Senior User Researcher

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 260520**Salary**:

- £47,500 - £57,900**Job grade**:

- Grade 7**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- OFQUAL - Regulatory and Corporate Services**Type of role**:

- Digital
- Knowledge and Information Management
- Other**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- Coventry, West Midlands (England), CV1 3BHAbout the job

**Job summary**:
Ofqual is the independent qualifications regulator for England. We currently regulate 200+ awarding organisations, and approx. 11,600 certified qualifications. These include GCSEs, AS and A levels, and a broad range of vocational and technical qualifications. Regulating on behalf of students of all ages and apprentices is central to how we fulfil our statutory objectives.

Ofqual is a rewarding, dynamic place to work. We offer employees the opportunity to develop within their role and progress through the organisation via a number of Learning and Development opportunities and activities.

**Job description**:
We're expanding our user centred digital design expertise here at Ofqual by recruiting in our user research and interaction design areas.

The Senior User Researcher will be responsible for making sure we develop digital services that respond to the needs of a diverse range of users and are designed in an accessible and intuitive way that aligns with Government Digital Services (GDS) requirements. Each role will work closely with other Digital, Data and Technology (DDAT) specialists across a range of external and internal projects from Discovery through to release, delivered through an agile approach.

As our Senior User Researcher, you'll be responsible for setting the direction for and championing digital user research within Ofqual, and you'll regularly conduct robust qualitative and quantitative research to identify and articulate the needs of current and potential users.

Duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

- Lead on planning, designing, and undertaking user research activities that establish an accurate understanding of the needs of current and potential users
- Develop both a broad and deep understanding of users, their interests, current experiences and accessibility requirements
- Establish needs of key stakeholders including in other parts of government both now, and in the future
- Synthesise multiple sources of information to set out robust and realistic recommendations for services
- Lead, generate and disseminate produce robust findings of user needs through personas, user journeys, stories and other means
- Present and promote findings within projects, the wider DDaT team, and to other colleagues at all levels of the organisation, contributing to digital service decision making

**Person specification**:
**Qualifications**:

- A degree or experience demonstrating the capabilities associated with a qualification at that level.**Behaviours**:
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

- Changing and Improving
- Making Effective Decisions
- Leadership
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace

**Benefits**:
As a Civil Servant, you will benefit from a leading, modern employment offer which includes flexible working arrangements that support people at different stages in their lives, and pensions among the best available in the UK, as well as generous annual leave entitlements.

Other benefits you can enjoy include:

- Performance Related Pay scheme
- Cycle-to-work scheme
- Regular professional development
- Health and wellbeing initiatives such as mini-medicals, flu vaccinations
- Employee assistance programme and occupational health
- Free eye tests and contribution towards lenses/spectacles for VDU users, if appropriate
- Family friendly policies
- Interest free season ticket loan
- Access to exclusive discounts
- A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity

Things you need to know

**Selection process details**:

- This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.- You will then be asked to provide a personal statement evidencing how you meet the essential criteria shown on the job description.- Ofqual has adopted anonymised recruitment. This means that your name, date of birth and other personal details will not be seen by the sift panel. You’ll be asked to remove all personal details from your CV when you apply. Final panel interviews will be held remotely via Microsoft Teams. Further details will be provided at invite to interview stage.
- One of our resourcing colleagues will be on hand to answer any queries you may have throughout the process.- Reasonable adjustment
- If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.- Feedback