Lead User Researcher

Job summary

Are you looking for an opportunity to combine leadership with continued hands-on user research?

We have an opportunity for you to stay closely connected to user research practice while supporting and guiding your team.

Our User Researchers work in an open, iterative and collaborative way in a multidisciplinary team, and communicate effectively, working closely with our designers, product managers, performance analysts, developers, business analysts and other stakeholders and colleagues.

The User Research team is part of a larger User Centred Design (UCD) team that sits within the Product Design Directorate, alongside the Product Management and Business Analysis teams. The UCD team is a community of 6 teams. There are: Service Design, Interaction Design, Content Design, Accessibility, User Research and Performance Analytics. Each team supports each other to review insights from our performance analytics and user research to understand user needs and co-design user-centred services.

Watch this video to find out more about working in Digital at Companies House

Give yourself the best opportunity to apply!

Join our Outreach team for an informal, drop-in “find out more” session on:

Thursday 9th April 2026 at 12:00pm - 1:00pm

No need to register: just click on the link above to join, listen, and gain tips to help you apply. Cameras and microphones will be switched off.

Can’t make the session, or want something to refer back to? Just email our Outreach mailbox on: outreachinnovationteam@companieshouse.gov.uk and we’ll share a copy of the session slides.

Companies House offers a flexible and welcoming culture that promotes a healthy work life balance as well as a proactive approach to wellbeing that allows us to be our best at work. We recognise that people are the key to our success so offer a fantastic benefits package including flexible working with no core hours, 30 days annual leave, 8 bank holidays and 1 privilege day as well as enrolment into the Civil Service Pension scheme with a contribution rate averaging 28%.

Find out more about what a great place Companies House is to work

Please note:

• Companies House cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign.
• We're able to consider both full-time and part-time hours for this role for the successful candidate (part-time would be a minimum of 30 hours over 4 or 5 days).
• Remote contracts will be considered where commuting to the office location of your team is not reasonably practicable.

Job description

As a Lead User Researcher, you’ll be an expert, hands-on practitioner. You'll lead and assure user research activity across a several teams, as well as carry out user research yourself.You will ensure that work takes a user centred, evidence-based approach to shape product vision, service design and delivery, and influence organisational strategy and priorities.

You will manage, lead, coach and mentor user researchers. Define, embed and assure best practice in user research, and prioritise resources effectively across complex areas of work. You will act as a recognised authority in user research, providing expert advice and assurance, and collaborating with colleagues across government to improve outcomes for users.

At this level you will:

• lead user research across complex programmes of work, using a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods appropriate to different lifecycle phases of agile service design

• manage, mentor and guide more junior user researchers, setting direction and assuring the quality and impact of research undertaken by others - contributing to the strategic development of the user research function.

• engage with programmes and senior stakeholders to understand strategic objectives, organisational priorities and complex user, policy and service problems.

• be a highly effective communicator, able to translate complex research findings into clear, evidence based recommendations that influence decisions at team, programme and organisational level

• act as an expert advocate for user needs, championing user centred and inclusive design and influencing others to adopt best practice

• encourage and embed team involvement throughout the user research lifecycle, including analysis and synthesis, building consensus, challenging assumptions and raising the standard of insight

• collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders across programmes and across government where relevant, to understand user and policy needs and ensure these are translated into services that work for diverse user groups

• play a leading role in ensuring that services meet the Government Service Standard, providing expert assurance throughout the service delivery lifecycle and presenting at, and assessing, service assessments

• contribute to and help lead the user centred design and user research community, including presenting at meetups, writing blogs, sharing best practice, and raising organisational awareness of the value and impact of user research

Person specification

We’re looking for an expert user research practitioner with varied and complex project experience, who meets the technical specifications for a Lead User Researcher as outlined in the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework for User Researcher.

The following skills and experience will be assessed during the selection process:

• Research management, leadership and assurance
  Proven ability to analyse complex user, service and policy problems and align user research activity to support informed decision making and organisational priorities. Experience of defining, embedding and assuring high standards of user research practice, and providing expert guidance and assurance across teams and programmes.

• Research methods and planning
  Extensive experience of selecting, applying and advising on an appropriate range of qualitative and quantitative user research methods across different phases of the agile service lifecycle. A track record of improving, innovating and setting best practice in user research at organisational level.

• Analysis and synthesis
  Strong ability to analyse and synthesise complex qualitative and quantitative data, involving and guiding others through the process, and producing clear, actionable insight that influences decisions at team, programme and organisational level.

• Agile research practices
  Expert level capability in advocating for and embedding user research throughout agile delivery. Experience of shaping and assuring research approaches across multiple teams, ensuring insight is used effectively to inform design, delivery and strategic decisions.

• Inclusive research
  Expert experience of planning and delivering inclusive research that represents the full diversity of users of government services. Ability to set standards, challenge assumptions and ensure teams design services that work for all users, including those with access needs.

• User centred practice and advocacy
  Demonstrated ability to champion user centred design and research, influencing ways of working, priorities and decision making. Experience of advocating for user needs with senior stakeholders and embedding user centred practice at scale.

• Stakeholder relationship management
  Highly developed influencing and negotiation skills, with experience of building strong relationships with senior stakeholders, including sceptical or resistant colleagues, to resolve issues, enable progress and improve outcomes for users.

You can read more about a career in Digital and Data within the Civil Service in the Government Digital and Data Candidate Information Pack.

Please note: We are looking for an experienced Lead User Researcher. Successful candidates who are assessed at the practitioner level will be offered pay within the FN1 page range of £53,540 - £57,250 per year. If a successful candidate is assessed to exceed these expectations and shows confident, expert skills and capabilities, they will be offered a salary in line with the FN2 pay range of £61,834 - £65,136 per year.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions
• Developing Self and Others

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Research Leadership, Methods and Planning at Lead User Researcher level as outlined in the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £53,540, Companies House contributes £15,510 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

We believe that our success is driven by the well-being and satisfaction of our team members at all levels of the organisation. At Companies House we’re committed to providing a comprehensive benefits package that goes beyond the ordinary, ensuring your career journey with us is not only fulfilling, but also rewarding. We pride ourselves on offering a quality work-life balance with our employee wellbeing being central to our working practices.

Head to Our benefits - Working for us - Recruitment (companieshouse.gov.uk) to find out more about the fantastic benefits package we have at Companies House.

We celebrate diversity...

As an equal opportunity employer, we celebrate diversity, being committed to ensuring we’re representative of the citizens we serve and creating an inclusive environment. Everyone in Companies House brings something different, and so will you. To fulfil our commitment to recruiting and attracting diverse talent we welcome applications from underrepresented groups. We also welcome applications from Welsh speakers.

We are proud to be a disability confident leader. Our recruitment process is fully inclusive and we can make adjustments as needed through our process. These could include having an interview buddy, extra time at interviews/assessments and receiving interview questions in advance, to name a few.

If you require any reasonable adjustments at application stage, or if you'd like to discuss any person-centred adjustments, please contact us by emailing recruitmentCH@companieshouse.gov.uk.

Read our 'Applying under the Disability Confidence Scheme (DCS)' guide to find out how to successfully complete an application under the Disability Confidence Scheme (DCS).

Where will you be working?

• We are currently using a hybrid approach to the way we work which provides opportunities for you to be adaptable in the way you work so that you can achieve a healthy balance between your work and home life. The degree of choice you have will depend on your role and your day-to-day work activities.
• Your manager will agree regular patterns of attendance with you; however, you may be required to make yourself available to attend the office more frequently when required to meet business needs.
• The team for this role is based in our Cardiff office, and a hybrid employment contract will be provided as the standard offering. However, remote contracts may be considered as an exception whereby commuting to the office location of your team is not reasonably practicable.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

What will the process look like?

Stage 1 – Sift

An initial sift of applications will be carried out to create a shortlist. This will be based on the evidence provided for the Experience element of Success Profile.

In your application form we’d like you to:

Write a CV: tell us about your employment history, including key responsibilities and achievements.

Write a Personal Statement of 1250 words: tell us, using examples, how you meet the following criteria:

• Research management, leadership and assurance: proven ability to analyse complex user, service and policy problems and align user research activity to support informed decision making and organisational priorities. Experience of defining, embedding and assuring high standards of user research practice, and providing expert guidance and assurance across teams and programmes.
• Research methods and planning: extensive experience of selecting, applying and advising on an appropriate range of qualitative and quantitative user research methods across different phases of the agile service lifecycle. A track record of improving, innovating and setting best practice in user research at organisational level.
• Analysis and synthesis: strong ability to analyse and synthesise complex qualitative and quantitative data, involving and guiding others through the process, and producing clear, actionable insight that influences decisions at team, programme and organisational level.
• Agile research practices: expert level capability in advocating for and embedding user research throughout agile delivery. Experience of shaping and assuring research approaches across multiple teams, ensuring insight is used effectively to inform design, delivery and strategic decisions.
• Inclusive research: expert experience of planning and delivering inclusive research that represents the full diversity of users of government services. Ability to set standards, challenge assumptions and ensure teams design services that work for all users, including those with access needs.
• User centred practice and advocacy: demonstrated ability to champion user centred design and research, influencing ways of working, priorities and decision making. Experience of advocating for user needs with senior stakeholders and embedding user centred practice at scale.
• Stakeholder relationship management: highly developed influencing and negotiation skills, with experience of building strong relationships with senior stakeholders, including sceptical or resistant colleagues, to resolve issues, enable progress and improve outcomes for users.

We'd encourage you to use the full word count, and to give us clear examples and evidence of the different elements of the essential minimum criteria.

We’re committed to being diverse and inclusive, so please make your application anonymous by removing all identifying personal information (such as your name and age) from your personal statement.

Once the advert has closed, we will sift applications - this involves reading through them all, please bear with us as this can take some time.

Please note: In the case of a large number of applications, before conducting a full sift as described above, the panel may conduct a pre-sift assessing all applications against the following Experience: Research management, leadership and assurance: Proven ability to analyse complex user, service and policy problems and align user research activity to support informed decision making and organisational priorities. Experience of defining, embedding and assuring high standards of user research practice, and providing expert guidance and assurance across teams and programmes.

We may raise the score required if we receive a high number of applications. At sift we may choose to take through the highest performing candidates to the next stage. If, after the final stage is completed and roles are unfilled, we will proceed to invite lower scoring candidates to interview.

Stage 2 - Interview

Companies House uses a blended interview technique, allowing us to find out more about you. We use the Success Profile framework and at interview we will use Success Profiles assessing the Behaviours and Technical elements listed in the advert, and Strengths.

Successful candidates from the sift stage will be invited to a virtual interview, which will be conducted using Microsoft Teams.

There will be an activity as part of the interview process. This will be a presentation which will assess the Technical skill: Research Leadership, Methods and Planning. Further details will be sent to candidates who are successful at sift, after they have booked their interview slot.

The lead criteria to distinguish between tied candidates will be: Making Effective Decisions.

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 after the interview you are not found appointable at the advertised grade, you may be offered the lower grade role if you are considered to meet the skills, experience and behaviours for the lower level. The benchmark for appointing to the lower grade is set at the start of each campaign.

All offers will be made in merit order.

Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of recruitment based on fair and open competition with decisions made on the basis of merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.

Dates (dates are indicative only and could be subject to change)

• Webinar: 9th April 2026 12pm - 1pm
• Closing date: 19th April 2026 at 23:55
• Sifting: w/c 20th April 2026
• Interview: from 30th April 2026 onwards

Sponsorship

Companies House cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. Companies House holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles, and this campaign does not qualify. Should you apply for this role and require sponsorship, your application may be rejected, and any provisional offers of employment withdrawn.

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 theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Teodora Arnold
• Email : tarnold@companieshouse.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitmentch@companieshouse.gov.uk

Further information

We welcome applications in Welsh / Rydym yn croesawi ceisiadau yn y Gymraeg. Selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. In accordance with the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles, our recruitment and selection processes are underpinned by the requirement of appointment on the basis of merit by fair and open competition. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact infopoint@companieshouse.gov.uk in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission .

info@csc.gov.uk

Civil Service Commission, Room G/8, 1 Horse Guards Road SW1A 2HQ