About the job

Job summary

If you would like to find out more about the role, the User Research team and what it’s like to work at DBT, we are holding a Hiring Manager Q&A session for this role where you can virtually 'meet the team' on 20th February 2024. Please click here to book your spot.

 

This role is available in seven UK locations and can only be worked from within the UK, not overseas. If your office location is London, you will be eligible to receive London weighting. DBT employees work in a hybrid pattern, spending 2-3 days a week (pro rata) in the office on average. Changes to these working arrangements are available in certain circumstances but must be agreed with the vacancy manager and in line with the requirements of the role and can only be discussed with successful candidates. Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DBT, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.

Find out about life at DBT, our benefits and meet the team by watching our recruitment video, visiting our website or reading our blog! About DBT DDaT

 

About DBT DDaT

We are the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). We champion free trade, help British businesses unleash their potential, and create new investment opportunities. The Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) team develops and operates tools, services, and platforms such as great.gov.uk that enable the UK government to provide world leading support to businesses in the UK and overseas. Have a look at our video!

Work with us to constantly push boundaries in an environment free of heavy legacy, driven by curiosity, social purpose, diversity of thought, entrepreneurship, and the aspiration to offer an incredible experience to all our users.

Job description

As a Lead User Researcher, reporting to the Head of User Research, you will be helping to reinvigorate the User Research function in DBT, as part of our broader mission to champion the needs of our users.  User researchers are key figures in our digital teams. They help our teams develop a deep understanding of the people - citizens, businesses, or government - who use our services. Their findings enable our teams to design and deliver better services quickly, with less risk, and at lower cost.

We’re looking to increase our influence and impact by developing agile, pragmatic ways of working, that help teams meet the CDDO service standards while reflecting the delivery pace of the department.  We’re looking at how we set and assure research standards, how we innovate our approaches, and how we support teams to understand and respond to user needs. Find out more on our User Research blogs.

Responsibilities

In your day-to-day role, you will:

• Help plan research programmes, working with management teams and Delivery Managers to ensure a shared understanding of priorities, playing an active role in matching researchers to requirements
• Oversee the work of user researchers to ensure work is meeting GDS/CDDO service standards and is being delivered pragmatically and to a high quality, intervening if research falls below expected standards
• Take the lead on key research about complex services and strategic issues and synthesise findings to generate strategic insights and identify gaps in understanding
• Be an advocate for agile, user-focused research and work with stakeholders to highlight the benefits of operating this way
• Lead on staff recruitment, both permanent civil servants and contractors
• Manage the professional development of current staff, and the capability assessments in the UR profession

Person specification

Essential Skills and Experience

You should be able to demonstrate essential skills and experience of:

• Working with management teams and stakeholders to understand business needs and aligning research prioritisation and delivery to these needs
• Planning, designing and delivering user research projects and programmes in complex, challenging contexts
• Managing, mentoring or leading a team, ensuring they are performing against delivery goals and working to develop their capability
• Providing oversight and quality assurance of multiple user research projects at the same time
• Effectively advocating for the user and for good user research, advising stakeholders and building their buy-in of the value of user-centred practice
• Responding to delivery pressures of an agile environment, demonstrating good professional judgement, flexibility and pragmatism

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £52,000, Department for Business and Trade contributes £14,040 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Assessment and Interview

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Strengths, Technical Skills and Behaviours.

Unless otherwise specified, all interviews are currently being held online. Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

DBT sift will take place week commencing: 1st March

Interviews will take place week commencing: 11th March

Please notes these dates are indicative and may be subject to change.

As part of the application process you will be asked to upload a CV which outlines your experience, skills and fit for the role. Inspire People will assess your application against the essential criteria listed above to compile a longlist of applications, which will then be sifted by DBT. If you are progressed through at this stage, you will be asked to complete a short, pre-recorded video screening interview with Inspire People or alternately provide written answers to questions. These applications will then be sifted by DBT hiring managers. If you are successful at this sift, you will be invited to interview.

 

How you’ll be interviewed

At the interview stage for this role, you will be asked to demonstrate relevant Strengths, Technical Skills and Behaviours from the Success Profiles framework. A role-specific list of Technical Skills and Behaviours can be found below. The Strengths we are looking for are not shared ahead of the interview.

You will be asked to deliver a presentation at interview and will be informed of the topic closer to the time.

There will be a technical element within the interview where you will be asked questions about your specific professional skills and knowledge relating directly to the job role.

We will assess you against the following technical skills:

• Research Skills (including research planning and design)
• Analysis and Synthesis
• Inclusive research
• Strategic Insight (including working with stakeholders to understand business needs)
• User Centred and Agile working

You will also be assessed against the Behaviours of:

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture

 

Offer Stage

Appointments may be made to candidates in merit order based on location preferences.

The salary we will offer is determined using interview performance. Scores at interview translate to proficiency levels and an associated salary. Once a successful candidate has a proficiency level and is part of the capability framework, they will be given opportunities to self-assess to progress through the pay scale within their grade during their time at DBT. For further explanation of proficiency levels and more information about DDaT click here.

Candidates who pass the bar at interview but are not the highest scoring will be held on a 12-month reserve list for future appointments. Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be offered a post at the grade below the one advertised.

 

 

Security Clearance Details

This role requires you to undergo Security Clearance. The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. You will be asked to provide evidence of your UK footprint where you have been physically present in the UK. Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.

If you require SC clearance you will need to provide evidence of the below requirements.

Checks will be made against:

• Departmental or company records (personnel files, staff reports, sick leave reports and security records)
• UK criminal records covering both spent and unspent criminal records
• Your credit and financial history with a credit reference agency
• Security Services record
• Location details

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.