Associate User Researcher - Industrial Placement - Leeds

About the job

Discover a career in your hands at HMRC. Whether you're seeking purpose, growth, or a workplace that gives you a true sense of belonging, hear from some of our employees as they share their story about what it's really like to work at HMRC. Do you thrive on creating great user experiences? Are you a confident communicator looking to put your skills to use? If you're a university student seeking a rewarding industrial placement, this could be the perfect opportunity for you.

Job description

Imagine learning new skills that will serve you throughout your career. As an Associate User Researcher - industrial placement, you will learn and make a real impact. You will become part of the Government Digital and Data profession. You will work with other user researchers, designers, product managers and business analysts to help define what will be built. You'll also work with developers to figure out how it can be built. Our approach puts user needs at the heart of digital development.

In this role, you will:

• Undertake day to day activities to assist user researchers with their recruitment of users and support all aspects of user research.
• Proactively manage user information on HMRC's User Panel customer relationship database, deal with day to day recruitment queries from researchers and be an expert in using this tool.
• Maintain the database of users; import/input user data; store, manage and retain data securely in line with HMRC user recruitment policy and procedures.
• Build a good rapport with the User Researcher community and develop sound understanding of their recruitment and research needs.
• Help ensure researchers get the right users and plan effective research sessions through developing effective recruitment plans, screeners/briefs and discussion guides.
• Work with recruitment agencies to ensure HMRC recruitment needs are met.
• Support HMRC's process for User Research incentives, manage the local process and deal with associated issues (e.g., stock-take, ordering, tracking, payments).
• Track performance of services using Google Analytics (e.g., Page Views, Conversion Rate) to understand the impact of the user panel on user behaviour.
• Understand recruitment needs for accessibility and assisted digital users and support this activity when assisting the user research community.
• Provide admin and operational support for the User Research leads and community, such as supporting community meetings, training plans, communications, organising events, knowledge management and maintaining information/data.
• Engage in the wider User Research community, building relationships with other User Researchers and identify recruitment best practices we can adopt.

Ready to launch your user research career? A paid industrial placement as an Associate User Research student offers the perfect opportunity to learn, grow, and make a real difference in the digital landscape. Join the Government Digital and Data profession and collaborate with a dynamic team dedicated to putting users first. You'll play a crucial role in shaping the development of public services.

In this role, you will:

• Gain hands-on experience in all aspects of user research support and recruitment.
• Develop expertise in using HMRC's User Panel CRM, managing user data securely and efficiently.
• Build your professional network by collaborating with the User Researcher community.
• Hone your skills in creating effective recruitment plans, screeners, and discussion guides.
• Gain experience working within the research community.
• Manage the user research incentives process, from start to finish.
• Learn to use Google Analytics to track service performance and measure impact.
• Contribute to inclusive research by supporting the recruitment of accessibility and assisted digital users.
• Provide valuable administrative and operational support to the User Research team.
• Expand your knowledge by engaging with the broader User Research community and identifying best practices.

What we can offer you?

• Practical application of research.
• Meaningful impact on society.
• Professional growth.

Person specification

Undergraduate student with a mandatory or optional 9-12-month industrial placement course requirement. You must be in the penultimate year of your degree course. Studying towards a degree in one of the following - IT, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Human Factors, Computer Science or Product/Interaction Design.

Essential Criteria

We are looking for someone who:

• Has an understanding of working in an agile environment.
• Is proactive, plans ahead and can identify key issues ensuring they are given attention at the earliest opportunity.
• Has attention to detail and strong communication skills, both written and oral, with the ability to relay technical information to all audiences.
• Has the ability to work effectively under pressure, sometimes to tight deadlines and make quick and effective decisions regarding problem solving and prioritisation.
• Is a team player, willing to pick up a range of different tasks and deliver work on behalf of the team.

If you are successful, your placement will start once you have passed all pre-employment checks. The placement will be for a minimum of 9 - 12 months. We cannot accept placements any earlier than this.

Working Pattern

Due to operational needs, these posts are full-time; however, applicants who need to work a more flexible arrangement are welcome to apply. We can't guarantee that we can meet all requests to work flexibly as any agreement will be subject to business ability to accommodate. Any request to work a more flexible arrangement should be made prior to your acceptance of the provisional offer.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £31,096, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £9,008 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. HMRC operates both Flexible and Hybrid Working policies, allowing you to balance your work and personal commitments. We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible, considering our operational and customer service needs. We offer a generous leave allowance, starting at 25 days and increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days. Pension - We make contributions to our colleagues' Alpha pension equal to at least 28.97% of their salary. Family friendly policies. Personal support. Coaching and development.

To find out more about HMRC benefits and find out what it's really like to work for HMRC hear from our insiders or visit Thinking of joining the Civil Service.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Selection process details

How to Apply

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide the following:

• A name-blind CV including your job history and previous experiences.
• A 500-word Personal Statement. Your Personal Statement should be used to describe how your skills and experience would be suitable for the advertised role, making reference to the Essential Criteria and Person Specification outlined in the advert.
• Please answer the additional question regarding your Undergraduate Status.

Please be aware that if you do not meet all of the additional criteria, your application will not proceed to Sift.

Sift

In the event of a large number of applications being received, an initial sift may be held on your Personal Statement. At full sift your CV and your Personal Statement will be assessed, with the successful candidates being invited to interview. We may also raise the score required at any stage of the process if we receive a high number of applications.

Interview

As part of the recruitment process at interview, you will be required to verify your student status by providing one of the following:

• A valid, in-date Student ID.
• Official university confirmation of your full-time undergraduate status and a 9 -12 month industrial placement requirement.

Failure to provide the required documentation may result in the withdrawal of your application. During the panel interview, we'll assess your experience. We'll dive into your application, exploring your knowledge, experience, and skills related to the Essential Criteria. Interviews will take place via video link.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Eligibility

Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. Mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days (Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we may not be able to reopen your application for you.