Senior User Researcher - Government Policy/Energy Regulation - Contract

We are seeking an experienced Senior User Researcher to support a high-profile policy and regulatory discovery programme within the UK energy sector. The programme is focused on understanding the experiences, behaviours and challenges of organisations operating within the business energy market, particularly Third Party Intermediaries (TPIs), including energy brokers, consultants and agents.

The research will directly inform the development of a new regulatory and policy framework, supporting improved transparency, market practices and consumer protection.

We are particularly interested in User Researchers who have worked on government policy discovery or regulatory transformation, rather than exclusively digital product or website research.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design and lead user research activities across the discovery programme.

• Engage with energy brokers, business customers, industry representatives and regulatory stakeholders.

• Conduct qualitative research, stakeholder interviews, workshops and contextual enquiry.

• Investigate user needs, market behaviours, existing processes and potential regulatory challenges.

• Understand the impact of proposed policy changes on different stakeholder groups.

• Produce user journeys, stakeholder maps, research findings and evidence-based recommendations.

• Work closely with Business Analysts, Delivery Managers and policy specialists to shape discovery outcomes.

• Present research insights to senior stakeholders to inform policy and operational decisions.

Essential Experience:

• Strong User Research experience within central government, regulatory organisations or complex public sector programmes.

• Proven experience conducting research to inform policy development, regulatory reform or service design.

• Experience researching complex stakeholder ecosystems involving businesses, industry representatives and end users.

• Strong qualitative research, stakeholder engagement and research synthesis skills.

• Excellent understanding of GDS user research principles and discovery methodologies.

• Ability to translate complex findings into actionable recommendations for policy and delivery teams.

Highly Desirable:

• Experience within UK energy markets, utilities or regulated industries.

• Understanding of Third Party Intermediaries, brokers or business energy customers.

• Experience in consumer protection, compliance or regulatory policy research.

• Previous involvement in regulatory scheme design or policy implementation.

This is an opportunity to help shape an important new regulatory initiative through meaningful, evidence-led research.

If interested then please apply for immediate consideration.