Policy Lab Principal User Researcher

☞ Home Office

View: 103

Update day: 28-05-2024

Location: Sheffield Yorkshire and the Humber

Category: Architecture / Interior Design Part-time

Industry: Government Public Administration

Job type: Full-time, Part-time, Permanent

Salary: £63,256 - £75,566 a year

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Job content

Reference number

182393

Salary

£63,256 - £75,566
National: £63,256 min, £69,578 max. London: £68,699 min, £75,566 max. London Provincial: £65,877 min, £72,463 max.

Grade

Grade 6

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

HO - Digital Data and Technology

Type of role

Digital
Information Technology

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Part-time, Compressed Hours

Number of posts

2

Location

Croydon Lunar House / Manchester - Soapworks / Sheffield Vulcan House

About the job

Summary

The first duty of the government is to keep citizens safe and the country secure. The Home Office has been at the front line of this effort since 1782. As such, we play a fundamental role in maintaining the security and economic prosperity of the UK. The Home Office leads on immigration and passports, refugee protection, counter-terrorism, policing, fire services, and crime and drugs policy.

Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) enables the Home Office to keep the UK safe and secure. We design and build the services that help people apply for visas or passports; support policing and counter-terrorism operations; and protect the UK’s borders.

This is an exciting time to be at the Home Office. You’ll have a chance to shape the future and support our mission to deliver exceptional public services that work for everyone.

Our work is guided by these principles:

  • we put user needs first
  • we value delivery and outcomes over process
  • we work in the open

Our flexible working policy ensures a healthy work-life balance. We also nurture talent and offer a broad range of learning and development opportunities that will help you flourish in your role.

We work hard to maintain a positive working culture and are committed to helping you fulfil your potential. We value diversity and provide an open, inclusive and supportive environment to help you do your best work.

You can keep up-to-date with our work on the Home Office DDaT blog.

Job description

We’re looking for a Principal User Researcher to join our Policy and Innovation Lab (‘CoLab’) to help us deliver impactful and meaningful projects. Our mission is to bring user-centred and explorative design approaches to policy making at the Home Office.

We are a creative team of designers and researchers, working closely with policy and operations teams from across the Home Office, to put users at the centre of our policy making processes. Our work builds a deep understanding of the challenges being faced by our users, so that we can rapidly design and test novel solutions to de-risk policy decisions and improve outcomes.

We work in policy spaces that require a deeper understanding of service users. These might be projects like exploring how we can better support survivors of modern slavery, or how we might help refugees to better integrate and adapt to life in the UK.

As a Principal User Researcher, you will work on challenging problems that require an understanding of complex services and systems, as well as the wider context they sit within. You will be confident working in a fast-paced environment as part of a multi-disciplinary team, and adept at using evidence to help inform design decisions and measure service outcomes.

You will work closely with service designers and policy professionals, with access to a range of other specialist skills when required.

You will also be expected to raise awareness of what good user research looks like across the Home Office and wider government research community, by sharing experience and insight that others can learn from.

Recruitment and Retention Allowance (RRA)

This post is eligible for DDaT RRA. Successful candidates with exceptional skills and experience may apply for a Recruitment Retention Allowance between £3,500 and £9,000. This allowance is subject to an initial review within six months of taking up the post and thereafter an annual review in line with departmental priorities and could be reduced or withdrawn at any time.

Responsibilities

Your main day-to-day responsibilities will include:

  • Planning and leading the user research approach, working with other user-centred (UCD) disciplines to ensure effort and activity are aligned to desired outcomes.

  • Facilitating activities that help teams and stakeholders understand the problem space and assess the implication of policy decisions.

  • Identifying and evidencing opportunities to improve existing policies and services.

  • Creating compelling policy and service solutions by drawing on findings from user research, data patterns, policy and operational intent and technical architecture.

  • Engaging with senior stakeholders and presenting project findings and related recommendations to senior decision makers across government.

  • Managing other User Researchers, including setting goals, conducting performance reviews and mentoring junior members of staff.

You will also be expected to carry out the following day-to-day activities:

  • Assuring services to make sure they are accessible and meet both Home Office and government standards.

  • Working with the Head of User Research and Lead User Researchers to support and develop user researchers through emerging talent streams, like the Home Office’s Digital Development Programme.

  • Supporting an inclusive community of practice that enables user researchers to share ideas and best practice, and proactively help and support each other.

  • Representing the department and DDaT on a range of internal and external working groups.

Essential Criteria

We would love to hear from a wide range of people who can demonstrate some, or all, of the following skills and experiences:

  • Advising on the application of appropriate user research methods across different lifecycle phases, as well as extensive hands-on experience in applying these methods.

  • Researching with diverse audiences to help teams deliver accessible and inclusive digital services.

  • Persuading stakeholders to adopt a user-centred, evidence-based approach by presenting information and arguments clearly and convincingly, both verbally and in writing.

  • Acting independently and with confidence, while dealing effectively with changing priorities and deadlines.

  • Understanding organisational strategy and objectives, and aligning user research activity with these.

  • Driving the standards for ethical research standards and practices to ensure the safeguarding and wellbeing of participants and researchers.

Desirable Criteria

Ideally, you will also have the following skills and some experience in:

  • Working with policy teams or contributing to policy making.

  • Understanding complex organisations and systems, and the wider implications and long-term impact of business issues and activities.

  • Familiarity with wider government strategy and position around digital and design.

Please note: If you are currently an agency member of staff working within the Home Office, you can only apply for roles that are advertised externally, i.e. outside the civil service. If you are eligible to apply for a role, you are required to select yourself as an external applicant and not internal when submitting your application on Civil Service jobs. This will prevent any delays in pre-employment checks should you become successful in being made an offer of employment after the Interview stage.

Benefits

  • Learning and development tailored to your role
  • An environment with flexible working options
  • A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
  • A Civil Service pension
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Deadline: 12-07-2024

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