User Researcher

NHS National Services Scotland; Glasgow; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading organization, NHS National Services Scotland, seeks an experienced User Researcher to advance public health initiatives. In this role, you will lead user research efforts, ensuring products and services are tailored to meet the needs of the community. Candidates should have a strong background in user research and excellent communication skills to influence design decisions.

Benefits

Pension scheme

Comprehensive work-life balance policies

Occupational health services

Discounted leisure, financial and shopping benefits

Qualifications

• Significant experience in user research
• Experience in service design and stakeholder management
• Demonstrable ability to involve various user types

Responsibilities

• Lead all aspects of user research
• Produce actionable user insights
• Manage multiple user research projects

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Negotiation skills

Influencing skills

Facilitation skills

Education

Graduate level degree or professional certification

Job description

About the Organisation:
Public Health Scotland launched 1st April 2020 as a national health board, employing around 1200 people, and with an annual budget of around £101 million. Public Health Scotland wants to see a Scotland where everybody thrives, a Scotland where life expectancy improves and the difference in life expectancy between our poorest and wealthiest areas gets smaller.

The Post:
Would you like to apply your passion for meeting users’ needs to the development of products and services that contribute to Public Health Scotland’s mission to improve life expectancy in Scotland and reduce health inequalities?

As an experienced user researcher, you will lead on all aspects of user research to help us gain a deeper understanding our users and ensure that the products and services we design meet their needs.

In the User Research role you will:

• plan and conduct user research, choosing the right user methods to suit the needs of the project or the problem to be solved
• analyse and produce user research findings and actionable user insights, and communice them to influence product and service design decisions
• advocate for the voice of the user and the value of user research
• manage multiple user research projects concurrently
• contribute to the development of our user research practices as part of our user-centred design and delivery approach

The Candidate:
You will have:

• a graduate level degree or professional certification or equivalent experience in a user research, service design, customer relations, stakeholder management discipline
• significant experience of planning, designing, and delivering user research to support the design, development, and continual improvement of a range of products and services
• demonstrable experience of identifying and involving different kinds of users in appropriate research activities, and running inclusive, ethical research aligned to organisational compliance requirements
• excellent interpersonal skills to establish credibility and build effective working relationships, with colleagues, users, and stakeholders
• highly developed communication negotiation, influencing, presentation and facilitation skills

Location and Working Pattern:
Hybrid working is offered but candidates may choose to work solely in the office. Offices are based at 2 Central Quay Glasgow or The Gyle Edinburgh.

Working pattern will be Monday to Friday 37 hours per week.

During times of public health emergency, or other urgent business need, you may be required on a temporary basis to work your normal contracted working hours over 7 days including weekends, in order to meet the needs of the service.

It is a condition of this employment that you must live and remain a resident within the UK for the post in which you will be employed with PHS.

Benefits:
Our benefits package includes pension scheme, comprehensive range of work life balance policies, occupational health services, learning resource centres and discounted leisure, financial and shopping benefits. Click here to view the full range of the PHS Employee Benefits.

Further Information:
For an informal discussion on the post, please contact Mary Flora Conner, Product Development Lead: [e-mail], 07771 506543

Closing date for completed applications is 20th June 2025

Interviews are expected to take place at the end of July

Kindly note that we may close the vacancy ahead of the advertised closing date should we receive a high volume of interest

Further information on PHS is available from: www.publichealthscotland.scot

Please note that the majority of correspondence is sent by e-mail only, so please check your e-mail regularly (including junk folders).

Public Health Scotland is an equal opportunities employer and as such guarantees to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for our vacancies.

NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.