User Researcher

Job Description

User Researcher required to work with a large Government Department. This is an initial 6 month contract, inside IR35, paying £550 per day. This is a remote contract until further notice (offices based in London)BackgroundThe team are currently wrapping up their discovery phase of the work and will soon move onto Alpha where different concepts and hypotheses will be tested. We are using digital, data and technology to build capability, work smarter and more efficiently. We want to create a digitally enabled end-to-end system which can adapt and respond to changing needs. We were the first digital team in a government department, and the first to deliver an exemplar service, with experts in web development, design, delivery and product management and user research, alongside around 50 organisationsUser 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.The successful candidate 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.Knowledge, skills and experienceEssential:*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 fieldDesirable:*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 StandardsPlease apply should you meet the above criteriaBadenoch + Clark acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and an employment business for the supply of temporary workers. Badenoch + Clark UK is an Equal Opportunities Employer.By applying for this role your details will be submitted to Badenoch + Clark. Our Candidate Privacy Information Statement explains how we will use your information - please copy and paste the following link in to your browser: Required skills

alpha

user research

discovery

Keyskills :
alpha user research discovery