About the job

Job summary

About us 

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the department for economic growth. The Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) directorate develops and operates tools and services to support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country. 

Job description

We are recruiting 5 Senior User Researchers to join us at the Department of Business and Trade (DBT). User researchers at the Department for Business and Trade plan, design and carry out research activities with users that help teams develop a deep understanding of the people that use government services, citizens, businesses, and government. User research informs policy, proposition, service, content, and interaction design so that services work well for users and achieve policy intent.  

As a Senior User Researcher, reporting to a Lead User Researcher, you will need to be an experienced practitioner who can plan, design, and conduct user research activities in larger teams and on complex government services.   

As a User researcher at the Department for Business and Trade, you will:  

• Conduct user research in complex subject areas and supervise and develop other user researchers to ensure research practice is high quality, ethical, and safe. 

• Build user-centred practices in multi-disciplinary teams using agile and iterative user-centred design methods. 

• Effectively communicate user research findings to the team and the wider organisation, to influence delivery. 

• Help teams to research inclusively with a wide range of users, including those with additional needs and other hard-to-reach groups. 

• Take a dynamic role in the DBT user research community, helping develop and improve our practice across the department. 

• Help teams build services that apply the government Service Standard, supporting teams to prepare for service assessments in line with Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) guidelines for building a good service. 
• Identify metrics and other data that’s available to support user research and use this data to enhance your team’s understanding of user needs.  

Person specification

It is essential that you have: 

• Research methods and research design experience. You can plan, design, and conduct complex user research using a range of methods and applying them correctly.
• Analysis and synthesis experience. You can understand and synthesise outputs from research activities, involving teams and stakeholders, and presenting clear and actionable findings. 
• Research leadership experience. You can work with teams and stakeholders, helping them adopt user-centred practices and iterative workflows that are informed by user research insights.  

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £38,052, Department for Business and Trade contributes £10,274 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

Sift will be from week commencing Monday 13th May 2024 

Interviews will be from week commencing Monday 20th May 2024 

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

If there is a high volume of applications, we will sift looking at your personal statement only. You may then be progressed to full sift or straight to interview.  

How we interview 

At the interview stage for this role, you will be asked to demonstrate relevant Technical Skills and Behaviours from the Success Profiles framework. These are role specific and in line with the DDaT Capability Framework. 

Technical Skills 

• Analysis and synthesis 
• Researching skills 
• Inclusive research 
• Research management, leadership, and assurance 
• User-centred and Agile practices 
• Stakeholder relationship management 

Behaviours  

• Making Effective Decisions 
• Communicating and Influencing 
• Changing and Improving 

 You will also be asked to deliver a presentation and will be informed on the topic following the sift. 

How we offer 

Offers may be made in merit order based on location preferences. If you pass the bar at interview but are not the highest scoring you will be held on a 12-month reserve list in case a role becomes available. If you are judged a near miss at interview, you may be offered a post at the grade below the one you applied for. 

More about us 

This role can only be worked from within the UK, not overseas. If you are based in London, you will receive London weighting. DBT employees work in a hybrid pattern, spending 2-3 days a week (pro rata) in the office on average.  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. 

You can find out more about our office locations, how we calculate salaries, our diversity statement and reasonable adjustments, the Recruitment Principles, the Civil Service code and our complaints procedure on our website. 

Find out more about life at DBT, our benefits and meet the team by watching our video or reading our blog! 

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.