Senior User Researcher

Senior User Researcher

Location: Bristol, Leeds, Newcastle, Birmingham, and Nottingham

Salary: £42,848 per annum

The Role

The Senior User Researcher is responsible for the end-to-end planning and execution of user research activities. This will include identification of research candidates, creating relationships with identified users (this could be members of the public or trade bodies), planning the overall approach and choice of appropriate research methods. 

Working in a delivery-focused Agile environment, and in collaboration with members of multidisciplinary agile teams, the successful candidate will act as an advocate of user needs-based design, design thinking and service design in the development of DVSA digital services and products.

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

• Plan, design and prepare a range of user research activities to support the design, development and continuous improvement of government services. This will include choosing the right variety of research approaches (such as surveys, usability interviews, card sorting etc.), including conducting research on site at different locations such as garages and test centres
• Carrying out user research activities from recruiting participants, preparing discussion guides and moderating research sessions
• Communicating user research findings to help the team and wider organisation develop a deep understanding of users and their needs - including presentations at show and tells, designing and maintaining research outputs on the team wall, creating formal reports
• Work closely with product managers, designers and developers to turn user research findings into stories and actions that lead to valuable product and service features
• Advocate for user needs and conducting inclusive research in every activity
• Collaborating with colleagues in developing clear and actionable findings, including working closely with service design colleagues to create a rich picture of user behaviour
• Contribute to the wider user research community in DVSA – such as presenting at meetups

Skills and Qualifications

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

• Sound knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods including, but not limited to, user needs analysis, survey creation and analysis, prototype testing, workshop facilitation, usability testing
• Research and analysis skills - experienced with data analysis techniques for quantitative and qualitative data sources. With the ability to process complex information and extract themes and insights
• Experience of identifying research participants and proven experience with tailoring research methods to fit
• Understanding of interaction design, information architecture and visual design principles
• Experience of delivering end to end research projects resulting in better services or products
• Excellent communication, presentation and interpersonal skills; the ability to communicate complex concepts clearly and persuasively across different audiences
• Experience of advocating for service users
• The resilience to work in a fast-changing environment and delivering high-quality work on schedule
• Proven ability to make effective decisions within fast-moving Agile delivery environment

Benefits

Being part of the brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary.  
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday. 
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all of their colleagues.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where they encourage a great work-life balance.

To Apply

If you feel you are a suitable candidate and would like to work for the DVSA, please proceed through the following link to be redirected to their website to complete your application.

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