences to help teams deliver accessible and inclusive services.
• Exceptional pension: Employer contribution of 28.97%.
• Generous leave: 25 days annual leave (rising to 30 with service), 8 public holidays, and 1 day for the King’s Birthday.
• Flexible working: Options include full-time, part-time, compressed hours, job sharing, and a hybrid model (minimum 60% on-site).
• Learning and development: Access to training, technical accreditations, and funded qualifications (subject to approval).
• Inclusion and recognition: A culture that champions diversity, enhanced parental leave schemes, annual bonuses, and recognition awards.

Learn more about our benefits: Benefits - Home Office Careers

Please note: This role requires SC clearance. To meet national security vetting requirements, you must typically have been resident in the UK for at least five years.

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Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Not Applicable

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Design, General Business, and Business Development

• Industries

  IT System Design Services, IT Services and IT Consulting, and IT System Operations and Maintenance

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