Lead User Experience Researcher (Hybrid Working) in Manchester

Hippo is a rapidly growing AI enabled digital consultancy passionate about building and delivering transformative digital solutions for a diverse range of Public and Private sector clients. We are recruiting for Lead Consultants with a user research background to support our mission. We work at the intersection of strategy, design, and technology to solve complex problems and create lasting value. Our collaborative and agile culture empowers our teams to make a genuine impact.

As a Lead Consultant, you will be a research leader and an experienced practitioner. You will be responsible for shaping user strategy in and across projects - maintaining research standards, and helping to drive the successful delivery of valuable, user-centred outcomes on our most complex work. You will lead research in complex environments, align teams around outcomes for users, and drive direction in challenging client environments.

You will mentor and guide Senior and Intermediate researchers, contribute to the development and evolution of our research profession and capability, and act as a visible leader within both Hippo and our client organisations. We are in particular encouraging candidates with extensive experience of using AI within their research or UCD practice, and/or working on products or services that embed AI in how they operate. We are looking for someone to help lead our approach to evolving our research practice as the industry evolves and AI changes how we work, and the types of projects we work on.

What you’ll do:

• Lead research on complex client engagements, driving a user centred approach across all projects and adding value across our most complex projects or a whole programme.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior client stakeholders, using data, insight and primary research to influence decision-making and shape service direction and design to support better outcomes for users.
• Lead teams to ensure that products and services meet the needs of all users and adhere to GDS (where appropriate), accessibility and other relevant standards.
• Contribute to Hippo's approach to research, promoting and evolving our practice, particularly in the context of the changes AI is bringing to research practice, ways of working within agile teams, and wider delivery models.
• Act as a leader within Hippo's research profession and internal workstreams, supporting the rapid growth of the profession.
• Recruit, lead and mentor and ensure the strong performance of Intermediate and Senior researchers, strengthening capability within Hippo's research profession, and fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Support business growth through contributing to bids, adding value on existing client accounts, and helping clients understand the value of user research and user-centred delivery.
• Represent Hippo's research and UCD capability internally and externally, contributing to thought leadership and the ongoing evolution of our research practice.

Skills and experience that you need:

• Extensive experience in research at a lead level across a range of complex delivery environments, and with a range of clients.
• Experience working effectively within and leading multidisciplinary teams using user-centred research and design approaches throughout all phases of the product or service lifecycle.
• Strong track record of applying a wide range of research methodologies, and adapting research to meet the accessibility needs of participants.
• Strong consultancy and leadership skills, and confidence in exploring problem spaces with clients to determine most appropriate way forward.
• Confidence operating within complex organisations and adapting quickly to new environments and ambiguous asks.
• Experience in identifying and effectively mitigating ethics and safeguarding issues, and supporting other user researchers to do this.
• Proven ability to lead and mentor other researchers and UCD practitioners, building profession or team capability and supporting long-term growth.
• Practical experience of implementing AI tools and workflows, producing stronger outcomes for users, clients and Hippo.
• Working knowledge of the GDS Digital Standard and how to prepare for a GDS assessment, or extensive experience of delivering user centred projects in the private sector (not essential but desirable).

What makes us great:

• Alongside working with some of the most talented people out there and on-top of a competitive salary, which we’re transparent about from the outset, you can also expect a range of benefits:
• Contributory Pension Scheme (Hippo 6% & Employee 2%).
• 25 Days Holiday plus UK Public Holidays.
• Perkbox access for a wide range of discounts.
• Critical illness cover.
• Life assurance and death in service cover.
• Volunteer days.
• Cycle-to-work scheme for the avid cyclists.
• Salary sacrifice electric vehicles scheme.
• Season ticket loans.
• Financial and general wellbeing sessions.
• Flexible benefits scheme with options of: Private health cover, Private dental cover, Additional company pension contributions, Additional holidays (up to an extra 2 days), Wellbeing contribution, Charity contributions, Tree planting.

Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at Hippo:

At Hippo, we’re dedicated to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace that works for everyone. Only by building a community of diverse perspectives, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds can we create an environment where all can contribute and thrive. We actively encourage applications from underrepresented groups including women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent and people with disabilities. We are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment process that reflects our workplace culture. We are a registered Disability Confident Employer, Mindful Employer, Endometriosis Friendly Employer and a member of the Armed Forces Covenant. Hippo continually strives to remove barriers, provide accommodations and offer reasonable adjustments to ensure equity throughout our practices.

Hi, we’re Hippo:

At Hippo, we design with empathy and build for impact. We do this by combining data-informed evidence, human-centred design and software engineering. We're a digital services partner who is genuinely invested in helping our clients thrive as modern organisations. Our delivery methodology is truly agile, from concept to reality, supporting innovation and continuous improvement to achieve your desired outcomes. We firmly believe that technology should serve humanity, not the other way around. We take a human-centred approach to everything we do because we understand that complex problems require a service design approach. Our combination of data, design, and engineering delivers bespoke digital services that make a positive and meaningful impact on organisations and society.

We're on the lookout for top talent nationwide but you need to be located within reasonable travelling distance from one of our offices. Given the dynamic nature of a consulting business, you may be required to work on-site at a Hippo office or at an in/out of town client location for a number of days per week (client dependent) and therefore candidates will need to be open/flexible to travel and working on one of those sites at least 2 days per week. We offer a generous relocation support package of up to 8,000 (please ask for terms and conditions) to help make your move a smooth one.