Senior User Researcher

On behalf of Government Commercial Agency, we are looking for a Senior User Researcher (Inside IR35) for a 4 month remote contract. Government Commercial Agency (GCA) is the largest public procurement organisation in the UK.

We are looking for driven, forward-thinking people with strong people skills who enjoy working collaboratively with others to solve problems. As a Senior User Researcher, you will be an experienced practitioner who is capable of planning and leading user research activities across large and complex projects and services. You will be an expert in problem definition and selecting the appropriate research strategies to tackle issues and understand user needs.

Team User-centered design (UCD) is about putting users' needs first in how we design services: we research, design and test for a customer-first approach. It is integral to making government work better for users and reducing waste in government. Our team leads the professions covering User Researcher, Service and Interaction Design.

• Highly experienced research practitioner who is capable of planning and leading user research activities across large and complex projects and services.
• Expert in problem definition and selecting the appropriate research strategies to tackle issues and understand user needs.
• Planning and carrying out inclusive user research, applying a wide range of research techniques to analyse and synthesise findings.
• Contribute to ensuring all services and platforms meet with Government Design Services standards.
• Managing stakeholder needs and expectations and facilitating difficult discussions within the team or with diverse senior stakeholders.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, effective management of stakeholders and facilitate discussions at a senior level.
• You will be an excellent communicator who can advocate for your users and explain user-centred design principles to non-specialists.
• You can help to champion a user-centred, evidence-based approach.
• You will also have management and coaching experience, supporting the development of junior researchers, enabling quality research services and the growth of the user research community across the department.
• You will support the Head of User-Centred Design with the development and implementation of a best practice UCD strategy.

• Analysis and synthesis: You can help an organisation adopt a wide range of analysis and synthesis techniques. You know how to help an organisation continually assure, improve and innovate their practices to generate clear and valuable findings.
• Inclusive research: You can help teams understand the diversity of users of government services. You know how to include all kinds of users in appropriate research activities. You can advocate for inclusive practices and help teams design and deliver accessible services (to WCAG 2.2 Level AA standards) that work for all users.
• Research skills: You can help an organisation adopt a wide range of user research methods, plan user research for services with challenging user needs and complex user journeys, and advise colleagues on the choice and application of research methods to assure best practice.
• Stakeholder relationship management: You can work with the team to develop and maintain an understanding of stakeholders, develop and implement stakeholder communications strategies, identify and resolve issues, influence stakeholders and manage relationships effectively, and build long-term strategic relationships and communicate clearly and regularly with stakeholders.
• User-centred and agile practices: You understand and have experience of a range of user-centred practices. You can help inexperienced teams adopt user-centred practices and embed them into their agile workflow. You can advocate for user research and engage sceptical colleagues and stakeholders.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas. At GCA, we actively support, promote, and celebrate our differences for the benefit of our employees, suppliers, and customers. GCA is proud to be an equal opportunities employer. GCA believes that diversity and inclusion is critical to our success, and we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people.

In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance. Disability Confident: As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, GCA guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following: this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different.