We are hiring for Senior User Researchers at Defra. In this post, Lead User Researcher Robin Hancock shares what the new roles will be like and how to apply.
Part of our work is to help make farming more sustainable. Image credit: Luke Thornton on Unsplash.
User research at Defra
User research sits within Defra’s Digital Data and Technology Services (DDTS), and serves an important function to make sure that our products and services are easy to use.
User researchers work with users to help teams get a deep understanding of the people that use our services. This informs many different teams, from policy to services, content to interaction design, so services work well for users and achieve policy intent.
You can read more about user research at Defra and what it’s like to work here in a previous blogpost.
We currently have over 60 user researchers at Defra, who work across teams and programmes.
What you’ll be working on
As Senior User Researcher, you will be working on a variety of projects at Defra, including our Future Farming programme.
Defra works across lots of different areas, from managing and supporting the victims of flooding to increasing biodiversity, reforming packaging, to animal and plant health. We also work to make farming more sustainable and improve water and air quality.
The Future Farming programme is currently one of Defra’s biggest pieces of work. We are pioneering a co-design approach within government to ensure that the voices of farmers and the public are heard and can help shape policy. Some of the projects include helping farmers to protect the environment, both on their farms and at a regional level. Other projects include nutrient management and funding new innovation in farming.
Day to day, you’ll be carrying out research and collaborating with team members. You will also be mentoring and line managing other staff.
Who we are looking for
We are looking for Senior User Researchers who have experience planning and leading user research activities in large teams running complex services. We are looking for people who will champion user research across the team and the programme.
Successful candidates will be comfortable helping new teams become user centric while also aligning research with the bigger picture across the programme. They may also supervise and develop other user researchers to assure and improve their research practice.
Find out more and apply
If you want to make a positive difference to the environment and climate change, and believe you are right for the role, we would love to hear from you.
If you have any questions or want to find out more, we are hosting a live Q&A on Wednesday, 11 May from 12:30 to 14:00 BST.
Apply to be Senior User Researcher at Defra by 11:55 pm on Wednesday 18 May 2022.
If you want advice on how to apply for Civil Service jobs, read DWP Digital Careers top tips for applying using Success Profiles.
Robin Hancock is Lead User Researcher on the Future Farming Programme at Defra.
