Lead Researcher

Lead Researcher, Wise Business - London

Lead research initiatives in Wise's Acquiring domain, focusing on Payment Links, Invoices, QuickPay, card payments, and e-commerce.

Your Mission

Understand how businesses get paid, identify pain points, and design a convenient, instant, and low cost experience for receiving funds into Wise.

Key Contributions

• Setting priorities and direction: Proactively set research priorities and align them with squad and business goals.
• Elevating craft and capabilities: Lead by example and develop the research thinking and technical skills of individuals and the squad.
• Articulating strategy: Communicate research strategy to the team and key stakeholders, influencing squad focus and priorities.
• Demonstrating impact through people: Mentor and guide team members, ensuring their growth drives downstream impact.
• Leading with grit: Set clear goals, course correct when necessary, and champion quality, the user, and a human centred approach.

Opportunities for Growth

• Lead a team: Manage and develop researchers while driving direction and impact on how businesses get paid.
• Shape strategy: Influence squad priorities and articulate the present, next, and future of the Acquiring experience.
• Grow as a leader: Advance leadership skills in people management, stakeholder influence, and strategic thinking during pivotal moments such as team splits and new payment product launches.
• Contribute to mission: Help make money without borders the new normal.

Qualities We Seek

• Deep experience with both generative and evaluative research; exceptional problem solving and holistic research thinking.
• Proven ability to lead mixed method studies, including ethnography, usability, surveys, and card sorting.
• Capability to guide teams on actioning insights and collaborate closely with designers to ideate based on findings.
• Skilled negotiator able to influence squads, teams, and senior leaders to champion user centred approaches.
• Top notch presentation and storytelling skills, especially when sharing impactful insights.

Additional Experience

• Managing and developing researchers, with examples of elevating team capabilities and performance.
• Proven ability to set clear goals and priorities for others that align with business objectives.
• Strong influence on senior leaders and cross team negotiations.
• Track record of championing research quality, user advocacy, and human centred design at the organisational level.

Strategic Impact

• Articulate research strategy and positively influence squad focus and priorities.
• Deep understanding of how research connects to team, squad, and business goals.
• Mentor others to create downstream impact through their growth.

Unsuitable for

• Roles primarily centred on market research or academia.
• Those lacking demonstrable experience leading UX research within the tech/product industry.
• Those who have not managed or mentored researchers before.