UX Research Lead

OneSavings Bank PLC; Chatham; Hybrid; GBP 49,000 - 63,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading bank seeks a UX Research Lead to join their Design and Research team. You will drive research efforts to enhance digital experiences across various platforms, requiring strong experience in user research and stakeholder communication. This hybrid role offers a competitive salary, annual bonus, and a supportive work environment focused on professional development and diversity.

Benefits

Enhanced family-focused benefits

Annual bonus opportunity up to 15%

28 days annual leave + bank holidays

Qualifications

• Experience in user research and human-centred design.
• Background in financial services research.
• Proficiency in multiple research and design tools.

Responsibilities

• Conduct qualitative and quantitative research methodologies.
• Champion customer needs and design thinking within teams.
• Mentor team members to build research capability.

Skills

User research

Stakeholder engagement

Communication

Mentoring

Tools

UserTesting.com

Dovetail

Maze

Figma

Job description

About the team

As a UX research Lead you will join the newly formed Design and Research team within our Transformation function. As an individual contributor you will be comfortable working in an agile environment, working alongside the Senior Experience Designer(s) to support exceptional digital end-to-end customer and colleague experiences to transform user journeys through driving the importance of research and insights. This role will inform and inspire cross-functional teams - ensuring our solutions are grounded in real user needs and aligned with strategic business objectives.

Please note, this role can be based in either the Wolverhampton or Chatham office and has the benefit of operating within our hybrid-working policy of three days a week in the office and two days from home. This role will require some travel between our UK offices.

What you will be doing?

As a UX research Lead you will drive research that shapes high-impact digital experiences across the savings, lending, and mobile journeys on our multiple brands. You’ll uncover deep insights into the goals, pain points, and behaviours of both customers and intermediaries, translating these into actionable guidance for product, design, and business teams. Previous experience in a similar role will have given you the confidence and expertise to communicate and share methods, results and narratives across a wide range of stakeholders.

Your responsibilities will also include:

• Conduct a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies (e.g., in-depth interviews, usability testing, surveys, diary studies, desk research, concept testing)
• Champion customer needs across functions and be an ambassador for implementing design thinking across all teams
• Build research capability across the design team by mentoring and training others to run their own studies confidently and GDPR compliant
• Build and maintain research repositories and share insights that inform multiple teams in transformation, such as product, design, marketing, and customer insights
• Take ownership of designing and implementing GDPR-compliant research processes, embedding best practices across the team through training and guidance
• Mentor digital designers, from junior to senior, and manage research ops across the team to scale best practices

What's in it for you?

• Base salary between £49,000 - £63,000 dependant on experience
• Enhanced family-focused benefits
• Hybrid-working (3 in the office / 2 working from home)
• Annual bonus opportunity up to 15%
• 28 days annual leave + bank holidays

Please use this link to see the fantastic benefits available at OSB: https://www.osb.co.uk/careers/overview

About us

At OSB Group, we understand how much our people bring to our organisation, which is why we try our best to give back too! Our Purpose is to help our customers, colleagues and communities prosper and we are on a transformation journey to become ‘the bank of the future’.

Our commitment to professional development, flexible working, and employee well-being fosters a dynamic and supportive workplace.

Do you have the skills?

We are looking for talented individuals who have the experience and knowledge set out below:

• Strong experience of user research including planning, execution, analysis, and storytelling or working within a related human-centred design field
• Track record working and conducting research in financial services, with experience covering retail banking, payments, digital lending or fintech to identify and structure effective research within complex financial ecosystems.
• Demonstrable success running research across complex journeys and presenting compelling insights to influence a wide group of stakeholders and decision-makers
• Proficient in research and design tools such as UserTesting.com, Dovetail, Maze, Figma, and analytics platforms
• Working knowledge of data privacy (e.g., GDPR), financial regulations, and accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG
• Familiarity with behavioural economics, trust design, and patterns of financial decision-making
• Collaborative and proactive, with strong communication and relationship-building skills

Next steps

If this sounds like you, please apply now! For internal applications please visit the internal careers page to apply.

Still on the fence? Hear from our team or explore our process: OSB Careers

Shortlisted candidates will go through a personalised recruitment process, that is relevant and conversational – inclusive any individual reasonable support required. We want to bring out the best in you!

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Not sure if you meet the spec? Let us decide.

Research tells us that those from marginalised groups feel like they need to meet 100% of the criteria to apply. Here at OSB, we are committed to inclusivity and understand the value different experiences and perspectives can bring, so please don’t feel like you need to check every box to apply for a role internally.

We champion diversity at all levels, with Board-level Diversity Champions tracking our progress. We are proud to be signed up to the Women in Finance Charter to actively support the growth and development of senior women in our sector and are dedicated to treating all our employees and job applicants equally, opposed to discrimination on any grounds.