User Researcher

A 14-month fixed-term User Researcher post with the UK Health Security Agency, working in a multidisciplinary squad alongside teams across the agency. The work centres on planning and running user research, analysing findings into clear insights, and advocating for user needs in strategy and service design. It is hybrid, with at least 60% of hours on site at a core HQ, and expects active contribution to the agency's user-centred design community.

• Plan and run user research, including recruiting participants, writing discussion guides, preparing information-gathering materials and moderating sessions
• Analyse and synthesise research data into clear, actionable insights and present them through storytelling
• Act as the voice of users in service design, making recommendations and communicating them to stakeholders
• Advocate for user research to be embedded in strategy, policy and service design
• Involve colleagues across UKHSA in research so they understand users' needs
• Embed user-centred design approaches into UKHSA ways of working and project delivery
• Ensure research meets government, NHS and industry standards, using peer review and critique
• Ensure products are accessible, meet the Government Service Standard and use appropriate style guides
• Ensure user needs are understood and advocated for across all users to support equitable outcomes
• Work with other user-centred design professions to bring quality and innovation to design
• Contribute to the UKHSA-wide user-centred design community of practice and help establish the profession
• Contribute to improving research practice and professional standards

• Using user-centred design methods in complex organisations
• Designing and delivering inclusive user research with a range of users
• Qualitative research methods, applying different methods to different projects
• Basic techniques for analysing and synthesising findings
• Developing user research practice and understanding key quality standards

• Creating evidence-based insights and telling compelling stories with them
• Explaining the value of research and gaining stakeholder support for plans, findings and ways of working
• Working in a multidisciplinary team to deliver effectively and on time

• Basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
• Basic Personnel Security Standard

• Government service assessments
• Working in an agile environment
  
  Coaching and mentoring other user researchers

• Hybrid working model with flexibility over how and where work is done, where business needs allow
• Annual pay award through the relevant pay terms
• Starting salary principles for level transfers or promotions from government, NHS or local authority roles
• Modern, newly refurbished core HQ offices with city centre transport links