Senior User Researcher

Location: National

Closing Date: 11th May

Interviews: w/c 2nd June (TBC)

Grade: G7

(MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain this grade on lateral transfer)

Salary: London: £61,201 - £69338 (which may include an allowance of up to £2474)

National: £56532 - £64048 (which may include an allowance of up to £343)

Working pattern: Full time, Part time, Flexible hours

Contract Type: Permanent

*We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your local office. Office locations can be found ON THIS MAP.

We may also ask you to periodically travel to meet your team.

The Role

We’re recruiting for Senior User Researchers here at Justice Digital, to be part of our warm and collaborative team, working in one of the following areas:

• Legal Aid Agency
• Probation Digital

• Digital Prison Service
• Central Digital

This role aligns against Senior User Researcher role, from the Government Digital and Data Framework.

We’re looking for Senior User Researchers who want to make a difference by working on public services that really matter.

As a senior user researcher at Justice Digital you’ll be an experienced practitioner who can plan and lead user research activities within a multidisciplinary context, working within a team or across teams, supporting more junior researchers and uncovering insights of users of our complex but fascinating Justice system.

You’ll be joining a highly supportive community of researchers who meet regularly to share their knowledge and experience within a safe learning environment.

Background

We work to improve access to justice for our users, often at very difficult times in their lives. We work to make digital services that are more accessible and easy for victims of crime, people on probation and people in prison, as well as the people who support and manage them. We also design, build, maintain and support internal technology services for the justice system.

To help picture your life at MoJ Justice Digital please take a look at our blog and our Digital and Technology strategy 2025

Key Responsibilities:

Researchers on our teams are:

• Experienced qualitative researchers, ideally with quantitative research skills as well
• Skilled at analysing and synthesising research data
• Great storytellers and communicators
• Very good at collaborating in a dynamic, data-driven, creative environment
• Committed to ethical and responsible research.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Scope, plan, conduct, analyse and communicate research
• Lead colleagues to analyse and synthesise research data
• Communicate research findings across the organisation
• Work closely with product managers, designers and developers to turn user research findings into actions that lead to valuable product and service designs
• Mentor, support and line manage mid level and junior User Researchers

If this feels like an exciting opportunity, something you are enthusiastic about, and want to join our team please read on and apply!

Person Specification

Essential

• Research. You can demonstrate experience in a wide range of user research methods, and can help teams to adopt them. You can plan user research for services with challenging user needs and complex user journeys. You are willing to work across multiple teams and projects when required. You can advise colleagues on the choice and application of research methods to assure best practice.
• User-centred and Agile practices. You can understand and demonstrate experience in a range of user-centred practices. You can help inexperienced teams adopt user-centred practices and embed them into their Agile workflow. You can advocate for user research, and engage potentially sceptical colleagues and stakeholders.
• Analysis and synthesis. You can understand and help teams to apply a range of methods to analyse research data and synthesise findings. You can work collaboratively with colleagues in carrying out analysis and synthesis. You can advise on the choice and application of techniques, and can critique colleagues’ findings to assure best practice. You can share insights with a range of colleagues and stakeholders to help elevate the user's voice.
• Inclusive research. You can help teams understand the diversity of users of government services. You can effectively include all kinds of users in appropriate research activities. You can advocate for inclusive practices and help teams design and deliver accessible services that work for all users. You recognise the ethical implications when planning and carrying out research for both the researcher and participant.
• Stakeholder relationship management. You can influence stakeholders and manage relationships effectively. You can build long-term strategic relationships and communicate clearly and regularly with stakeholders.
• Research management, leadership and assurance. You can evaluate the quality of user research, explain what good practice involves and give constructive feedback to other user researchers to ensure their work meets good practice standards.

Benefits

• 37 hours per week and flexible working options including working from home, working part-time, job sharing, or working compressed hours.
• A £1k per person learning budget is in place to support all our people, with access to best in class conferences and seminars, accreditation with professional bodies, fully funded vocational programmes and e-learning platforms
• Staff have 10% time to dedicate to develop & grow
• Generous civil service pension based on defined benefit scheme, with employer contributions of 28.97% from April 1st 2024 (Contribution Rates)
• 25 days leave (plus bank holidays) and 1 privilege day usually taken around the Kings’ birthday. 5 additional days of leave once you have reached 5 years of service.
• Compassionate maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave policies, with up to 26 weeks leave at full pay, 13 weeks with partial pay, and 13 weeks further leave. And maternity support/paternity leave at full pay for 2 weeks, too!
• Wellbeing support including access to the Calm app.
• Bike loans up to £2500 and secure bike parking (subject to availability and location)
• Season ticket loans, childcare vouchers and eye-care vouchers.
• 5 days volunteering paid leave.
• Free membership to BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT.
• Some offices may have a subsidised onsite Gym.

Willingness to be assessed against the requirements for BPSS clearance

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

How to Apply

Candidates must complete the full application form, including a CV and a statement of suitability (750 words max). Please ensure that your name is removed from your CV and personal statement.

Your statement of suitability should describe how you meet the below requirements, as set out in the Person Specification.

Candidates who do not submit both a CV and a separate, tailored statement of suitability will not be invited to interview.

Within your statement of suitability, please focus on demonstrating how you meet the following essential criteria which are being assessed at the pre-sift or sift stages;

• Research. You can demonstrate experience in a wide range of user research methods, and can help teams to adopt them. You can plan user research for services with challenging user needs and complex user journeys. You can advise colleagues on the choice and application of research methods to assure best practice.
• Analysis and synthesis. You can understand and help teams to apply a range of methods to analyse research data and synthesise findings. You can work collaboratively with colleagues in carrying out analysis and synthesis. You can advise on the choice and application of techniques, and can critique colleagues’ findings to assure best practice. You can share insights with a range of colleagues and stakeholders to help elevate the user's voice.
• Research management, leadership and assurance. You can evaluate the quality of research against accepted professional standards for user research, explain what good practice involves and give constructive feedback to other user researchers to ensure their work meets good practice standards.

In Justice Digital, we recruit using a combination of the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability and Success Profiles Frameworks. We will assess your Experience, Technical Skills and the following Behaviours during the assessment process:

• Leadership
• Working together
• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and influencing

A diverse panel will review your application against the full Person Specification above.

Successful candidates who meet the required standard will then be invited to a 1-hour panel interview held via video conference. The interview will be a mix of interview questions and a short User Research task, which will be provided in advance of the interview.

Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on ‘Research. You can demonstrate experience in a wide range of user research methods, and can help teams to adopt them’ will be conducted before the sift.

Should you be unsuccessful in the role that you have applied for but demonstrate the capability for a role at a lower level, we reserve the right to discuss this opportunity with you and offer you the position without needing a further application.

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, from which further appointments may be made.

Terms & Conditions

Please review our Terms & Conditions which set out how we recruit and provide further information related to the role and salary arrangements.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact recruitment@digital.justice.gov.uk