Senior User Researcher

Senior User Researcher

c. £60,000 per annum

Bedford Based (occasional travel to London)

Hybrid Working

Permanent

As a Senior User Researcher at Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), your research will drive user-centred and evidence-based decision making across a large programme of work that will improve customer experience, engagement, and satisfaction and ultimately the financial wellbeing of millions of people across the UK, particularly those with vulnerabilities.

Working within our User Experience team, you will collaborate with design and product leads to build the practice of user-centred design at MaPS and align our services and ways of working with the GDS Service Standard.

You will serve as an champion for users, sharing insight across the organisation to hone our focus on and knowledge of our users. You will proactively identify gaps in our understanding and lead research to address them.

In this role you will be responsible for the following;

• Leading collaborative research for complex projects to uncover user needs, including how access needs and protected characteristics may impact the way customers interact with a product or service.
• Leading workshops, debriefs, group note taking and results presentations.
• Appropriately utilising analytics, customer feedback and other internal and external data.
• Helping to evolve and champion the user-centred design practice within MaPS.
• Working within a cross-functional team to challenge assumptions and build coherent pictures of the users.
• Communicating with designers and researchers on other programmes to avoid duplication, maximise learning and ensure the coherence and consistency of MaPS digital experiences.
• Helping internal colleagues and external delivery partners define and evolve agile ways of working.
• Identifying, understanding and mitigating ways research activities, processes and outcomes may negatively impact users, especially those who are vulnerable or experience some form of exclusion.
• Creating and socialising research reports, presentations and other research artefacts.

You will need to demonstrate the following skills and experience;

• Solid research experience (some of this may have been in an adjacent role).
• Experience with a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research methods such as remote and in-person, moderated and unmoderated, small and large sample and understanding of when (and when not) to choose each.
• Strong analysis and synthesis skills and the ability to derive actionable insights for audiences with differing expertise, seniority and priorities.
• Good understanding of and interest in inclusive research, including experience safely researching sensitive topics and/or with people with vulnerabilities.
• Able to choose research and analysis methods based on immediate project needs.
• Comfortable working on projects with stakeholders in a complex, matrix organisation.
• Able to adapt to iterative requirements while championing good user-centred design practices.
• Confident presenting results to senior stakeholders across the business and addressing feedback.
• Experience in the public sector or other regulated field (e.g. financial services, medicine, law).

Portfolio:

We don’t require a portfolio, but if you have one we’d love to see it. If not, we’d like a short statement (up to 500 words — less is fine) highlighting specific projects or experience that demonstrate the skills and abilities in this job description.

We are especially interested in examples which involve one or more of:

• Making difficult information accessible and compelling to non-experts
• A large, content-heavy website
• Working to the GDS service standard
• Working for a public sector organisation
• Working in a financial services or other regulated environment

About MaPS

At the heart of the Money and Pensions Service are our values - caring, connecting and transforming, which are the foundation of our success. They permeate every area of our work and define all our business relationships and the way we work with each other. We’re not only looking for the best people in and around Bedford to come and work for us, but we need people who align themselves to our values: -

• Caring
  We care about our colleagues and people whose lives we are here to transform.
• Connecting
  We will transform lives through our ability to make positive connections.
• Transforming
  We are committed to transforming lives and make a positive societal impact.

Our inclusive working environment

By fostering our values, we are immensely proud of the inclusive working environment that we have created. The diversity of our people is a strength that we embrace and wish to build upon, so we are committed to attracting people of all backgrounds.

By way of brief example, we have an enviable ethnic diversity mix, equal gender balance with a zero mean gender pay gap and thriving colleague and ally networks, including LGBTQ+, neurodiversity, women’s health, men's health, ethnicity, and diversity.

What Money and Pensions Service can offer you?

• Generous Annual Leave - 30 days plus Bank Holidays
• Pension scheme - contributions matched 2 to 1 (up to 10% of your salary)
• Interest-free loan to help you buy season tickets for buses and trains
• Cycle to work Scheme
• Subsidised eye test & flu jabs
• Life assurance scheme
• Give as you earn scheme
• Employee assistance programme (EAP)
• PAM Assist and PAM Life scheme (Wellbeing)
• Enhanced family and sick pay
• Paid volunteering (2 days a year)
• Recognition Scheme
• Discounts portal to numerous retailers

At MaPS, we take pride in our flexible approach to work. Most of our roles can operate on a hybrid basis with a minimum of 2 days in the office per week. Hybrid working is a voluntary, noncontractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business needs.

Job Reference: MaPS00668

Close Date: 15/08/2024