Senior User Researcher

£56,070 - £61,793 (National) / £61,740 - £70,219 (London) - Based on capability. The base salary of this grade is £61,005 for London and £55,403 for other locations.
Published on

Full-time (Permanent) £56,070 - £61,793 (National) / £61,740 - £70,219 (London) - Based on capability. The base salary of this grade is £61,005 for London and £55,403 for other locations.
Published on 16 February 2026

We are hiring 3 Senior User Researchers for   is the trusted online home for government information and services, every week millions of people rely on it to complete essential and often life-changing tasks.  also supports government colleagues to publish content, ensuring accurate and accessible information is always available to the public.

As a Senior User Research, you will:

• make an impact: work on and tackle some of the toughest challenges in public infrastructure, improving millions of people’s lives through solutions that are informed by high quality, evidence-based, insights
• deliver work that matters: driving change, delivering better value and outcomes for users and government, to empower and transform
• grow with us: thrive in a supportive research community that values experimentation, learning, failing fast and reflection as key steps to growth. With dedicated development resources, training and cross-government networks, you will have plenty of opportunities to grow

Your main responsibilities are:

• to lead and conduct a wide range of user research projects that are aligned with ’s vision and goals using a range of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
• to deliver high quality research projects end-to-end: from planning, recruiting participants, data analysis and reporting, ensuring key insights are acted upon
• to collaborate with multidisciplinary colleagues and stakeholders throughout the research process, and work with analytics colleagues and use a wide range of data to build a rich picture of user behaviour
• to produce impactful and reusable insights to inform, guide (or even reset) design, driving, tactical product and strategic decisions at both the team and organisational level
• to advocate for evidence-based decision-making, persuading colleagues and stakeholders to adopt research approaches and research initiatives that can deliver significant value to  and GDS
• mentor, guide and line manage more junior user researchers to assure and improve research practice
• consistently explore and implement innovative ways to deliver better outcomes, whether by refining existing methods or experimenting with new, creative, approaches
• help colleagues understand when and when not to do research, and advocate the value and demonstrate the importance of research by ensuring that impact is tracked and visible to others
• be a reflective practitioner who continually strives to improve their own practise and will contribute to our thriving User Research Community to share knowledge, case studies and examples of best practice

You don't need government experience to apply for this role. We’re interested in seasoned research practitioners who are experienced in both evaluative and foundational research, leveraging a wide range of data and techniques. A skilled communicator with a proven track record of influencing stakeholders and advocating for users, driving decisions and shaping direction at both tactical and strategic levels.

We’re interested in people who:

• can demonstrate the execution of research projects following best practice, delivering high impact results that have directly influenced important design and product directions both tactically and strategically
• have strong analytical skills, with the ability to distil hidden and actionable insights from diverse data sources and communicate them effectively through storytelling
• have a proven ability to advocate for research and build strong relationships with colleagues and stakeholders. Skilled in collaborating with multidisciplinary teams and senior stakeholders throughout the product development process to drive actions and meaningful change
• have proven experience in educating and directing team(s) focusing on the right…