Senior User Researcher

Snr User Researcher | 6 Month Contract | (Inside IR35) | Hybrid, Edinburgh/Glasgow 2 days pw| Starting ASAP

Day Rate: £DOE

About the Role:

Harvey Nash's Pub Sec client require a Senior User Researcher to work on the ongoing Correspondence Management System (CMS) project within the Correspondence Improvement Project (CIP). CIP aims to modernise and improve the way correspondence is managed across the client and partner organisations. A key outcome of this project is to support more consistent processes, improved transparency and reporting, and a more sustainable service model for handling correspondence, including Freedom of Information requests (FOIs), Parliamentary Questions and Ministerial and general correspondence

As a Senior User Researcher, you will undertake work that supports teams to design policy and services, so that we can design services that work well for people and achieve policy intent. You will work with the team to develop a shared understanding of the people who use the service and what they need. You will plan, design, and undertake user research activities and contribute to the design of inclusive and accessible services.

The key duties of the role include:

• Lead the analysis and synthesis of complex research data, applying appropriate methods and assuring research quality and standards.
• Present clear, actionable findings that can be understood, used, and reused across the organisation.
• Champion inclusive, user-centred research, ensuring diverse and underrepresented users are represented in service design.
• Promote accessible and equitable service delivery, including the needs of assisted digital users.
• Plan and deliver user research for complex services, advising on methods and supporting best practice across teams.
• Manage stakeholder, team, and user participation in research activities and evaluate new research approaches to enhance capability.
• Adapt research approaches to agile environments, aligning research activity to strategic priorities, MVPs, and service outcomes.
• Define research scope and objectives to support project goals and informed decision-making.
• Assure compliance with research ethics, safeguarding requirements, and legal standards, maintaining appropriate documentation.
• Develop and maintain user research strategies, processes, and standards that balance user needs and business objectives.
• Contribute to and promote the user research profession and community of practice.
• Build effective stakeholder relationships, communicating evidence-based insights to influence decisions and demonstrate the value of user research.
• Advocate for user-centred design and support teams to adopt user-centred practices and ways of working.
• Identify key risks, opportunities, and priorities for service development, aligning research plans accordingly.
• Evaluate and oversee research tools, approaches, and third-party suppliers to ensure research objectives are achieved.

Essential Skills & Experience:

• Leading analysis and synthesis methods to analyse complex data sources and produce robust and actionable research insights that can be used across teams.
• Leading ethical and inclusive user research activity, including a diverse range of users, to advocate for and support the design of inclusive and accessible services within a team.
• Leading user research activity, ensuring it adheres to legal and organisational standards while aligned to project goals to facilitate evidenced based decision making in a project.
• Persuading and influencing stakeholders and building effective working relationships to communicate clearly and deliver against business and user needs.
• Leading teams to design and deliver a wide range of inclusive user research, using appropriate research methods for different situations and contexts

Desirable Qualifications
Has active BPSS clearance

This role has been deemed Inside IR35 by the client. Applicants must hold, or be happy to apply for, a valid Basic Disclosure Scotland. Please click the link to apply.