About the job

Job summary

This position is based Nationally

Job description

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.

User Researcher

Location: National*

Closing Date: 12th May 2024

Interviews: w/c 3rd June 2024

Grade: SEO

(MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain this grade on lateral transfer)

Salary: London: £45,824 - £50,039 which may include an allowance of up to £2,251 National: £39,868 - £43,535 which may include an allowance of up to £2,057 

Working pattern: full-time, part-time, flexible working

Contract Type: Permanent

Vacancy number: 86693

*We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your local office (60%). Office locations can be found ON THIS MAP

 The Role

We’re recruiting for User Researchers here at Justice Digital, to be part of our warm and collaborative Design teams, in the following areas:

• Office of the Public Guardian (OPG)
• Legal Aid Agency (LAA)
• Digital Prison Service (DPS)

This role aligns against User Researcher from the Government Digital and Data Framework

Justice Digital are looking for User Researchers who want to make a difference by working on public services that really matter.

You’ll be welcomed into a thriving user research community and into multidisciplinary teams, alongside user researchers, designers, business analysts, product managers, delivery managers and developers working together to deliver world-class, user-centred services.

We are currently experimenting with different delivery models, so some of the time you might find yourself embedded full time on a product team, and other times you

might be providing research support to a couple of product teams in parallel. You may be working alongside other researchers, or as a single researcher in a team. We are therefore looking for researchers who have pragmatic, flexible ways of working.

To help picture your life at MoJ Justice Digital please take a look at our blog and our Digital and Technology strategy 2025

 Key Responsibilities:

• Plan, conduct, analyse and communicate research
• Ensure the inclusion of different types of users in research activities
• Effectively communicate research findings within project teams, and share findings with other relevant stakeholders
• Work closely with product managers, designers and developers to turn user research findings into actions that lead to valuable product and service designs
• Contribute to building our user research and user centred design community, by developing our practice and ways of working.

If this feels like an exciting challenge, something you are enthusiastic about, and want to join our team please read on and apply!

 Benefits

• 37 hours per week and flexible working options including working from home, working part-time, job sharing, or working compressed hours.
• A £1k per person learning budget is in place to support all our people, with access to best in class conferences and seminars, accreditation with professional bodies, fully funded vocational programmes and e-learning platforms
• Staff have 10% time to dedicate to develop & grow
• Generous civil service pension based on defined benefit scheme, with employer contributions of 97% from April 1st 2024 (Contribution Rates)
• 25 days leave (plus bank holidays) and 1 privilege day usually taken around the Kings’ 5 additional days of leave once you have reached 5 years of service.
• Compassionate maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave policies, with up to 26 weeks leave at full pay, 13 weeks with partial pay, and 13 weeks further leave. And maternity support/paternity leave at full pay for 2 weeks, too!

• Wellbeing support including access to the Calm app
• Nurturing professional and interpersonal networks including those for Carers & Childcare, Gender Equality, PROUD and SPIRIT
• Bike loans up to £2500 and secure bike parking (subject to availability and location)
• Season ticket loans, childcare vouchers and eye-care vouchers
• 5 days volunteering paid leave
• Free membership to BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT
• Some offices may have a subsidised onsite Gym

 Person Specification

 Essential

While experience of training and working as a researcher in other arenas is valuable in user research, candidates must have a working knowledge of and some experience of:

• Using research methods, both qualitative and quantitative, and selecting the right research method for the problem needing to be solved
• Being an advocate for users, encouraging teams to engage with research insights to help them make evidence based decisions.
• Ensuring research and insights support the iterative development of a service/product
• Including different kinds of users in appropriate research activities, and knowing how to run inclusive research
• Building effective working relationships with a team and stakeholders
• Managing personal data, including following ethical and consent processes

You need to be willing to be assessed against the requirements for BPSS clearance for this role.

We welcome the unique contribution diverse applicants bring and do not discriminate on the basis of culture, ethnicity, race, nationality or national origin, age, sex, gender identity or expression, religion or belief, disability status, sexual orientation, educational or social background or any other factor.

Our values are Purpose, Humanity Openness and Together. Find out more here about how we celebrate diversity and an inclusive culture in our workplace.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,868, Ministry of Justice contributes £10,804 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

How to Apply

Candidates must submit CV and statement of suitability (max 750 words). Failure to provide both documents will result in a rejection of your application. Also, if the statement is too long, we won’t read past the first 750 words.

The statement of suitability should outline your experience, against the following points of the essential criteria list above, under ’Person Specification’

• Using research methods, both qualitative and quantitative, and selecting the right research method for the problem needing to be solved
• Ensuring research and insights support the iterative development of a service/product

Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on ‘User Research experience- Using research methods, both qualitative and quantitative, and selecting the right research method for the problem needing to be solved’ will be conducted prior to the sift.

 In Justice Digital, we recruit using a combination of the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability and Success Profiles Frameworks. We will assess your Experience, Technical Skills and the following Behaviours during the assessment process:

• Changing and improving
• Communicating and influencing
• Working together
• Managing a quality service
• Delivering at pace

Your application will be reviewed against the Person Specification above by a diverse panel.

Successful candidates who meet the required standard will then be invited to a 1-hour panel interview held via video conference. The interview will include a short task, which will be provided to candidates in advance of the interview.

Should you be unsuccessful in the role that you have applied for, but demonstrated the capability for a role at a lower level, we reserve the right to discuss this opportunity with you and potentially offer you the position without the need for a further application.

A reserve list may be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made.

 Terms & Conditions

Please review our Terms & Conditions which set out the way we recruit and provide further information related to the role and salary arrangements.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact recruitment@digital.justice.gov.uk

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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.