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As the Lead User Researcher for CustomerFirst, you’ll play a defining role in shaping the team to improve customer service at scale with a user-centred mindset. This is not about leading the research on a single project. This role will sit across multiple delivery squads setting the research strategy and practice, and conducting research yourself when needed. This role will be shaping how research is conducted across complex portfolios and helping government move from quick fixes to deep transformation based on what people fundamentally need from our services. CustomerFirst is still being built. Our operating model, culture and ways of working are evolving, and that’s deliberate. We’re looking for a Lead Researcher who is comfortable in ambiguity, and is motivated by the chance to build something new with real public impact. This is a hands-on leadership role, involving research tasks and also strategic direction and responsibility for a small team of researchers embedded in different projects. You’ll set direction and standards, and step in wherever needed to help teams deliver. What you will do As a Lead User Researcher, you will: develop and assure good user research practice across multiple teams, supporting researchers to adopt a range of techniques and to continuously improve oversee and lead the planning, design and delivery of user research to support the design and development of excellent public services establish and align user research activities and teams to meet organisational goals lead colleagues to analyse research data and synthesise clear and actionable findings ensure that teams take a user-centred, evidence-based approach to service design and delivery, and that our research includes all kinds of users contribute to the wider user research community – taking on a leadership role in the community including sharing findings and insights across the organisation, mentoring other researchers, writing blog posts and leading on aspects of practice may be required to provide line management and leadership to a team of researchers This role will involve overseeing research across multiple different projects, each a partnership with a different organisation across government. This means you’ll be advising and coaching service teams on how to improve, as well as being part of a multidisciplinary team delivering a service. You’ll need skills building relationships quickly, identifying problems, and helping others to solve them. What this role offers a chance to fix real customer service problems that affect millions of people the opportunity to shape how government considers products and services, not just work within existing models exposure and opportunity to influence senior leadership across policy, operations, digital and delivery a start-up/ scale up environment with the mandate to challenge, experiment and build work with purpose, scale and visibility – without losing pragmatism or pace

***SC CLEARED*** User Researcher 6 Month contract initially Based: Remote/Max 1 day per month Rate: Market rates p/d - (via Umbrella company) We have a great opportunity with a world leading organisation where you will be provided with all of the support and development to succeed. A progressive organisation where you can really make a difference. We have a great opportunity for a User Researcher to join the team. The User Experience Researcher will be primarily responsible for management of the research team. Implementation and management of research processes. Overseeing and assigning appropriate workloads (sprint planning) and ensuring the team is working efficiently and in line with the SME priorities. Providing roadmaps and timelines of completion for project work with strategic insight. Supervision and collaboration on; designing, conducting, analysing, and reporting on user-centered design research and usability testing for the channels, including identification of user needs and goals, task and workflow modeling, ethnography and persona development as well as rapid iterative usability testing, and more formal, in-depth testing. A successful Senior User Experience Researcher must be able to mentor and manage a team of UX professionals and work without supervision on multiple concurrent projects. Key Responsibilities: As a User Researcher you will be accountable for: ? Managing the User research team and assume responsibility for outputs/deliverables ? Working alongside the Digital Performance & Optimisation Lead to define, implement and champion user centered design strategy and processes ? Ownership of the SME Customer Research Panel - recruitment, engagement and controls ? Designing and conducting usability research both online and in the field and provide recommendations for improvement ? Serve as a member of a team that acts as a 'repository' of research-based usability knowledge ? Work with project Stakeholders and team members to test business requirements using the most appropriate method ? Lead, develop and motivate the User Research Team ? Determine user needs by conducting in-depth analysis across a range of research practices ? Work with Designers & Content Designers to test proposed look & feel initiatives, working together to develop the most appropriate solution for customers ? Manage and develop other researchers to assure and improve research practice ? Lead moderated user testing and workshops. ? Observe UX Team conducting user testing and workshops to ensure done in a complaint and effective way, providing feedback as appropriate ? Promote user centered design principles and best practice across Digital, SME and the Bank - developing a culture of research first ? Conduct in-house research to test new product and concept developments (including user requirements gathering and early stage concept and prototype testing, and other approaches to ensure the user need is fully understood in the service design) ? Consumer Duty - Maintain knowledge of and adherence to all relevant regulatory requirements Key Skills & Experience: ? Usability moderating (all types, particularly one-on-one) ? Experimental design ? Test method selection ? Statistical/qualitative/quantitative analysis ? Presentations (verbal and written) KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: ? Excellent communication and presentation skills, both written and oral ? Excellent relationship skills - able to operate effectively with internal stakeholders and with external suppliers and partners ? Proven experience of mentorship and management skills ? Proven experience of effective time management of self and others ? Ability to impact assess workload and manage delivery expectations and deadlines appropriately ? Choose appropriate methods and advise on application of research methods to assure best practice ? High level of customer focus and understanding of customer needs ? Experienced in usability test moderating (all types, particularly one-on-one) ? Participant recruiting/screener creation ? Proven experience of managing, executing and analysing usability test sessions ? Proven experience of working in an agile development environment with User Experience teams, designers and developers to create new digital products and services ? Demonstrable ability to take initiative and seek out opportunities to innovate and create effective change ? Precise and high attention to detail ? Be passionate about uses of information architecture/usability/accessibility. ? Experience within a research and digital environment. ? Uses strategic insight and aligns user research activities to inform decision making and action. This is an excellent opportunity on a great project of work, If you are looking for your next exciting opportunity, apply now for your CV to reach me directly, we will respond as soon as possible. Due to the nature and urgency of this post, candidates holding or who have held high level security clearance in the past are most welcome to apply. Please note successful applicants will be required to be security cleared prior to appointment which can take up to a minimum 10 weeks. LA International is a HMG approved ICT Recruitment and Project Solutions Consultancy, operating globally from the largest single site in the UK as an IT Consultancy or as an Employment Business & Agency depending upon the precise nature of the work, for security cleared jobs or non-clearance vacancies, LA International welcome applications from all sections of the community and from people with diverse experience and backgrounds. Award Winning LA International, winner of the Recruiter Awards for Excellence, Best IT Recruitment Company, Best Public Sector Recruitment Company and overall Gold Award winner, has now secured the most prestigious business award that any business can receive, The Queens Award for Enterprise: International Trade, for the second consecutive period.