Senior User Researcher

Job summary

About Government Legal Department

From healthcare to artificial intelligence, energy to national security, we provide legal advice to government departments on nation-changing subjects.

At Government Legal Department we have a vital, single-minded purpose: to help the Government govern well within the rule of law. This is complemented by our exciting vision to be an outstanding legal organisation, committed to the highest standards of service and professionalism and a brilliant place to work where we can all thrive and fulfill our potential.

Our work touches almost every aspect of public life. We are the largest provider of legal services across government, working on high profile matters.

Our respected professionals are involved in everything from regulation and litigation to advice on drafting legislation. They provide expertise to the full range of government departments. We are at the heart of delivering the government’s priorities and our success depends on our people.

GLD is a non-ministerial government department headed by the Treasury Solicitor, our Permanent Secretary, and employs nearly 3000 people, including over 2600 legal professionals. We have offices nationwide, in Bristol, Leeds, inner and outer London and Manchester. Our lawyers can also be located within other departments and overseas.

GLD also depends on a range of cross-government professionals to provide our corporate services. These play an essential part in helping GLD to achieve its purpose and truly deliver much more than law.

This is an exciting time to join GLD, with cutting edge legal work on global issues and a transformation agenda which is ensuring the Department exemplifies the Modern Civil Service.

To find out more about what we do you can view our introductory film here and visit the GLD’s microsite. You can also read more about the future vision for GLD in our GLD Strategy 2024 – 2027.

The Digital, Data and Cyber Team is transforming the way GLD works through modern technology, data and digital services.

We are building a modern digital workplace that empowers our people, strengthens collaboration and enables the organisation to operate efficiently, securely and sustainably.

Through agile delivery and user-centred approaches, we design and deliver products and services in partnership with the people who use them, ensuring solutions meet real needs and deliver lasting value.

As part of the wider Government Digital and Data profession, we play a key role in transforming how government operates, enabling better outcomes for colleagues, stakeholders and the public we serve.

Job description

The Role

This role sits in the Digital Delivery team, which is responsible for the maintenance and continuous improvement of GLD’s existing digital services, and the development of new digital services to support GLD staff working across government.

We are looking for a Senior User Researcher who can plan and lead user research activities for digital products and services at all stages of the product lifecycle.

Key responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Championing user-centred design, embedding research-led thinking and agile practices across teams.
• Driving user research and usability testing to shape and continuously improve products and services.
• Turning complex research into compelling insights that influence decisions and challenge assumptions.
• Collaborating across disciplines to transform evidence into service improvements that deliver real user value.
• Communicating research findings in compelling ways that influence decisions, drive change and improve services.
• Championing inclusive research practices, ensuring services are shaped by users of all abilities and digital confidence levels.
• Embedding ethical research standards that protect and support both participants and researchers.
• Line managing and mentoring junior user researchers, helping them develop their skills, confidence and careers while delivering impactful user-centred research.
• Assuring the quality of research delivered by external suppliers, ensuring best practice and compliance with government standards.

Learn more about what user researchers do in government.

Person specification

Behaviours

Below are details of the Success Profiles that make up this role. Demonstrating all the behaviours listed below is essential at either application or interview. You can read more about Success Profiles here.

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

• Communicating and influencing

Key Skills and Experience

Essential – must be demonstrated at application and interview

• Experience of embedding user research within Agile delivery to inform priorities and continuously improve services.
• You have turned diverse sources of evidence into strategic insights that influence decision-making at every level.
• Experience of helping multidisciplinary teams use research and data to make better decisions and deliver greater impact.
• You will have led inclusive and accessible research practices that ensure all users are represented.
• Experience of setting the standard for ethical, compliant and user-centred research across the organisation. Mentoring researchers, assuring research quality and developing organisational capability.
• You build trusted relationships across senior, operational and technical audiences to drive understanding, alignment and action, translating complex research into compelling narratives that influence priorities, secure buy-in and build consensus.
• Experience of leading the planning, design and delivery of research across complex, high-profile products and services.
• Confidence in selecting and adapting research approaches to suit different delivery stages, user needs and business challenges.
• Experience of embedding user-centred design practices within multidisciplinary teams and keeping user needs at the heart of decision-making, confidently challenging assumptions and shaping decisions through robust research and user insight.

Technical Professional Skills

We’ll be assessing your experience and specialist technical skills against the following skills defined in the User researcher - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework for the Senior User Researcher role.

Essential – must be demonstrated at application and interview

• Agile research practices
• Analysis and synthesis
• Inclusive research
• Research management, leadership and assurance
• Stakeholder relationship management
• User research methods
• User-centred practice and advocacy

Security Clearance Level

All GLD employees must successfully obtain Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) clearance before starting employment.

This role requires Security Check (SC) clearance. You may start employment once BPSS clearance has been completed and while your SC clearance application is being processed; however, obtaining and maintaining SC clearance is a condition of employment. If you are unable to obtain or maintain SC clearance, you may not be able to remain in the role you have been appointed to and this may lead to the termination of your contract or offer of employment.

Current SC clearance requirements typically include a 5-year verifiable UK residency history, with no more than 6 months spent outside the UK in the preceding 12 months. You will be asked to confirm whether you believe you meet these requirements as part of your application. This information will not be used as part of the assessment process.

As security vetting requirements are determined by the relevant vetting authority and may change over time, applicants are encouraged to review the latest UK Security Vetting guidance before applying via United Kingdom Security Vetting: Applicant Guidance.

Sponsorship and Visas

There is the possibility that GLD can provide sponsorship for skilled workers, as long as they meet the full eligibility criteria set down under current immigration legislation. GLD does not guarantee sponsorshipwill be provided or that an applicant will be successful in gaining a skilled worker visa.

Candidates with Limited Leave to Remain can apply but must have at least 12 months remaining on an existing visa which allows them to work for GLD when employment commences. Please allow three months for the onboarding process from the point of offer.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that they meet the criteria for sponsorship. They also have the responsibility to notify the Resourcing Team that they require Sponsorship at the start of the onboarding process into GLD. This applies to existing civil servants as well as external candidates.

Please note for the purposes of sponsorship GLD will use your non-consolidated starting salary. This salary does not include any allowances the role will attract.

Candidates with unlimited leave to remain can apply.

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

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

• Technical professional skills

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,263, Government Legal Department contributes £16,589 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Benefits of working for the Civil Service

Whatever your role, we take your career and development seriously, and want to enable you to build a really successful career with the Department and wider Civil Service. It is crucial that our employees have the right skills to develop their careers and meet the challenges ahead, and you’ll benefit from regular performance and development reviews to ensure this development is ongoing. As a Civil Service employee, you’ll be entitled to a large range of benefits.

Learning and Development at GLD

GLD has a comprehensive learning and development offer for all employees.

We offer a programme of in-person/hybrid and virtual sessions providing learning on profession-specific, soft skills, technical skills, and different topics. We also support colleagues through a range of different professional qualifications.

Cross-Functional Professionals

Alongside this we support all Professions with building their careers and capability aligning with the wider Civil Service offerings for each Profession.

There are also talent and development opportunities offered throughout the year these include:

Senior Leaders and Future Leaders Schemes – cross Civil Service accelerated development schemes.

Beyond Boundaries – cross government development programme designed to help participants develop the knowledge, skills and networks required to build a satisfying and effective career in the Civil Service.

Mentoring and Coaching – we encourage all colleagues to share their knowledge, capability, and experience.

Apprenticeships - We have a range of apprenticeships on offer across all professions with the opportunity for all employees to explore a profession specific apprenticeship to support their development in role.

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, Experience and Technical skills.

Application

To apply for this post you will need to complete the online application on Civil Service Jobs, searching the reference below. The deadline for this application is Monday, 12th October 2026 at 12:00 Midday.

In your application you will be assessed on the following:

• A CVsetting out your career history, with key responsibilities experience and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years, as part of the online application form. The CV will be used to assess key skills and experience as set out in the Person Specification slide.
• A personal statement of no more than 1,000 words, including practical examples, demonstrating how your key skills and experience and technical professional skills meet the requirements of the role.
  

CV Guidance for Candidates

Please find the following guidance on how to populate the three sections of the CV when completing the online application: You will be asked to provide your, employment history, previous skills and experience, and qualifications.

For Employment History – please add your employment history, you can set out the roles you have completed in the past with start to end dates.

For Previous Skills and Experience - please add your experience, skills, achievements, key responsibilities, and any transferable skills you can bring to this role.

Selection Process

After the closing date, the appointing panel shall assess candidates’ suitability for the role based on evidence provided in their application against the technical professional skills and key skills and experience outlined in the person specification.

If there are a large number of applications the panel will conduct a two-part staged sift. The initial sift will be on the CV alone. If you meet the minimum criteria for the CV, your application will then be sifted on the personal statement.

Candidates assessed as not demonstrating the required experience in their CV will not progress to have their Personal Statement assessed; they will be deemed as unsuccessful in the first stage of the two-stage sift. Candidates assessed as demonstrating the required experience in their CV will progress to the second stage of the two-stage sift where their Personal Statement will be assessed.

Candidates assessed as not demonstrating the required experience in their Personal Statement will be deemed as unsuccessful in the second stage of the two-stage sift.

In the eventuality that there are a high number of applicants successful at sift, GLD may operate a longlist, whereby applicants who have been shortlisted and met the minimum pass mark but are not selected for interview will have their application placed on hold. After the initial interview round candidates on the longlist may be offered an interview, should there still be posts available.

Application Errors

Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. We understand mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days (Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we will not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake with your eligibility form, please contact us via: activecampaigns@governmentlegal.gov.uk. Use the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example – ‘Please re-open my application – [insert vacancy ref] & vacancy closing date [insert date]’.

Interview

If you are invited to interview, you will be assessed on your performance in the criteria listed in the Person Specification, alongside scenario and technical based exercises and questions.

These criteria are:

• Behaviour: Communicating and influencing
• Key skills and experience
• Technical professional skills

Presentation

You will also be asked to prepare a 5-minute presentation to be delivered on the day of the interview. The title of the presentation will be provided at least one week prior to interview. This will be assessing technical professional skills and the behaviour of communicating and influencing.

Full details of the interview format will be provided to shortlisted candidates prior to interview.

The timeline later in this pack indicates the date by which decisions are expected to be made, and all shortlisted candidates will be advised of the outcome as soon as possible thereafter.

Your interview will take place online.

Offer and Reserve List

All candidates will be notified of the outcome as soon as possible after the interview. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.

We appoint in strict order of merit. If you meet the minimum criteria for this position but are not successful for a post, you will be placed on the reserve list. We may contact you to see if you are interested in a post at the same, or a lower grade, in GLD should one arise.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) 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.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 : Wendy Eaton
• Email : wendy.eaton@governmentlegal.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : activecampaigns@governmentlegal.gov.uk

Further information

You have the right to complain if you feel there has been a breach of the Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application hasn’t been treated in accordance with these Principles and wish to make a complaint, please contact recruitment_feedback@governmentlegal.gov.uk in the first instance. Please title your email as follows: Job Reference Number – Job Title – Recruitment Complaint. Complaints must be submitted in writing within 30 days of the incident or the decision which has caused the complaint. To fully engage with the issues raised GLD require that you submit evidence of your complaint.

Attachments

481260 - Senior User Researcher Opens in new window (pdf, 643kB)