Senior User Researcher (Data specialist)

Location: National*

Closing Date: 29th July

Interviews: expected after 5th August

Grade: Grade 7

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

Salary: 

London: £55,720 - £64,135 (which may include an allowance of up to £5518)

National: £51,767 - £59,590 (which may include an allowance of up to £5108)

Working pattern: Full time, Part time, Flexible hours 

Contract Type: Permanent 

Vacancy number: 87897

*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

The Role

We’re recruiting for Senior User Researcher here at Justice Digital, to be part of our warm and collaborative Platform and Architecture team.

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

User Researchers in Platforms and Architecture help our teams develop a deep understanding of our data professional colleagues, who use our services across shared platforms. Their findings allow our teams to design, build and maintain better services more quickly, at lower cost and technical risk, to continuously improve services, based on data and evidence.

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 team and uncover insights of the users of our complex but fascinating databases and justice systems.

You’ll be joining a highly supportive community of researchers who meet regularly to share their knowledge and project experience within a safe learning environment. You may work with other user researchers (junior and mid level)  to assure and improve their research practice.

Background

We design, build and support user-centred digital and technology services for the justice system: services that make a real difference to our staff, members of the public and their families who use them. Millions of people interact with our services, and Digital & Technology play an important role in improving access to justice and making that experience much easier and less distressing.

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 justice 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 organisations, including the courts service and Government Digital Service (GDS)

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:

• Great at using quantitative and qualitative research methods
• Comfortable with metrics and able to synthesise data quickly
• Great storytellers and communicators
• Very good at collaborating in a dynamic, data-driven, creative environment with developers and data specialists

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, developers and data specialists to turn user research findings into actions that lead to valuable improvements to product and services
• Mentoring, supporting and line managing 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!

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.

Person Specification

Essential 

• Technical understanding. You have experience collaborating closely with colleagues in technical disciplines such as developers, data engineering and data science. You can demonstrate knowledge of the technologies used to build and operate digital services, databases and platforms, how teams store and access data and the tools used to analyse and disseminate data sets. 
• 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.
• 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.
• Research methods. You can demonstrate experience in a wide range of user research methods, including qualitative and quantitative methods, and can help teams to adopt them. You can plan user research for services and platforms with challenging user needs and complex user journeys. You can advise colleagues on the choice and application of research methods to assure best practice.  
• 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 inclusive practices and help teams design and deliver accessible services that work for all users. 
• Advocating for the user. You can identify who the users of a product, service or platform are. You can understand what problem the team is trying to solve and ensure that the voice of the user is heard throughout each stage of delivery, whether as an internal or end user. You can align user research activities to inform decision making and action. 

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 submit CV and statement of suitability (max 750 words). Failure to provide both documents will result in a rejection of your application. Also, if the statement is too long, we won’t read past the first 750 words.

The statement of suitability should outline your experience, against the following points of the essential criteria list above, under ’Person Specification’

• Technical understanding. You have experience collaborating closely with colleagues in technical disciplines such as developers, data engineering and data science. You can demonstrate knowledge of the technologies used to build and operate digital services, databases and platforms, how teams store and access data and the tools used to analyse and disseminate data sets.
• 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.
• Research methods. You can demonstrate experience in a wide range of user research methods, including qualitative and quantitative methods, and can help teams to adopt them. You can plan user research for services and platforms with challenging user needs and complex user journeys. You can advise colleagues on the choice and application of research methods to assure best practice.

Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on User Research experience- Research methods.  will be conducted prior to the sift.

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
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing

Your application will be reviewed against the Person Specification above by a diverse panel. 

Successful candidates who meet the required standard will then be invited to a 1-hour panel interview held via video conference, which will include a task, supplied prior to the interview.

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