Lead User Researcher

at  Department for Business and Trade Digital Data and Technology

ABOUT US

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the department for economic growth. The Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) directorate develops and operates tools and services to support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country.
The Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) team develops and operates tools, services, and platforms such as great.gov.uk that enable the UK government to provide world leading support to businesses in the UK and overseas. Have a look at our video!
Work with us to constantly push boundaries in an environment free of heavy legacy, driven by curiosity, social purpose, diversity of thought, entrepreneurship, and the aspiration to offer an incredible experience to all our users.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

It is essential that you have:

• Working with management teams and stakeholders to understand business needs and aligning research prioritisation and delivery to these needs
• Planning, designing and delivering user research projects and programmes in complex, challenging contexts
• Managing, mentoring or leading a team, ensuring they are performing against delivery goals and working to develop their capability
• Providing oversight and quality assurance of multiple user research projects at the same time
• Effectively advocating for the user and for good user research, advising stakeholders and building their buy-in of the value of user-centred practice
• Responding to delivery pressures of an agile environment, demonstrating good professional judgement, flexibility and pragmatism

MORE ABOUT US

This role can only be worked from within the UK, not overseas. If you are based in London, you will receive London weighting. DBT employees work in a hybrid pattern, spending 2-3 days a week (pro rata) in the office on average. Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DBT, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.
You can find out more about our office locations, how we calculate salaries, our diversity statement and reasonable adjustments, the Recruitment Principles, the Civil Service code and our complaints procedure on our website.
Find out more about life at DBT, our benefits and meet the team by watching our video or reading our blog!

ABOUT THE ROLE

As a Lead User Researcher, reporting to the Head of User Research, you will be helping to reinvigorate the User Research function in DBT, as part of our broader mission to champion the needs of our users. User researchers are key figures in our digital teams. They help our teams develop a deep understanding of the people - citizens, businesses, or government - who use our services. Their findings enable our teams to design and deliver better services quickly, with less risk, and at lower cost.
We’re looking to increase our influence and impact by developing agile, pragmatic ways of working, that help teams meet the CDDO service standards while reflecting the delivery pace of the department. We’re looking at how we set and assure research standards, how we innovate our approaches, and how we support teams to understand and respond to user needs. Find out more on our User Research blogs.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

You will be:

• Help plan research programmes, working with management teams and Delivery Managers to ensure a shared understanding of priorities, playing an active role in matching researchers to requirements
• Oversee the work of user researchers to ensure work is meeting GDS/CDDO service standards and is being delivered pragmatically and to a high quality, intervening if research falls below expected standards
• Take the lead on key research about complex services and strategic issues and synthesise findings to generate strategic insights and identify gaps in understanding
• Be an advocate for agile, user-focused research and work with stakeholders to highlight the benefits of operating this way
• Lead on staff recruitment, both permanent civil servants and contractors
• Manage the professional development of current staff, and the capability assessments in the UR profession