Lead User Researcher

On behalf of the Intellectual Property Office, we are looking for a Lead User Researcher (Inside IR35) for a 13 Month contract based REMOTELY with occasional visits to Newport.

Note: SC Clearance is an essential requirement for this role, as a minimum you must be willing & eligible to undergo checks. Please note, due to the exceptional requirements of this position, (and speed at which we require a postholder in situ), preference may be given to candidates who meet all of the essential criteria and hold active security clearance

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is the official UK government body responsible for intellectual property (IP) rights including patents, designs, trademarks and copyright. Our ambition is to be the best IP office, and we intend to achieve this by:
. Delivering excellent IP services
. Creating a world leading IP environment
. Making the IPO a brilliant place to work

Key Tasks and Deliverables

At the IPO, as a Lead User Researcher, you will be a senior member of the user research team, working at the forefront of our digital Transformation program. You will work to deliver radical changes to our services that meet the needs of our customers and our colleagues.

You will be an experienced practitioner who is able to plan, lead and execute user research activities in larger teams and on more complex services.

Our programme of work includes a number of projects that we are delivering in accordance with the Government Digital Services/CDDO project approach. You will be familiar with this method and have a clear understanding of and experience in associated agile delivery methods.

You will apply this understanding to your User Research activity, working collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams, leading and executing research that supports the design and build of products and services which meet our customers' needs.

You will be joining a well-established, inclusive, and close-knit team of professionals who are passionate about improving the experiences of our users.

Core deliverables include
. Prioritised backlog of user needs
. Comprehensive user research plan, by sprint aligned to the product roadmap.
. Maintenance and iteration of existing customer archetypes
. Planning and delivery of user research via mixed methods, utilising IPO approved software (UserZoom, MS Teams, Questback, MS Forms)
. Playbacks and detailed insights reports (in IPO approved software (Miro, MS PowerPoint) for each round of research

Experience/Qualifications required.

At this level, you will be expected to:
. Lead, plan, and deliver user research to support your allocated project(s)
. Collaborate across workstreams to ensure consistency in approach and facilitate the efficient sharing of findings.
. Support the projects to continuously improve and build their user-centred practices to ensure that teams take a user-centred, evidence-based approach to service design and delivery.
. Align user research activities with wider plans to inform a service proposition.
. Supervise and develop other user researchers to assure and improve research practice.
. Lead user research planning - define research objectives, methodology, sampling approach and give authoritative recommendations, ensuring that the needs of all users are considered in design and delivery.
. Apply a range of user research methods in practise and support and advise colleagues on choice of methods.
. Lead the development and promotion of research strategies to understand user needs for a service, and continually test and improve the service.
. Present findings that inform wider decisions to key internal and external stakeholders and at government service assessments
. Build, maintain and grow relationships with a range of customers and stakeholders, promoting user centred design principles and best practice within IPO.
. Liaise with other government user research departments to share and develop knowledge.

Essential Criteria
. Experience of working as a lead user researcher in a multi-disciplinary team environment
. Experience of delivery of user research in change projects and ensuring service development is user-centred
. Experience of delivering against user needs and user research elements at CDDO Service Assessments

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.