User Researcher York, England
Job description
Details
Reference number
Salary
Job grade
Contract type
Business area
Type of role
Digital
Market Research
Psychology
Social Research
Working pattern
Number of jobs available
Contents
Location
About the job
Benefits
Things you need to know
Apply and further information
Location
About the job
Job summary
Government Business Services (GBS) is a large business unit within the Cabinet Office with around 610 staff. It brings together back office services across government, and supports the Civil Service with high volume HR and finance processes, aligned to the Government's modernisation agenda. GBS was established in August 2020, and includes Shared Services, the Government Recruitment Service, Civil Service and Royal Mail Pensions, and the Platforms and Services unit, which supports these. GBS delivers services for over 400,000 civil servants across government. It supports 1.5 million Civil Service and Royal Mail pension scheme members, and provides recruitment services for around 70 percent of the Civil Service.
We care about diversity and inclusion and actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply.
We are looking for a User Researcher to join our team in Government Business Services (GBS) to help develop our Civil Service Jobs platform and wider recruitment service. You will help us to transform the way in which the Civil Service recruits so that we hire the right people, into the right roles, at the right time.
As a User Researcher, you will be an experienced practitioner who is capable of planning and conducting user research activities across large and complex projects and services. You will be a practitioner in problem definition and selecting the appropriate research strategies to tackle issues and understand user needs. You will also have experience or a keen interest in developing quantitative research skills and methods.
You will help champion a user-centred, evidence-based approach to formulating strategy and vision, both across the user research practice and the teams you are engaged in.
Job description
Government Shared Services (GSS) is a unit within Government Business Services (GBS) in the Cabinet Office. We support the Cabinet Office’s aims to ensure the delivery of the finest public services and improve the efficiency of government.
We are the centre of expertise working across departments to make it easier for civil servants to use platforms for HR, finance and payroll. We are in the process of delivering the new Shared Services Strategy for Government, which delivers services that are better value, and cut through processes that cost time and money. Our overarching objectives are:
1) Meeting end-user needs, promoting excellence and convenience for both staff and managers.
2) Delivering value and efficiency, including by separating technology from service centres, and including all transactional services.
3) Convergence around processes and data, including the consolidation and modernisation of technology platforms, while maintaining choice for departments.
Through this strategy, our ambition is to free up civil servants to focus on what they do best: engaging with and delivering for citizens.
What you will be working on:
You will join our cross-functional agile delivery team focusing on transforming Civil Service Jobs, helping to redesign how the service should be delivered in the future.
The Civil Service recruitment transformation programme will evolve how civil servants are recruited and move around the Civil Service. Focusing on simplifying, streamlining and automating recruitment processes for civil servants joining the government, you will play a key role in helping to design a service that recruits the right people with the right skills as quickly as possible.
Civil Service Jobs is used by over 4 million candidates per year to find and view vacancies across the Civil Service. Each year it handles over 1 million completed applications for 195,000 advertised posts. The live service is used by over 216 organisations to advertise their vacancies and manage their recruitment processes. Currently, Civil Service Jobs is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provision that has been configured and enhanced to meet Civil Service recruitment, digital and security standards.
You will also get the opportunity to work alongside the Online testing and assessment service, which helps the assessment process during recruitment campaign. The service currently supports over a million candidate tests a year, helping departments appoint the right candidates into roles. The tests combine digital and psychometrician expertise to deliver a great user experience and effective evaluation of candidate potential.
You’ll help identify and fix some of the toughest problems in public infrastructure and you will be focussing on the research and design of services at scale. You’ll help the government transform the way it delivers recruitment so that it’s more efficient, simpler, faster and easier to use.
You will be joining us right at the start of the beta phase of the recruitment transformation program. You’ll also work with our wider portfolio of digital services covering recruitment, learning and business services.
As a User Researcher you will:
- Plan, design and prepare a range of user research activities to support the design, development and continuous improvement of government services. This will include choosing the right variety of research approaches (such as surveys, usability interviews, card sorting, guerrilla research etc.)
- Carrying out user research activities from recruiting participants, preparing discussion guides and moderating research sessions
- Communicating user research findings to help the team and wider organisation develop a deep understanding of users and their needs - including presentations at show and tells, designing and maintaining research outputs on the team wall, creating formal reports
- Work closely with product managers, designers and developers to turn user research findings into stories and actions that lead to valuable product and service features
- Advocate for user needs and conducting inclusive research in every activity
- Collaborating with colleagues in developing clear and actionable findings, including working closely with analytics colleagues to create a rich picture of user behaviour that informs the road map.
- Contribute to the wider user research community both internally in GBS and wider - including presenting at meetups and writing blog posts.
You will be reporting to the Senior User Researcher.
Person specification
Research skills
- Experience in using a range of quantitative and qualitative methods such as Usability interviews, A/B testing, survey design
- Research and analysis skills, (e.g. designing, conducting, and analysing data and information from different research methodologies and databases)
- Experience of delivering end to end research projects resulting in better services or products
- Able to process complex information and extract themes and insights
Personal skills
- Excellent communication, presentation and interpersonal skills; the ability to communicate complex concepts clearly and persuasively across different audiences and varying levels of the organisation.
- Experience in meeting deadlines and delivering high-quality work on schedule
- Experience of aligning user research activities to help teams understand changing user behaviour.
- Experience of advocating for service users or customers and engaging skeptical colleagues and stakeholders to drive changes.
- Willing to conduct user research as a ‘team sport’, facilitating both with external and internal stakeholders
- Have an understanding or keen interest of the Government Service Standard and GDS Service Manual
- The resilience to work in a fast-changing environment and ambiguous situations
These roles are aligned to the Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) Capability Framework for the Civil Service. You can view the User Researcher role at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/user-researcher
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Changing and Improving
- Communicating and Influencing
- Seeing the Big Picture
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Research skills
- Analysis and synthesis
- User-centred and agile practices
Benefits
- Learning and development tailored to your role.
- An environment with flexible working options.
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
- A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and average employer contributions of 27%.
- A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
The selection process consists of:
- an application screening process (Stage 1)
- an interview (Stage 2)
Stage 1 - Application & Sift
To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process which includes providing the following:
- a CV (see guidance on how to write your CV) setting out your career history, including key responsibilities and achievements.
- a Statement of Suitability explaining how your skills and experience are relevant to the role. This should include specific examples showing how you’ve gained the skills to meet the research and personal skills in the Person Specification: via a similar role or transferable skills. We recommend you use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). The statement is limited to no longer than 1,000 words.
The selection panel will conduct an initial sift of your CV and Statement of Suitability, based on the essential criteria outlined in the job description. Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be undertaken using the lead criteria - Research Skills.
Stage 2 - Video Interview
Unless you are otherwise informed, the final stage of the process will be a video interview via Google Meet where you will be assessed against the Behaviours and Technical Skills and have to deliver a short presentation exercise allowing you to demonstrate your skills and experience. More details will be provided for applicants invited to interview.
Expected timeline (subject to change)
Expected sift date/s - w/c 20 February
Expected interview date/s – w/c 27 February
Interview location - Online
Reasonable adjustments
We want to enable everyone to showcase their skills, talent and abilities. If you need an adjustment in the recruitment process due to a visible or non-visible disability, long-term condition, neurodiversity or learning difference, we want to support you.
If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:
Contact Government Recruitment Service at: [email protected] as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Complete the ‘assistance required’ section in the ‘personal information’ page of your application form to provide information we should be aware of that will enable us to support you further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need extra time, sign language interpretation, or help choosing an interview time that works for you.
Further information
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'contact point for applicants' section.
Please note that this role requires BPSS clearance. Any job offer will be subject to this satisfactory security clearance.
Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
Any move to Cabinet Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.
A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland on your behalf.
However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing [email protected] stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email [email protected]
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
- relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
- certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals
Working for the Civil Service
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).
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
Recruitment team :
Further information
If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then in the first instance you should contact Government Recruitment Service at: [email protected].
If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission at: [email protected].
For further information on the Recruitment Principles, and bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission, please visit their website at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk.
