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Joining us, you get to work for not just one high performing London Borough, but two.

Sutton and Kingston councils have a number of shared services serving both authorities, with some teams and roles more focussed on one Council than the other, but the majority are shared across both, meaning you get multiple opportunities to learn from a wider pool of activities and two different political bodies.

We work flexibly in both Sutton and Kingston offices, and support working at home or flexible working patterns that enable you to tailor your working life to everything else in your life. We provide the equipment and tools to enable you to work flexibly, and in return ask you to use that flexibility to be creative and ambitious in the services we deliver.

There are some really exciting things happening in both Sutton and Kingston. We are developing the London Cancer Hub, a world leading cancer research and treatment hub that will bring together professionals from across different sectors to identify and test new treatments and therapies. We are undertaking the largest housing regeneration programme ever delivered in Kingston, building new energy efficient housing that will transform some of our oldest Council owned housing. Both boroughs have publicly committed to doing what they can to tackle the climate emergency and are investing in new technologies and societal change that will help bring carbon emissions down and improve our climate impact.

We work flexibly in both Sutton and Kingston offices, providing the equipment and tools to support hybrid working patterns that enable your working life; in return we ask you to use this to be creative and ambitious in the services we deliver. You should choose Sutton and Kingston if you are looking for an opportunity that will challenge you to deliver more, support you to achieve personal ambitions, and expect you to put borough residents at the heart of what you do.

Sutton is a well connected attractive part of London that has a reputation for excellent schools, green and leafy open spaces, and a history that drives a thriving heritage and culture offer through our museums and libraries. The Council is controlled by a long established Liberal Democrat Administration and has high ambitions set out in its corporate plan “Ambitious for Sutton”, that will ensure Sutton remains a great place to live, work and raise a family. The Council plays a leading role in a number of local partnerships and places great emphasis on engaging effectively with its residents, listening to local voices and making their message heard across London Government.

Kingston is a beautiful Royal borough with a historic setting on the banks of the Thames with excellent schools and a bustling retail centre, all surrounded by open green spaces such as RIchmond Park and Bushey Park, former recreation grounds for Tudor kings and queens. The Council is controlled by a Liberal Democrat Administration and has a corporate plan “Making Kingston Better Together” that sets out a vision to be a vibrant, diverse and inclusive borough where residents are active, empowered, engaged and able to remain independent and resilient. The Council engages with residents through a number of forums and events through the year, and like Sutton plays a leading role in developing the South West Region of London.

Our mantra here in Digital is people first, technology second. When building good services we start with user needs. Working as part of a multi-disciplinary team, the User Researchers will carry out a number of research activities with users to help teams gain a deep understanding of the people that currently (or may potentially) use our services.

A typical day for you as a user researcher might include:

• Planning and designing research studies: This might involve developing research questions, identifying the appropriate research methods to use, and creating research plans.
• Recruiting and scheduling participants: You might work with a recruiting agency or handle the recruitment process yourself, including identifying and contacting potential participants, scheduling sessions, and managing any incentives.
• Conducting research: This could involve conducting interviews, usability tests, surveys, or focus groups with participants, either in person or remotely. You might also observe users in their natural environment, such as at home or in the workplace.
• Analysing and synthesising data: You might analyse and interpret the data collected from research studies, using tools such as spreadsheets, online whiteboards or transcription software. You might also look for patterns and trends in the data, and identify key insights and recommendations.
• Communicating findings: You might present research findings to cross-functional teams, such as product managers, designers, and developers, and work with them to incorporate user insights into the design process.
• Staying up to date: As a user researcher, it's important to keep up to date with the latest research techniques and developments in the field. You might spend time reading academic articles or attending conferences and workshops.

The User Researcher reports directly to the Lead User Researcher.

As a user researcher, you will have the flexibility to work both remotely and in the office, depending on the specific needs of each research study.

Digital and IT is a shared service between Kingston and Sutton councils providing digital and technology services to both councils as well as a number of arm's length companies.

We are committed to delivering excellent public services to our residents and local businesses, which is why we place the user, and their needs, at the heart of our agile delivery strategy. We are proud of our digital culture, and have a team of excellent professionals working across multi-disciplinary teams to deliver our new digital services.

Both councils are undertaking significant transformation of their services. We are therefore looking to recruit vibrant, talented people who would be excited to help us build user centred, modern digital services across two councils.

You will be joining our research team, a new and rapidly growing group that is having a significant impact across the organisation. We are dedicated to understanding the needs and perspectives of our users and using that knowledge to inform and improve the design of our products and services.

The Research Team sits within Digital Delivery along with the Design Team, Products & Online Services Team, Design Team and the Development Team. Within the teams we have multiple roles including User Researchers, Business Analysts, Service Designers, Product Managers, Content Designers, Interaction Designers, Delivery Managers and Developers. Our projects are managed using an agile approach and disciplines work in multi-disciplinary project teams designing and delivering good services.

To be successful in the role of User Researcher, the ideal candidate will have:

• Typically, a mid-level candidate should have a few years of professional experience in user research, UX design, or a related field.
• The candidate should have a broad toolkit of both qualitative and quantitative research methods, and understand when and how to use each effectively. Familiarity with moderated and unmoderated approaches such as survey design, usability testing, card sorting and other user research activities is important. User researchers must effectively present their findings to stakeholders in a way that is clear, concise, and impactful. They should also be able to facilitate discussions, workshops, and interviews with a variety of users.
• Experience with design thinking, agile working and a passion for user-centered design.
• Soft skills such as curiosity, attention to detail, and the ability to empathise with users.
• You have a solid understanding of user research principles, practices, and methods.
• Have a track record of delivering quality user research to support the delivery of products and services that meet the needs of users
• The ability to interpret data, identify trends, and make connections is key for a user researcher. They should be able to turn complex data into clear, actionable insights.An understanding of Agile working practices

The ideal candidate will have a solid understanding of accessibility principles and guidelines (such as WCAG 2.1) and should demonstrate a commitment to inclusive design. They should be able to conduct research with users with a range of abilities, and translate findings into recommendations that make products more accessible and inclusive. Previous experience conducting accessibility audits or using assistive technologies would be a plus.

For more in depth detail about the role, please refer to the role profile at the bottom of this page.

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff supported by our IT infrastructure, Google Chromebooks and Google Apps, which have acted as a key enabler for collaborative and streamlined working. The COVID-19 pandemic has required us to be even more flexible in how we work and manage staff workloads, ensuring they have the correct equipment and resources to be able to maximise their talents and looking after their wellbeing.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
• Three volunteering days per year
• Flexible and agile working arrangements
• Comprehensive learning and development programme
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
• Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
• Subsidised gym membership

Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Interview Process
To make sure we have the right candidate for this role, we will be conducting three rounds of interviews:

Round 1: Informal Telephone Chat - Week Commencing - 3rd July March 2023
Round 2: In-Person Assessment Day Kingston Offices - 10th July or 14th July 2023
Round 3: Virtual Interview - Week Commencing 17th July 2023

We pride ourselves on being a diverse, tolerant and welcoming Borough and we aim to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve. We are respectful of difference and realise the positive value of diversity in our workforce. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and disabled candidates as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce.

We are proud to be recognised as a Disability Confident employer, and are committed to thinking differently about disability and taking action to improve how we recruit, retain and develop disabled people. We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.

We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

We are an accredited London Living Wage Employer and this means that everyone working at the Royal Borough of Kingston, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers receive the London Living Wage. The real Living Wage is higher than the government’s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living.

The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.