User Researcher Department for Work & Pensions

Manchester

Reference

1632744

Number of vacancies

3

Location

Manchester

Salary

up to £43,298 per annum

Work hours

37 per week (flexible working)

Employment type

Permanent

Job benefits

In return for your skills we offer a brilliant civil service pension, and a generous leave package. We also have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

Closing date

3 June 2019

Job description

If you’re creative with a passion for learning new things, want to be empowered to make decisions and challenge the norm, and want to bring your ideas to a MASSIVE digital challenge then you’ll love it here. And we’d love to hear from you.

We’re looking for talented User Researchers to join DWP’s Digital Workplace project and become a key part of one of the UK’s biggest and most high-profile digital transformation programmes, a once-in-a-generation tech-driven reform of government products and services.

What is Digital Workplace?
It’s big. Over the last two years diverse DWP Digital teams have established Digital Workplace, an agile and multi-disciplinary service that supports over 84,000 employees, using more than 150 distributed cloud applications and operating out of more than 800 UK sites.

And we’re powering an even bigger digital transformation with a portfolio of digital products and services used by more than 20 million people across the UK.

It’s evolving. So far we’ve moved all of our systems to hybrid hosting, removing the constraints of previous large outsourced IT contracts, modernising our legacy infrastructure and stabilising service performance.

We are improving communication and collaboration, with a mixture of new hardware including mini-PCs, Surface Pro laptops and a growing mobile phone network. By upgrading our software with the latest versions of Office 365, Skype for Business and our rebooted staff intranet we’re making sure our people have the right tools and the latest professional digital skills. And we’ll keep evolving to meet the needs of our teams.

It’s really important we get it right. DWP deliver world-class digital solutions which touch the lives of millions of people, including our friends, neighbours and some of the most vulnerable people in our society. We’re creating a better working environment and experience for the people behind those solutions to ensure they stay equipped, motivated, informed and engaged.

Check out how DWP Digital User Researchers do things via the following fascinating blogs: –
Three things I learnt from taking the Income Service into beta and beyond
What I learnt from trialling a ‘speed dating’ approach to user testing
How we designed for users without having a user interface to test

AND

Also hear from Malcolm, a current User Researcher here at DWP Digital at our YouTube Channel

You and your role
Working independently to plan and carry out research projects, you will be involved in the preparation all the way through to sharing the outcomes.

Making use of the latest research methods and up to date tools at your disposal, you will turn research insights into recommendations to the most important of the departments goals and delivery outcomes.

An excellent communicator, who is experienced in user centred design practices, you will champion the core research principles by consistently testing the highest levels of the service and having the support within the practice to turn those findings into action.

We are especially interested in applications if: –
• You have experience of basic user researcher methods and Agile principles.
• You can align user research activities to aide in a team environment.
• You have the ability to use quantitative and qualitative data about users to turn user focus into outcomes.
• You communicate effectively to all level of key stakeholders.
• You are responsive to changes in technology and can adapt any approach at pace.
• You have worked in different phases of user research – Discovery, Alpha, Beta and Live.

Qualifications
Ideally, you will have a degree or professional qualification in Market Research/Social Science/Research Human Computer Interaction/Usability/Cognitive Psychology.

Equivalent professional experience also advantageous.

Where will you work?
DWP Digital is a community of digital professionals within DWP, the largest government department. Our digital services are delivered from 6 modern, open and flexible hubs in Blackpool, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.

We provide the latest tech and tooling and foster a collaborative culture to help our agile, multidisciplinary teams think big and try new things. You will work alongside people who care passionately about public service, making a difference and delivering for our customers.

You’ll join our team in Manchester where our brilliant new hub has the best of the city on our doorstep, with loads of great places nearby to meet, eat or to soak up a bit of culture. We have brilliant views over St Peter’s Square, looking out over Central Library and the Town Hall. We’re really handy for the train and the tram, and we have a basement level lock up (with showers) for your bike.

In Digital Workplace we believe in giving you a working experience that meets your needs and expectations and that means a focus on work-life balance, flexible hours, team-based working and the ability to work from multiple locations.

We are an equal opportunity employer and we welcome applications regardless of age, disability, gender, race or sexuality.

CLICK APPLY for further information and to start an application on Civil Service Jobs.

If you have any questions of you want to discuss the role before you apply get in touch via digitalworkplace.recruitment2019@dwp.gov.uk

Apply now