Senior User Researcher (12 month FTC/Secondment) in Leeds

Leeds only based role for external hires. Please ensure you are happy to be based in Leeds, office attendance is minimum of 40% (rising to 50% later this year).

About the Bank of England

We are the UK's central bank - and we are a bank like no other; known by our peers for our world-leading thinking on policy and strategy. Our mission is to promote the good of the people of the UK by maintaining monetary and financial stability. We seek to keep prices stable and people's money safe. We know our work matters to people, to families, up and down the UK. We are driven by curiosity and the desire to do important, challenging work.

It takes a great team to run the Bank of England. We rely on each other to play our part. We benefit from a collaborative culture and long-established flexible ways of working, supporting our colleagues balance their work and personal lives. We strive to be a place where people feel they belong and have equal access to opportunities, because different perspectives help us make the best decisions for the public.

Role Overview

This role will join the Bank’s User Centred Service Design team, working across a range of programmes and projects to ensure decisions are grounded in a clear understanding of users. The team applies user-centred design to complex challenges, using research to shape strategy, inform design, and support effective delivery.

Our team includes User Researchers, Service Designers, Product Designers, and Content Designers. We work closely with a wide range of specialists and stakeholders, including economists, data specialists, change managers, business analysts and external partners.

The Senior User Researcher will lead research across the full lifecycle, from shaping research objectives and the approach, through to delivering clear, evidence-based insights that influence decision. They will plan, conduct, and analyse research to develop a strong understanding of users, their contexts, needs, behaviours, and pain points. It will test and evaluate concepts, prototypes and solutions to determine how well they meet user needs. They will use this understanding to inform priorities, evaluate concepts and prototypes, and help teams make better decisions about services, products, and experiences.

The role will also play an important part in strengthening the user research practice at the Bank. This includes improving ways of working, contributing to team capability, and helping to build the visibility, credibility, and impact of user research and user centred design across the organisation.

While the Bank is a public organisation, we are independent of the UK government and do not follow DDAT or GDS frameworks. We seek practitioners who can adapt their approach to navigate our complex environment, demonstrate flexibility and pragmatism when needed, and bring a proactive, solution-focused mindset to their work.

Role Requirements

About you:

• Curious, inquisitive, open-minded, and open to diverse perspectives
• Creative problem solver
• A team player
• User-centred
• Passionate about your practice
• Iterative in your approach to shaping and refining solutions
• Natural inclination to shift between macro and micro lenses
• Natural drive for self-development

Minimum Criteria:

• Minimum 6 years industry experience as a user researcher or similar role
• Hands on experience leading and conducting generative, formative, and summative user research. Experience using a range of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research methods and approaches, and knowing when to use which
• Strong capability across the whole user research lifecycle from defining participant specifications and research objectives, recruiting participants, formulating the user research study approach, conducting user research, through to sharing insights
• Experience in sharing insights that are actionable for your stakeholders and drive business decisions
• Comfortable with ambiguity

Essential Criteria:

• Ability to align stakeholders and guide cross-functional teams by earning trust and demonstrating credibility
• Excellent communication skills – able to turn complex research into compelling stories for non-technical audiences
• Comfortable working in highly complex environments with esoteric subject matter
• A desire for and interest in mentoring and coaching junior user researchers and other user centred design professionals

Desirable:

• A degree related to user research (e.g. psychology, sociology, human factors) or extensive experience
• Experience working in a highly regulated industry
• Experience working with complex data services
• Turning user research findings into user stories
• Advocating for user centred design across a range of stakeholders, including senior leadership
• Workshop design and facilitation skills

Our Approach to Inclusion

The Bank values diversity, equity and inclusion. We play a key role in maintaining monetary and financial stability, and to do that effectively, we believe we need a workforce that reflects the society we serve.

At the Bank of England, we want all colleagues to feel valued and respected, so we're working hard to build an inclusive culture which supports people from all backgrounds and communities to be at their best at work. We celebrate all forms of diversity, including (but not limited to) age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. We believe that it’s by drawing on different perspectives and experiences that we’ll continue to make the best decisions for the public.

We welcome applications from individuals who work flexibly, including job shares and part time working patterns. We've also partnered with external organisations to support us in making adjustments for candidates and employees in the recruitment process where they're needed.

For most roles where work can be carried out at home, we aim for colleagues to spend half of their time in the office, with a minimum of 50% per month. Subject to that minimum requirement, individuals and managers should work together to find what works best for them, their team and stakeholders.

Finally, we're proud to be a member of the Disability Confident Scheme. If you wish to apply under this scheme, you should check the box in the ‘Candidate Personal Information’ under the ‘Disability Confident Scheme’ section of the application.

Salary and Benefits Information

We encourage flexible working, part time working and job share arrangements. Part time salary and benefits will be on a pro-rated basis as appropriate.

In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package as detailed below:

• Currently a non-contributory, career average pension giving you a guaranteed retirement benefit of 1/80th of your annual salary for every year worked. There is the option to increase your pension (to 1/65th) or decrease (to 1/105th) in exchange for salary through our flexible benefits programme each year. The Bank has the discretion to vary standard accrual rates and dial up and dial down rates at any time and to withdraw dial up and dial down options at any time.
• A discretionary performance award based on a current award pool.
• An 8% benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits.
• 26 days’ annual leave with option to buy up to 12 additional days through flexible benefits.
• Private medical insurance and income protection.

National Security Vetting Process

Employment in this role will be subject to the National Security Vetting clearance process (and typically can take between 6 to 12 weeks post offer) and the passing of additional Bank security checks in accordance with the Bank policy. Further information regarding the vetting and security clearance requirements for the role will be provided to the successful applicant, and information about how the Bank processes personal data for these purposes, is set out in the Bank's Privacy Notice.

The Bank of England welcomes applications from all candidates, but as a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approved sponsor, we have a responsibility to comply with the Immigration Rules and guidance. As such, our ability to employ individuals who require sponsorship for immigration purposes is limited. The Bank cannot guarantee that you and / or the role you are applying for will be eligible for sponsorship and that any application made to UKVI will be successful. Eligibility will therefore be considered on a case by case basis.

The Application Process

Important: Please ensure that you complete the ‘work history’ section and answer ALL the application questions fully. All candidate applications are anonymised to ensure that our hiring managers will not be able to see your personal information, including your CV, when reviewing your application details at the screening stage. It’s therefore really important that you fill out the work history and application form questions, as your answers will form a critical part of the initial selection process.

The assessment process will comprise of two interview stages.

This role closes on Sunday 7th June at 11.59pm. Please apply online, ensuring that you complete your work history and answer ALL the application questions fully and in detail as your application will not be considered if all mandatory questions are not fully completed.