Junior User Researcher

Contribute to the planning and delivery of user research activities (for example, recruit research participants and create research documentation).

Work independently after being given direction by more senior researchers.
Independently identify user pain points and needs.

Develop awareness of ethical and legal user research.

Develop awareness of how to make services accessible and inclusive.

Engage with and contribute to the Scottish Government user research community of practice.

DDaT Pay Supplement
This post attracts a £5000 Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) pay supplement after a 3 months DDaT competency qualifying period. The payment will be backdated to your start date in the role. Pay supplements are temporary payments designed to address recruitment and retention issues caused by market pressures and are subject to regular review. This post is part of the Scottish Government DDaT profession. As a member of the profession you will join the professional development system, currently BCS Role Mode plus.

Responsibilities

Analysis and Synthesis:
- Understand different research analysis and synthesis methods and how to apply them correctly.
- Undertake analysis of small projects with supervision as needed, to identify themes and produce clear findings.
- Involve your team in analysis and synthesis as appropriate.
- Present and document findings appropriately so that colleagues can understand and use them.

Inclusive Research:
- Broadly explain to others why government services need to be usable and accessible for everyone and describe the diversity of people who use government services.
- Explain to others why many kinds of users need to be included in user research activities.
- Learn from the team how to design inclusive research.

User Research Methods:
- Plan and conduct a user research project with support as needed.
- Understand when to use different user research methods and how to apply them correctly.
- Effectively manage the participation of teams, stakeholders, and users in research activities.

Agile Research Practices:
- Be aware of and describe agile methodology and the roles in a multi-disciplinary team.
- Learn how to work in agile teams and take a flexible approach to research design to enable rapid delivery.

Research Management, Leadership and Assurance:
- Explain the importance of working to a user research plan and of following standards for user research.
- Input to the planning of user research activity that balances the needs of the business and user context. So that decision making, and action are informed, and evidence based.
- Engage with and contribute to the Scottish Government user research community of practice.

Stakeholder Relationship Management:
- Describe who your stakeholders are, what evidence is relevant to them and the importance of managing relationships with them.
- Engage with and build relationships with key stakeholders within your team.
- Contribute to the design of user research to inform evidence-based decision making.

User-centred Practice and Advocacy:
- Describe how government services and technology impacts user behaviour.
- Explain how user-centred practices are used to build services that adapt to changing user behaviour and needs.
- Understand the internet and the range of available technology choices, including assistive technology.

A Junior User Researcher has relevant work experience or a degree in a relevant subject. You will need to understand how a service works, and champion people's needs.

A relevant degree and experience in a role titled 'user researcher' isn't a requirement. What's important is you have experience understanding how a service works to meet people's needs.