Senior User Researcher

Badenoch & Clark ,
London, Greater London
Salary: £500 per day

Overview

Senior User Researcher to work with a Government Department, to be based in either London or Sheffield. This role is In Scope of IR35 paying £550 per day on an initial 6 month contract User researchers are key figures in the teams that design and deliver services. They help their teams develop a deep understanding of the people ¬- citizens, businesses or government colleagues -¬ who use a service. Their findings enable their teams to design and build better services quickly and at lower cost and risk, and to continuously improve services, based on data and evidence. You will plan and lead user research activities as part of a delivery team working on complex services. You will build user centred practices and align user research activities with wider plans to inform service proposition. You may work with other user researchers to assure and improve research practice. Key Responsibilities: Scope, plan, conduct, analyse and communicate a range of user research activities to support design, development and continuous improvement of complex government services. Carrying out a wide range of user research activities from recruiting participants, preparing discussion guides and moderating research sessions. Leading colleagues to analyse research data and synthesise clear and actionable findings, including working closely with analytics colleagues to create a rich picture of user behaviour. Communicating user research findings to help the team and wider organisation develop a deep understanding of users and their needs. Working closely with product managers, designers and developers to turn user research findings into stories and actions that lead to valuable product and service features. Aligning user research activities with wider plans to inform service proposition. Contributing to the wider user research community ¬ including presenting at meetups, writing blog posts and leading on aspects of practice. Essential Experience: Extensive experience of applying key research methods for the generation of insights into the core needs of users of complex services. Experience of helping teams to adopt user centred service design and delivery practices and embed them into their agile workflow. Experience of advocating for user research and engaging sceptical colleagues and stakeholders. The ability to understand the complex problems a team is trying to solve, and align user research activities to inform decision-making and action. Expert at identifying and using appropriate analysis and synthesis techniques approaches, and presenting and sharing findings. Proven experience of introducing new user research methods into a team, and guiding colleagues in the choice and effective application of research methods. The ability to include all kinds of users in appropriate research activities to help teams understand the diversity of users of government services. A good understanding of the social and technological context for government services, and experience of aligning user research activities to help teams understand changing user behaviour. Degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors, Cognitive Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, or related field Desirable Experience: Knowledge of the technologies used to build and operate digital services, and the ability to work closely with colleagues in technical roles and to constructively challenges technical constraints. Experience of user research for government services. Good understanding and experience of working to the Government Digital Service Standards Please apply should you meet the above criteria