Unity Programme - User Researcher

Discover a career in your hands at HMRC. Whether you're seeking purpose, growth, or a workplace that gives you a true sense of belonging, hear from some of our employees as they share their story about what it’s really like to work at HMRC. Visit our YouTube channel to watch the full series and come and discover your potential. At HMRC, we are committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues; an inclusive and respectful environment that reflects the diversity of the society we serve. We want to maximise the potential of everyone who works for us, and we offer a range of flexible working patterns and support to make an exciting career at HMRC accessible to you. Diverse perspectives and experiences are critical to our success, and we encourage applications from all people from all backgrounds with the experience and skills needed to perform this role. About The Unity Programme This is a fantastic opportunity to join the major cross government Unity Programme which will bring together Shared Services for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), Department for Transport (DFT) and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). The programme aims to deliver the tools in Human Resources (HR), Finance, Payroll, and Procurement to enable the user to complete administration tasks, whether Finance, HR, or Procurement quickly and with minimal effort by modernising our IT Platform, bringing together our shared services teams, standardising our data and cutting through processes that cost our departments time and money. Occasional travel to other sites will be required., As a User Researcher, responsibilities include: • Lead on planning, recruiting and conducting user research for service teams , including playing back user research to stakeholders and digital teams • Understanding the service problem then aligning user research activities to influence and support decision making. • Applying a range of techniques to analyse and synthesise user research insights, creating research outputs in an actionable way. • Advocate for, and include, all kinds of users in appropriate research activities to help teams design accessible services for all users. • Engage in a community of user researchers, contributing to areas of development. • Manage and/or mentor Junior User Researchers. • Participate in HMRC’s cross-government research and conferences., + A 500-word personal statement, which will outline how you are suitable for this role and how you meet the essential criteria, providing evidence where possible. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. We acknowledge that AI can assist you in your application. Find our guidelines here. Sift In the event of a large number of applications being received, an initial sift may be held on your CV, in order to determine your experience.. At full sift your CV and your personal statement will be assessed, with the successful candidates being invited to interview. We may also raise the score required at any stage of the process if we receive a high number of applications. Interview During the panel interview, your experience will be assessed, as well as Technical skills questions which demonstrate the things you do well and/or are motivated by. We will ask you to complete a short user research exercise before the interview. Details will be provided 2 working days before before the interview if you are successful to this stage. Interviews will take place via video link. Sift and interview dates to be confirmed. Eligibility Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. We understand mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days (Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we will not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake with your eligibility form, please contact us via: unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk – Use the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example – ‘Please re-open my application – [insert vacancy ref] & vacancy closing date [insert date]’. To check that you are eligible to apply for this role, please review the eligibility information before submitting your application. Reserve List A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles – if this applies to you, we’ll let you know via your Civil Service Jobs account. Criminal Record Check Applications received from candidates with a criminal record are considered fairly in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice and the Recruitment of ex-offenders Policy. Merit List After interview, a single merit list will be created, and you will only be considered for posts in locations you have expressed a preference for. Appointments will be made in strict merit order in line with the set number of roles in each location. Reasonable Adjustments We want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: + Contact the UBS Recruitment team via unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional. Important information for existing HMRC contractual homeworkers: This role may be suitable for existing HMRC employees who are contractual homeworkers. Occasional attendance to the office will be required where there is a business need. Please consider the advertised office locations for this role when applying and only select locations from the ‘location preferences’ section that you can travel to. Terms and Conditions Customer facing roles in HMRC require the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English and/or Welsh where required. Where this is an essential requirement, this will be tested as part of the selection process. HMRC has a presence in every region of the UK. For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations. The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences. Any instances of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be investigated and, if proven, the relevant application(s) will be withdrawn from the process. Recording of interviews is prohibited unless explicit agreement is sought in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulations. Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed as detailed later in this advert. Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. New entrants will join on the minimum of the pay band. Please note that, if you are applying for roles on a part-time basis, the salary agreed will be pro-rata, reflective of the working hours agreed within your contract. If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.Nationality requirements This job is broadly open to the following groups: + UK nationals + nationals of the Republic of Ireland + nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK + nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) + nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) + individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 + Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window)., Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel there has been a breach of the Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly via ubsrecruitmentcomplaints@hmrc.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their website.

You will already have experience and understanding of: • The ability to understand what problem your team is trying to solve and align qualitative and quantitative user research activities to inform decision making and action. • Robust research and analysis skills. Using a range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies including ethnographic techniques, usability testing, remote testing, and survey design. • The ability to design and plan research projects for digital services, including the recruitment of research participants and utilising various channels and avenues for participant recruitment. • Analysing and synthesising user research data to generate actionable recommendations. • A good understanding of the diversity of users of government services, and the ability to include many kinds of users in appropriate research activities. • Producing appropriate research outputs to demonstrate insights and recommendations. Presenting clear findings that colleagues can understand and use. • Advocating for the value of user research and engaging sceptical stakeholders. • A degree in psychology, cognitive science, human factors, computer science, product/interaction design, human computer interaction or related disciplines or relevant user research experience. Desirable Criteria Ideally you will also have knowledge and experience of: • Working with the Service Manual and/or GOV.UK standards and working practices. • Experience of running inclusive research including with those with barriers to access, accessibility needs and hard-to-reach users. • An understanding of agile approaches and experience of working in agile teams. • Some knowledge of current technologies used to build and operate digital services, and the different technical roles in a digital team.Technical skills We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process: + We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Research Skills Analysis and Synthesis Strategic Insight, Combined TC and OGD Pay - English - July 2024 Opens in new window (docx, 132kB)
  
  HMRC is currently undertaking some of the largest digital transformation programmes across Government and other sectors. Our user researchers are at the core of keeping user needs central to design and implementation, providing an opportunity to shape and improve Services that impact millions of users daily.
You will be joining a thriving and supportive User Researcher community, with regular opportunities for insight sharing, training and discussion. Our team draws together expertise from a wide variety of backgrounds and sectors, and welcomes new ideas on how we can continue to conduct robust research with real-world impact. You will be based at one of our CDIO Centres across the UK with access to research labs and facilities. This is an exciting time to join an organisation that is at the forefront of cutting edge user research. Our blog tells you a bit more about what we do and how we do it. https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/hmrc-workingincdio/ If this sounds like the sort of thing which excites you, these are the jobs for you. If you want to know more we will be running two interactive webinar events, we’ll chat to you about what we do and give you a chance to ask us any questions before you apply – see more details below.

Alongside your salary of £44,110, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £12,778 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. HMRC operates both Flexible and Hybrid Working policies, allowing you to balance your work and personal commitments. We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible, considering our operational and customer service needs. We offer a generous leave allowance, starting at 25 days and increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days. + Pension - We make contributions to our colleagues’ Alpha pension equal to at least 28.97% of their salary. + Family friendly policies. + Personal support. + Coaching and development. To find out more about HMRC benefits and find out what it’s really like to work for HMRC hear from our insiders or visit Thinking of joining the Civil Service.