Senior User Researcher, NEC Software Solutions
£46-65k
More information about location
Specialist software and outsourcing services
Be an early applicant
Specialist software and outsourcing services
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
£46-65k
More information about location
1001+ employees
Company mission
Building software and services that help keep people safer, healthier and better connected worldwide.
Role
Who you are
- We’re looking for a Senior User Researcher with significant experience in delivering user research projects
- We’re on the hunt for someone who will champion our values: to care passionately, be fluent in people, believe in your craft, push convention, be open to change, and to value each other
- Multidisciplinary teams – Leading and advocating for, the user research activities on a project. Working with the wider team (including Service Design and Digital roles) to deliver insightful project outcomes
- Inclusive research – Conducting user research in an ethical way that ensures the safety of everyone involved. This includes actively identifying accessibility needs of users and being confident in making adjustments for these
- User Research to GDS service standards – planning and conducting research activities across the different agile phases of a project
- Qualitative analysis and synthesis – working with findings from user research to produce representative user journeys, user stories and user needs
- Facilitation – skilled in a variety of sessions, from user interviews and usability testing to co-analysis and co-synthesis sessions; guiding other stakeholders through these, clearly explaining the processes to enable them to engage fully and contribute
- Service Design – you have an interest in the discipline or some experience in service design thinking and outcomes
- Written communication – write and share findings in an engaging and meaningful way to colleagues and stakeholders
- Recommendation & implementation – Work collaboratively with the wider design team, experts and clients to produce clear insights that will enable project teams to make informed design decisions
- Proactive and autonomous – you can lead the conversation, and look for ways to participate and add value
- Stakeholder management – you know how to negotiate and guide clients and stakeholders towards positive outcomes that deliver outcomes within budget
- Managing complexity and ambiguity – UCD projects are complex and messy! You’re up for leaping into the unknown, supporting our team members and clients to navigate the uncertainty that comes with UCD projects
What the job involves
- The focus of your role will be to plan, facilitate and lead user research activities on a variety of projects
- You’ll often be working with multidisciplinary teams on complex projects where autonomy and project management will be important
- We work with a broad range of clients, some of whom are completely new to user-centred design (UCD)
- This means you’ll also play a key role in championing our UCD approach
- Leading and directing projects – You’ll lead multidisciplinary teams and clients in the pursuit of inclusive, accessible and effective research outcomes
- Team support and management – You’ll help to support the user research team by inspiring and line managing team members, including overseeing appraisals and professional development
- Defining and refining practice – You’ll help to define the way our disciplines work together, and progress the way NEC Digital Studio delivers inclusive, accessible, and effective design
- Supporting new business – You’ll help NEC Digital Studio identify and win projects by spotting opportunities with clients and helping with proposals and pitches
- Supporting our Design School with the development and delivery of courses
- How we work:
- We work with central and local government, the NHS, voluntary, not-for-profit, and private sector organisations
- We work hand-in-hand with our clients and sometimes we’re embedded in their teams for projects
- You’ll move on to different sectors after 3 - 12 months because we want you to get a variety of experiences, from applying GDS (government digital service) standards, to improving customer buy-in
- Beyond individual projects, NEC Digital Studio’s User Researchers support each other at weekly meet-ups where we share our work, discuss its wider implications, and learn about methods
- You’ll also broaden your skills by working closely with members of our Digital teams, including interaction and content designers, and developers
- All of our User Researchers are supported by more senior members of the User Research team
- They look after your wellbeing, help you set goals and objectives and provide feedback to help you grow
Application process
- All offers are subject to satisfactory vetting, references and occupational health checks
- Depending on the nature of the role a Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check may also be required
- We receive applicants from multiple different sources - so the application process may vary. Once you have chosen to apply the key things we would like to see in your applications are:
- A CV
- A Cover Letter - tell us why you think you’d a good fit for the role and why you want to work for NEC Digital Studio. Please aim to keep your covering letter to 1000 words
- A presentation of no more than 5 pages on a project or process that you led, which demonstrates your qualification for the role. This could be based on an extract from your portfolio
- The example should frame the context and the challenge, demonstrate how you met that challenge and what the results were. If you are selected for an interview and you will have up to 10 minutes to present it to us
Our take
NEC Software Solutions (formerly Northgate Public Services) is but one branch under the NEC Corporation umbrella. Since its acquisition by NEC Group in 2018 the company has seen substantial growth with NEC's support.
The company’s customer base is rooted in national governments and international health bodies, spanning across police forces, emergency services, local authorities, and housing providers. The company has made numerous strategic partnerships and acquired Vantage Health which has enabled it to better serve communities.
The company is facing challenges as it was ordered by the Competitions and Markets Authority to sell parts of a recent acquisition of Capita Secure Solutions, a software provider for emergency services. This was because the deal meant that ICSS and Duties Software provided by Capita would cost more for publically funded services under NEC. Regardless, NEC Software Solutions’ proven history of success at a global scale and recent start-up investments and partnerships have it well set to remain a leading provider of public sector software and services.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
8% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Company benefits
- Private Medical Healthcare
- Pension Scheme
- Life Assurance
- 25 Days Holiday
- Wellness
- Retail & Lifestyle Discounts
- Flexible Working
- Continued Learning
- CycleScheme
Company HQ
Hemel Hempstead Industrial Estate, London, UK
Leadership
Tina Whitley
(CEO, not founder)Former Executive Director (Government and Housing) for Northgate Public Services. Previous Managing Director (Education and Libraries Software) at Capita Children's Services, and Operations Director EMEA at Convergys.
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