Social Security Scotland, an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government, is the largest and most complex IT and digital change programme since devolution. With a lifetime budget of over £300m, delivering a social security system that will support the people of Scotland for decades to come. Due to the demands of this exciting programme of work, the Agency is currently experiencing rapid growth and we require more incredible digital, security and technology experts to join us, including Junior User Researchers.
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.
At this role level, you will:
- 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.
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.
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.
Technical skills
This role is aligned to Junior User Researcher within the User-Centred Design job family. Please review the following to understand the skill expectations User researcher - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework
1. Stakeholder relationship management - (Level: Awareness)
2. Inclusive research - (Level: Awareness)
3. User research methods - (Level: Working)
4. Analysis and synthesis - (Level: Working)
5 .Research management, leadership and assurance - (Level: Awareness)
Essential Experience
1. Your experience of using analysis and synthesis methods allows you to produce robust and actionable research insights that can be shared with your team/colleagues.
2. Your experience of contributing to ethical research activity and including a diverse range of users within research allows you to contribute to the design of inclusive and accessible products or services.
Behaviours
• Communicating & Influencing (Level 2)
• Changing and Improving (Level 2)
You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours, here: Success Profiles - Civil Service Behaviours (publishing.service.gov.uk)
