Job Description
Social Security Scotland's Live Service team is responsible for the maintenance and further development of the live benefit services being delivered to clients. The team is multi-disciplinary and brings together a vast range of skills and expertise to ensure that clients are at the centre of the design and development of all continuous improvement activity.
User researchers undertake research 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. You will contribute to the design of inclusive and accessible services.
A Senior User Researcher is an experienced researcher who can lead research activity on complex services. A senior user researcher can influence and mentor others.
At This Role Level, You Will
1. have responsibility for planning and carrying out user research activities across complex services
2. help set direction and embed good practice within teams
3. be responsible for creating user research documentation, for example ethics documentation
4. align user research activities with wider plans to inform a service proposition
5. identify and share research insights across teams to avoid duplication of research effort
6. supervise and develop other user researchers to assure and improve research practice
7. engage with and contribute to the Scottish Government user research community of practice
Responsibilities
Analysis and synthesis
1. Execute and manage analysis of complex research data
2. Help teams to apply a range of methods to analyse research data and synthesise findings
3. Engage a range of people, including sceptical colleagues, in analysis and synthesis
4. Advise on the choice and application of techniques and can critique findings to assure best practice and maintain research standards
5. Present and document clear findings that colleagues can understand, use, and reuse across the organisation and practice
Inclusive research
1. Help teams understand the diversity of users of government services
2. Champion the inclusion of a diverse range of users in appropriate user research activity to help shape the service design, especially those who face the most barriers or who aren’t currently using the service
3. Develop research that supports delivery of an equitable service
4. Advocate inclusive practices, help teams design, and deliver accessible and equitable services that work for all users
5. Understand the importance of assisted digital and champion the needs of people who are unable to use digital services
User research methods
1. Demonstrate experience in a wide range of user research methods and help teams to adopt them
2. Plan and manage user research for services with challenging user needs and complex user journeys
3. Advise practitioners on the choice and application of research methods to assure best practice
4. Identify and effectively manage participation of teams, stakeholders, and users in research activities
5. Trial new methods or approaches to continue to develop the methodological toolkit
Agile research practices
1. Advocate for agile working
2. Adapt how you design and conduct user research to respond to the complexity of the product environment
3. Understand the strategic decisions the team needs to make so you can design appropriate research
4. Influence decisions about priorities and agile processes in the team
5. Work in agile teams and help them to manage and visualise outcomes, prioritise work, define scope for research to deliver a minimum viable product (MVP) or change
Research management, leadership and assurance
1. Design user research activity that has a clearly defined scope and purpose and aligns to project goals
2. Grow your knowledge of good practice standards for user research
3. Implement legal and ethical research standards and processes and contribute to the creation of relevant documentation
4. Improve your practice through reflection and feedback
5. Contribute to user research strategies and processes, balancing business objectives and needs of users
6. Engage with and contribute to the Scottish Government user research community of practice
Stakeholder relationship management
1. Identify important stakeholders and communicate with them clearly and regularly
2. Tailor communication to stakeholders' needs and work with them to build relationships, while also meeting user needs
3. Build and reach consensus
4. Work to improve stakeholder relationships, using evidence to explain decisions made
5. Design user research activity and communicate findings that balance the needs of the business and user context
6. Design user research to inform evidence-based decision making by producing actionable insights
User-centred practice and advocacy
1. Evaluate and choose approaches for building your team’s understanding of the user
2. Advocate for user-centred design practices with sceptical colleagues and stakeholders
3. Help inexperienced teams to adopt a range of user-centred practices
4. Identify the most important, risks and opportunities for your team’s service development
5. Align user research plans to address team priorities
6. Evaluate user research tools and approaches to achieve research goals, including evaluation and management/overseeing of third-party contracts
Qualifications
Success Profiles
We use an assessment framework called ‘Success Profiles’ which lists the elements we test and provides detailed descriptions of each. Find out more about how we assess the Success Profile elements.
Essential Experience
1. Your experience of leading analysis and synthesis methods allows you to analyse complex data sources and produce robust and actionable research insights that can be used across team.
2. Your experience of leading ethical and inclusive user research activity and including a diverse range of users allows you to advocate for and support the design of inclusive and accessible. services within a team.
Technical Skills
This role is aligned to Senior user researcher within the Digital, Data and Technology Profession. Please review the following to understand the skill expectations - User researcher - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework.
We will assess you against the following technical skills during the selection process:
1. User research methods- (Level: Practitioner)
2. Research management, leadership and assurance - (Level: Practitioner)
3. Stakeholder Relationship Management - (Level: Practitioner)
4. Analysis and synthesis - (Level: Practitioner)
5. Inclusive research - (Level: Practitioner)
Please note that only the following technical skills 1. User research methods and 2. Research management, leadership and assurance will be tested at application stage.
Behaviours
1. Communicating & Influencing (Level 3)
2. Leadership (Level 3)
You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours, here: Success Profiles - Civil Service Behaviours.
How To Apply
Apply online, providing a CV and Supporting Statement (of no more than 750 words) which provides evidence of how you meet the skills, experience and behaviours listed in the Success Profile above.
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the CV and personal statement on Essential Experience.
Candidates who pass the initial sift will have their applications fully assessed.
We will test your behaviours, technical skills and experiences as part of the sift process, and if successful, you will be invited to an assessment and interview where we will test these again. Full details of the selection process will be made available to shortlisted candidates once the sift has been completed.
Candidates selected for interview will be requested to provide a presentation on the technical skills required, details of which, will be shared in advance of the interview.
We aim to provide feedback on request; however, if we receive a large number of applications it may not be possible for us to provide feedback on your application if you are not invited to attend an interview/assessment. We will provide feedback on request to all candidates that attend an interview/assessment.
Information Session
We are holding candidate information sessions for this role to provide you with information about the application and interview process as well as further information on the role and team.
The session will be held on Friday 17th of January at 12-1pm.
Join the meeting now.
Expected Timeline (subject to change)
1. Sifting – w/c 27th January 2025
2. Interviewing – w/c 10th February 2025
3. Location – In Person in either Dundee or Glasgow
Reserve List
In the event that there are more successful candidates than posts available, a reserve list will be kept for up to 12 months.
About Us
Social Security Scotland is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government. Our benefits help people from all walks of life in Scotland. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles.
We are committed to recruiting a diverse workforce that is representative of the clients we serve. Find out more about us here.
We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer.
As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
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.
Working Pattern
Our standard hours are 35 hours per week and we offer a range of flexible working options, depending on the needs of the role. We embrace a hybrid working style where all colleagues will spend time in our Glasgow or Dundee office. There is an expectation of a minimum 2 days per week in your assigned location.
If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us.
Equality Statement
Social Security Scotland are committed to equality and inclusion, and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation.
Social Security Scotland are a Disability Confident Employer. We will consider and implement any reasonable adjustments you may require throughout the recruitment process and during the course of your employment, should you be successful in securing a post. If you feel you may require assistance with any part of our recruitment process, please contact us at recruitment@socialsecurity.gov.scot.
Find out more about our commitment to diversity and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them.
Further information
This post requires the successful candidate to clear additional National Security Vetting clearance before a start date can be offered. Further information regarding National Security Vetting clearance can be found here - United Kingdom Security Vetting: Applicant - GOV.UK.
Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website.
Read our Candidate Guide for further information on our recruitment and application processes.
The successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 3 years unless successful in gaining promotion to a higher Band or Grade.
Social Security Scotland’s recruitment processes are underpinned by the recruitment principles of the Civil Service Commissioner, which outline that selection for appointment be made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.
If you feel at any time your application has not been treated in accordance with the values in the Civil Service Code and/or if you feel the recruitment has been conducted in such a way that conflicts with the Civil Service Commissioner’s Recruitment Principles, you can make a complaint, by contacting Social Security Scotland at recruitment@socialsecurity.gov.scot in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commissioner.
If you experience any difficulties accessing our website or completing the online application form, please contact the Resourcing Team via recruitment@socialsecurity.gov.scot.
Apply Before - Monday 27th January at 23:55.
Contact name - Resourcing Team
Contact email - recruitment@socialsecurity.gov.scot
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