Senior User Researcher -Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government-G7

Job title:

Senior User Researcher -Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government-G7

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Job description

Senior User ResearcherMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentApply before 11:55 pm on Monday 2nd September 2024DetailsReference number365486Salary£51,934The salary for this role is £57,091 – £66,677 (London) or £51,934 – £61,562 (National). For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply and is non-negotiable. If you apply for a role that requires a transfer of location, for example if you are transferring from London to a National location, your salary will be adjusted in accordance with our policy on transfer between HQ pay ranges.A with an average employer contribution of 27%Job gradeGrade 7Contract typePermanentBusiness areaElectionsType of roleDigitalWorking patternFlexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-timeNumber of jobs available1ContentsLocationBirmingham, Bristol, Darlington, Leeds, London, Manchester, WolverhamptonAbout the jobJob summaryHere at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), .Whether it’s through the homes we live in, the work of our local councils, or the communities we’re all part of, our work is at the top of the political agenda. We have ambitious and far-reaching outcomes to achieve this year and, if you’re thinking of joining us, there’s never been a more exciting time.We have over 3,500 staff who are based in 20 offices across the UK.The Senior User Researcher will be part of our Elections Digital team at MHCLG. It’s an exciting time to improve and expand the electoral services in Public Beta to meet users’ needs better. This includes:

• Register to vote

• Apply for a proxy vote

• Apply for a postal vote

• Vote in UK elections ‘step by step’

• Apply for photo ID to vote (called a ‘Voter Authority Certificate’)

• ERO Portal (a website for Electoral Registration Offices in Local Authorities to process electoral applications)

We need to improve the understanding of the users and their needs, assess the users’ experience of our services and test design ideas, focusing on people with disabilities and people who don’t have access to the internet or lack the skills or confidence to use it. Your work will benefit millions of people use our services each year to vote in the UK.We particularly welcome candidates from an ethnic minority background and other underrepresented groups to apply, as we work to continually improve our ability to represent the places and communities we support through our work.including our culture, ways of working, career progression and staff benefits. You can also to learn about the work we’re doing.Job descriptionUser Researchers are key figures in our team. They help us develop a deep understanding of the people who use a service. Their findings allow their teams to design and build better services more quickly and at lower cost and risk. And to continuously improve services, based on data and evidence.As a Senior User Researcher, you will:

• plan, design and prepare a range of user research activities to support the design and improvement of complex services

• carry out a wide range of user research activities from recruiting participants, preparing discussion guides, and moderating research sessions

• lead colleagues to analyse research data and synthesise clear and actionable findings

• sharing findings to help people understand users and their needs

• work closely with colleagues to turn user research findings into action

• align user research activities with your team’s goals to inform decision making and action

• include all kinds of users in research to help teams understand the diversity of users

• champion users and their experience, especially people with disabilities and people who don’t have access to the internet or lack the skills or confidence to use it

Person specificationWe will use the essential criteria below to evaluate you during the recruitment process. Make sure your CV, cover letter and interview answers explain how you meet the criteria. We recommend using the STAR technique (situation, task, action, result) and first-singular pronouns (‘I’, ‘me’, ‘my’ and ‘mine’ instead of ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’, ‘ours’).We’re interested in people who have extensive experience:

• planning, preparing, and carrying out different user research activities with a wide range of methods for services with complex journeys

• leading colleagues to analyse research data and synthesise clear and actionable findings

• aligning user research activities with your team’s goals to inform decision making and action

• embedding user research as a collaborative practice in teams

• sharing findings widely to help people understand users and their needs

• including all kinds of users in research to help teams understand the diversity of users

• championing users and their experience, especially people with disabilities and people who don’t have access to the internet or lack the skills or confidence to use it

• using the Service Manual and the Service Standard

BenefitsAlongside your salary of £51,934, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £14,022 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A

with an average employer contribution of 27%Things you need to knowSelection process detailsMHCLG want to bring in a diverse workforce at all levels.Our application system is designed to remove as much bias as possible from the recruitment system – this means that a hiring manager does not know your name, your details, see your whole application in one go (or have your CV at review stage unless stated otherwise).Your answers are randomised and chunked up. This means that each assessor views sets of responses to questions for example all candidates’ responses to ‘Seeing the Big Picture’ rather than seeing a candidate’s full application. The science behind this is that recruitment can be subject to ordering and fatigue effects and we want to reduce this as much as possible.Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that each of your answers would be viewed by different assessors.When writing your application, remember:

• The assessor won’t be reading your answers sequentially.
• Do not assume that the same assessors will have read all of your answers.
• If talking about something in your first answer, make sure that you write the second answer as if you had not written the first (and so on!)

CV and Cover Letter DeclarationWe recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity – this is called name blind recruitment.Please remove references to your:

• name/title
• educational institutions
• age
• gender
• email address
• postal address
• phone number
• nationality/immigration status

You will need to merge your CV and covering letter into one document. When submitting your application Applied will ask you to upload a CV, when doing this you should upload your merged document of your CV and covering letter.Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that your application would be viewed by different assessors.At sift, through your CV and covering letter we will be assessing:

• Experience
• Technical

Your covering letter should be no more than 800 words referencing how you meet the criteria set out in the person specification.The interview will be of a blended nature consisting of the following success profiles elements:ExperienceTechnicalIn full the campaign will test the below Success Profile Elements:Experience: Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the person specificationTechnical: Technical questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the person specificationWe do not consider direct CV applications – you must apply for this role via the application link on Civil Service Jobs:Please note that near miss offers may be made at the lower grade to candidates who do not meet the grade criteria for this campaign.Grade 7 salary

• The salary for this role is £57,091 – £66,677 (London) or £51,934 – £61,562 (National).
• For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply and is non-negotiable. If you apply for a role that requires a transfer of location, for example if you are transferring from London to a National location, your salary will be adjusted in accordance with our policy on transfer between HQ pay ranges.

Please note that the average employer pension contribution is based upon the National minimum salary for this role. Should your agreed starting salary for this role be different, the average employer pension contribution will be calculated accordingly. If you are a Secondee, this will not apply as you will remain on your home organisation’s terms and conditions.BenefitsTransfers across the Civil Service on or after 4 October 2018:Any move to MHCLG 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 atFor further information about the benefits available to MHCLG employees, please see the attached Candidate Pack.Geographical Location:

• London
• Wolverhampton
• Darlington*
• Bristol
• Leeds
• Manchester
• Birmingham

There may be opportunities for candidates to work flexibly depending on the business needs. This will be discussed with the vacancy manager on a case-by-case basis if you are successful for the role.

Expected salary

£51934 per year

Location

London – Wolverhampton

Job date

Fri, 23 Aug 2024 05:08:19 GMT

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