Lead User Researcher - Probation Digital

Closing Date: Sun 11th August, 11:59pm

Interviews: expected 3rd and 4th September

Location: National*

Type of Vacancy: Permanent Civil Servant

Salary:  National: £66,314 - £75,810

London: £70,303 - £80,475 (which may include an allowance of up to £10,172)

Grade: 6

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

Working Pattern: Full time, Part time, Flexible working 

Vacancy number: 89321

*We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and 2 days spent in your local office. Office locations can be found ON THIS MAP

There may be an expectation to attend some management and team meetings in person.

The Role

We’re recruiting for a Lead User Researcher here at Justice Digital, to be part of our warm and collaborative Probation Digital team. In Probation Digital we are working to create a world class digital-first probation service that drives down reoffending. We are working hard to solve challenges at the heart of our justice system with a probation service that is under increasing pressure. Our aim is to deliver simpler, better, faster digital services to help frontline staff and people on probation, and we’re looking for someone who can help shape our strategy by advocating the user perspective. Watch here to learn more about the exciting agenda for Probation Digital.

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

At MoJ, we want our Lead URs to play an active role in helping shape the direction of the businesses they work in.  This means you’ll be both:

• An advocate for users at a strategic level, helping inform Probation Digital’s Senior Leadership Team of users’ needs, to influence decision making and strategy
• Experienced in managing research programmes, overseeing and aligning research activities across several product teams, to draw out the insight you’ll need to support your advocacy and influencing role

In practice, this means you’ll be expected to:

• Build strong collaborative relationships with your Senior Leadership Team colleagues (fellow Leads, Service Owners and the Head of Digital)
• Play an active role in making users’ needs part of the Senior Leadership Team’s thinking, and using this to shape Probation Digital’s work programme, strategy, and ways of working
• Be an advocate for a user-centred approach to all that we do in Probation, and become the go-to person when colleagues need insight into service users of the Probation Service
• Build our ability to take a user-centred, evidence-based approach to service delivery, assuring the quality of our research practice
• Be a leader and coach to the User Research community, working with your team to draw out the user insight needed to help inform and influence probation strategy

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:

• Recruit, lead, coach, develop and empower user researchers across a range of multidisciplinary product teams, building a user research team and programme that’s responsive to the needs and priorities of the business
• Synthesising the findings from that research programme, drawing out the strategic insight to be an effective advocate for users at a senior level, and using this to help shape organisational strategy
• Build strong, collaborative relationships with peers, senior colleagues and external partners to solve problems, build consensus, and effectively influence
• Provide consultative support and guidance to senior stakeholders, making recommendations, challenging thinking and helping shape work programmes
• Help solve challenges for users and the agency, recognising the complexity and interconnectedness of services and taking an end-to-end perspective
• Oversee the quality of the research conducted, ensuring user researchers understand what good looks like and are able to deliver it, including in areas such as inclusivity, accessibility and trauma informed practice
• As part of the Research Leadership Team, collaborate with the Head of User Research and other UR Leads to:
  • continually develop the capabilities of the profession, identifying opportunities to innovate, emerging trends and sharing best practice
  • develop the community of practice, ensuring user researchers across MoJ have high levels of purpose and engagement
  • promote the importance and value of user-centred practice
  • ensure we have effective tools, policies and practices for the profession
  • ensure we offer flexible ways of working to better support the business

If this feels like an exciting challenge, 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

You’ll have a demonstrable passion for user centred design and user advocacy, with the following skills or extensive experience in the following areas:

Management and Leadership

• Building effective, collaborative working relationships, using this to influence stakeholders, build consensus and help shape organisational strategy in an environment that is often complex and uncertain
• Being an effective advocate for users, building credibility with stakeholders and gaining traction for adopting UCD ways of working
• Ability to structure and deploy a team of researchers to maximise their contribution to the business
• Experience on building the capability of your team to ensure they are best able to meet the needs of the business

Experienced Research Manager

• Advising on, and quality assuring, the application of user research methods across different life cycle phases
• Overseeing and coordinating parallel strands of research, drawing out common themes and user insight to influence business decisions
• Driving the standards for ethical and inclusive research practice, including ensuring the safeguarding and wellbeing of participants and researchers 

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 500 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 500 words.

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

• Building effective, collaborative working relationships, using this to influence stakeholders, build consensus and help shape organisational strategy in an environment that is often complex and uncertain
• Being an effective advocate for the user, building credibility with stakeholders and gaining traction for adopting UCD ways of working

• Overseeing and coordinating parallel strands of research, drawing out common themes and user insight to influence business decisions

*Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on ‘Advising on, and quality assuring, the application of user research methods across different life cycle phases’ will be conducted before the panel 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:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Communicating and influencing
• Working together 
• Developing self and others
• Managing a quality service

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 90 minute interview held via video conference.  This will include a ten minute presentation, which will be given in advance of the interview.

Meet the interview panel

Please see our attached videos below, to meet members of the User Research profession!

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