UX Researcher

Places for People; Empangeni; On-site; ZAR 878,000 - 1,317,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary review

Pension with matched contributions up 

35 days annual leave

Healthcare cashback

Bonus scheme

Training and development

Staff discounts

Job summary

Places for People is hiring two UX Researchers to join our UX team. You will research and influence all stages of design and development, collaborating with stakeholders to ensure decisions are driven by evidence and insight.

You will create and maintain personas, service blueprints and customer journey maps to deepen our understanding of users and align solutions with business goals. You will apply both qualitative and quantitative methods to surface insights, measure impact, and ensure our

Qualifications

• Proven experience delivering UX research and clearly showing impact on decisions and outcomes.
• Experience planning, running and analysing mixed-methods research (interviews, usability testing, surveys, analytics).
• Ability to synthesize findings into actionable insights and communicate them to stakeholders.
• Knowledge of agile software development lifecycle and continuous discovery.
• Experience creating and maintaining personas, journey maps and service blueprints.
• Understanding inclusive research practices, accessibility considerations, and diverse recruitment.
• Experience using collaboration tools such as Miro.

Responsibilities

• Research and influence design and development across all stages, working with stakeholders to ensure evidence-driven decisions.
• Create and maintain personas, service blueprints and customer journey maps to deepen user understanding.
• Apply qualitative and quantitative methods to surface insights and measure impact on business goals.
• Communicate findings clearly to stakeholders to shape design direction and improve digital experiences.

Skills

UX Research

Qualitative methods

Quantitative methods

Personas

Journey maps

Service blueprints

Stakeholder collaboration

Inclusive research

Accessibility considerations

Research communication

Tools

Miro

Job description

As the UK's leading Social Enterprise, we move lives forward every day by building, managing and supporting thriving Communities. From new homes, social housing and student accommodation to leisure, education and Community initiatives, our work makes a positive difference to millions of People across the UK. And that takes People who care about doing the right thing. People who are ambitious, ready to grow and motivated to make a difference through the work they do.

We’re looking for Colleagues who bring energy, curiosity and ownership. People who enjoy being challenged, support those around them and want to keep raising the bar. Because when we perform at our best, we create more opportunities to invest in our Customers, our Communities and each other.

Experience matters, but it’s only part of the story. If you share our values and want to build a career where your work has real impact, we’d love to hear from you.

More About The Team

Our UX team sits at the heart of IT, shaping the design and usability of digital products across Places for People. We combine user needs with business goals to create solutions that are functional, intuitive, and accessible.

More About Your Role

Reporting to the UX Manager, we are looking to recruit 2 UX Researchers on a permanent basis.

In this role, you'll be responsible for researching and influencing all stages of design and development, working closely with stakeholders across the business to ensure that decisions are driven by evidence and insight.

You will leverage your experience in creating and maintaining Personas, service blueprints, and customer journey maps that help teams build a deeper understanding of our users. You will apply both qualitative and quantitative research methods to surface insights, measure impact, and ensure our solutions are aligned to user needs as well as business goals.

A key part of the role will be communicating findings in a clear and persuasive way, so that research directly shapes design direction. Ultimately, you will make sure the digital experiences we deliver are intuitive, accessible, and genuinely improve the lives of the people who use them.

At Places for People, we are committed to a safe working environment so a basic DBS check is mandatory.

More About You

You’re an experienced UX Researcher (or in a closely related discipline) with a strong track record of planning and delivering research that improves products and services. You use evidence to help teams understand user needs, reduce risk, and make confident decisions that balance customer outcomes with business goals.

You’re confident selecting and applying the right qualitative and quantitative methods, analysing findings, and translating insights into clear, actionable recommendations. You communicate research in a compelling way, collaborate well with product, design and engineering, and can influence stakeholders at different levels. You bring an inclusive mindset, considering accessibility and diverse needs throughout your research approach.

Essential

• Proven experience delivering UX research and clearly demonstrating impact on decisions and outcomes
• Experience planning, running and analysing research using a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods (e.g., interviews, usability testing, surveys, analytics)
• Ability to synthesise findings into insights and recommendations that teams can act on, and to communicate these clearly to stakeholders
• Knowledge of (or experience working within) an agile software development lifecycle and continuous discovery ways of working
• Experience creating and maintaining research artefacts such as personas, journey maps and service blueprints
• Understanding of inclusive research practice, including accessibility considerations and recruiting for diverse perspectives
• Experience using collaboration and research tools such as Miro (and similar)

Desirable

• Experience supporting research operations (e.g., consent/ethics, GDPR-aware research practices, participant recruitment, repositories)
• Experience working with prototypes to validate concepts and iterate solutions through testing
• Experience working on complex services or large-scale digital programmes with multiple stakeholder groups

Benefits

We are a large diverse and ambitious business, which will give you all the challenge you could wish for.

We know that there’s always more we can do to make you smile, that’s why we offer a comprehensive benefits package with each role, yours will include:

• Competitive salary, with a salary review yearly
• Pensionwith matched contributions up to 7%
• Excellent holiday package - up to 35 days annual leavewith the option to buy or sell leave
• Cashback plan for healthcare costs - up to £500 saving per year
• A bonus scheme for all colleaguesat 2%
• Training anddevelopment
• Extra perks including huge discounts and offers from shops, cinemas and muchmore.

If you are a Places for People customer and you’re looking for support with your application, please contact our skills and employment team on

Please note that we may bring the closing date forward, if we receive a large number of quality applications.

If you are using a mobile device such as an iPad then ensure your CV is stored in the cloud, we currently support Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox.

We understand the importance of a supportive and inclusive work culture so please talk to us at interview about flexibility you may need. We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but we promise not to judge you for asking.

Safeguarding

At Places for People, safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. We are committed to creating safe communities for our customers and colleagues by protecting children, young people, and adults at risk from harm, abuse, and neglect.

We follow robust safeguarding policies and procedures, ensuring all employees, volunteers, and contractors uphold the highest standards of safeguarding and accountability. Our recruitment process includes pre-employment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks where applicable, to promote a safe and secure working environment.

By joining Places for People, you are expected to contribute to our safeguarding culture, following our policies and reporting concerns to protect those in our communities

Armed Forces

We are proud to support the Armed Forces Covenant. Places for People will guarantee an interview for any candidate who is serving or has formerly served in the Armed Forces, as a reservist, armed forces veteran (including the wounded, injured and sick), cadet instructor and military spouse/partner and who meets the essential criteria for the vacancy.

Disability Confident

We are proud to be a member of the Disability Confident scheme certified as Level 2 Disability Confident Employer. This helps us to successfully employ and retain people with disabilities and health conditions. Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for a vacancy will be guaranteed an interview. The Equality Act 2010 (Disability Discrimination Act 1995 for NI) defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has sa substantial and long-term negative effect on their ability to do daily activities.

Neurodivergent

Neurodiverse individuals have highly valuable skills, and we recognise that a traditional interview process sometimes works against them and doesn’t allow them to self-advocate. Neurodiverse applicants who meet the criteria for a vacancy will be guaranteed an interview.