User Researcher

BOSS Professional Services Pty; Eastbourne; Hybrid; GBP 63,000 - 77,000; Full time

Job summary

HMRC is seeking a User Researcher to generate insights, design and conduct in-house usability studies, and translate findings into actionable requirements for service managers. You will lead the usability testing process and collaborate with designers, analysts and developers to turn data into guiding stories.

You will devise research strategies, conduct both qualitative and quantitative studies, and mentor junior researchers within the wider HMRC digital team.

Qualifications

• Proven experience using usability testing methodologies to reveal actionable insights.
• Proven ability to create research strategies/approaches.
• Proven experience managing, executing and analysing usability test sessions and workshops.
• Excellent analytical and problem solving skills with quantitative and qualitative evidence.
• Confidently explain user needs to senior civil servants and advocate for those needs.
• Extensive knowledge of human factors, ethnography and user-centred design in iterative environments.
• Demonstrable knowledge of audience modelling and design personas.
• Experience with web content and complex user journeys.

Responsibilities

• Generate insights and translate them into features and actions for service managers.
• Plan, design and conduct in-house research including requirements gathering and prototype testing.
• Lead usability testing from recruitment to analysis and reporting.
• Devise research strategies to generate focused insights for concepts.
• Turn user data into actionable user stories for product/service direction.
• Collaborate with designers, business analysts and developers to shape stimulus material.
• Design and analyse ad-hoc quantitative surveys and manage research projects.
• Share knowledge and mentor junior researchers across the team.

Skills

Usability testing

Research strategies

Workshop facilitation

Data analysis

Stakeholder communication

User-centred design

Personas

Qualitative research

Job description

Inside IR35 (£350 day rate) - Hybrid (2/3 days per week onsite in Worthing)

Job Description:

• Generate new and useful user insights and translate them into features and actions that will allow service/product managers to iteratively improve their service for users.
• Plan, design and conduct in-house research to test new service ideas and concept development (including user requirements gathering, early stage concept and prototype testing, guerrilla research and usability testing sessions, and other approaches to ensure the user need is fully understood in the service design).
• Lead the formal usability testing process for a digital service - from developing user recruitment briefs through to test moderation, analysis and report writing.
• Work with Service/Product Managers to devise appropriate research strategies to generate focused insights and to convert concepts into high quality stimulus material.
• Work closely with designers, business analysts and software developers to turn user data into actionable user stories that influence product/service direction and prototype development.
• Work with Service/Product Managers to devise appropriate research strategies to generate focused insights and to convert concepts into high quality stimulus material.
• Work closely with designers, business analysts and software developers to turn user data into actionable user stories that influence product/service direction and prototype development.
• Design, script and analyse ad-hoc quantitative surveys.
• Manage ad-hoc qualitative/quantitative research projects such as proposition development, visual identity and customer experience mapping.
• Be involved in the wider user research community (outside of HMRC and the government) identifying good practices we can adopt and sharing our experiences.
• Share knowledge of tools and techniques with technical and non-technical team members in the wider HMRC digital team and across government, acting as mentor to other junior user researcher(s).

Requirements:

• Proven experience of using a variety of usability testing methodologies to reveal actionable customer insights and gather user needs for web based services.
• Proven experience of creating research strategies/approaches.
• Proven experience of managing, executing and analysing usability test sessions, and facilitating workshops.
• Excellent analytical and problem solving skills, and the ability to quickly develop recommendations based on quantitative and qualitative evidence.
• Confident in explaining user needs to senior civil servants and acting as a persuasive advocate for those needs both within the team and the department at large.
• Extensive knowledge of human factors, ethnography, and the user-centred design process for product and service design in an iterative development environment.
• Demonstrable knowledge, experience in and passion for user centred design practices.
• Proven experience of audience modelling and developing design personas.
• Experience across web content, tools and transactional services, especially those with complex user journeys (involving development of a logical sequence of steps to complete transactions).
• Comfortable working with data, from gathering and analysis through to design and presentation.

Day rate is £350 inside IR35, Hybrid working (2/3 days) per week onsite.