User Researcher (Ref: 13744)

Job summary

This position is based Nationally

Job description

User Researcher

Location: National*

Closing Date: 28th January 2026

Interviews: expected 11th February onwards

Grade: SEO

(MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain this grade on lateral transfer)

Salary: National: £42,914 - £46,182

London: £49,325 - £53,081

*please read the T&Cs at the bottom of the page, for more information

Working pattern: full time, part-time, flexible working

Contract Type: Permanent

Vacancy number: 13744

*We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your local office. Office locations can be found ON THIS MAP

The Role

We’re recruiting for User Researchers here at Justice Digital to be part of our warm and collaborative product teams, in the following area:

• Legal Aid Agency (LAA)

This role aligns against User Researcher from the Government Digital and Data Framework

We’re looking for User Researchers who want to make a difference by working on public services that really matter.

You’ll be welcomed into a thriving user research community and into multidisciplinary teams, alongside designers, business analysts, product managers, delivery managers and developers all working together to deliver world-class, user-centred services.

We are currently experimenting with different delivery models, so some of the time you might find yourself embedded full time on a product team, and at other times you might be providing research support to a couple of product teams in parallel. You may be working alongside other researchers, or as a single researcher in a team. We are therefore looking for researchers who have pragmatic, flexible ways of working.

To help picture your life at MoJ Justice Digital please take a look at our blog and our Digital and Technology strategy 2025

Key Responsibilities:

• Plan, conduct, analyse and communicate research

• Ensure the inclusion of different types of users in research activities

• Effectively communicate research findings within project teams, and share findings with other relevant stakeholders

• Work closely with product managers, designers and developers to turn user research findings into actions that lead to valuable product and service designs

• Contribute to building our user research and user centred design community, by developing our practice and ways of working.

If this feels like an exciting challenge, something you are enthusiastic about, and you want to join our team, please read on and apply!

Benefits

• 37 hours per week and flexible working options including working from home, working part-time, job sharing, or working compressed hours.

• A £1k per person learning budget is in place to support all our people, with access to best in class conferences and seminars, accreditation with professional bodies, fully funded vocational programmes and e-learning platforms

• Staff have 10% time to dedicate to develop & grow

• Generous civil service pension based on defined benefit scheme, with employer contributions of 28.97% from April 1st 2024 (Contribution Rates)

• 25 days leave (plus bank holidays) and 1 privilege day usually taken around the Kings’ birthday. 5 additional days of leave once you have reached 5 years of service.

• Compassionate maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave policies, with up to 26 weeks leave at full pay, 13 weeks with partial pay, and 13 weeks further leave. And maternity support/paternity leave at full pay for 2 weeks, too!

• Wellbeing support including access to the Calm app.

• Bike loans up to £2500 and secure bike parking (subject to availability and location)

• Season ticket loans, childcare vouchers and eye-care vouchers.

• 5 days volunteering paid leave.

• Free membership to BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT.

• Some offices may have a subsidised onsite Gym.

Person Specification

Essential

• Using research methods, primarily qualitative but ideally with some quantitative experience, and being able to select the right research method for the problem that needs to be solved

• Being an advocate for users, encouraging teams to engage with research insights to help them make evidence-based decisions.

• Ensuring research and insights support the iterative development of a service/product

• Including different kinds of users in appropriate research activities, and knowing how to run inclusive and ethical research

• Building effective working relationships with a team and stakeholders

• Managing personal data, including following security and consent processes

Willingness to be assessed against the requirements for SC clearance

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

How to Apply

Candidates must complete the full application form, and include CV and a statement of suitability (750 words max), which describes how you meet the requirements set out below, from the essential criteria:

The statement of suitability should outline your experience and suitability, in no more than 250 words per section, against the following 3 criteria (750 words max). We recommend, clearly outlining each 3 sections and answers, in separate paragraphs within the statement.

• Using research methods, primarily qualitative but ideally with some quantitative experience, and being able to select the right research method for the problem that needs to be solved

• Ensuring research and insights support the iterative development of a service/product

• Including different kinds of users in appropriate research activities, and knowing how to run inclusive and ethical research

**Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on ‘User research methods’ will be conducted prior to the sift.

Application Guidance

Please access the following link for guidance on how to apply and how to complete a Personal Statement

Application Guidance

In Justice Digital, we recruit using a combination of the Government Digital and Data Profession CapabilityandSuccess Profiles Frameworks. We will assess your Experience, Technical Skills and the following Behaviours during the assessment process:

• Changing and improving

• Communicating and influencing

• Working together

• Managing a quality service

• Delivering at pace

A diverse panel will review your application against the Person Specification above.

Successful candidates who meet the required standard will then be invited to a 1-hour panel interview held via video conference, which will include a user research task, given in advance of the interview.

Should you be unsuccessful in the role that you have applied for but demonstrate the capability for a role at a lower level, we reserve the right to discuss this opportunity with you and offer you the position without needing a further application.

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, from which further appointments may be made.

Use of 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 for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Terms & Conditions

Please review our Terms and Conditions which set out how we recruit and provide further information related to the role and salary arrangements.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact digitalanddatarecruitment@justice.gov.uk

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,914, Ministry of Justice contributes £12,432 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Access to learning and development
• A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
• A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• Annual Leave
• Public Holidays
• Season Ticket Advance

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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

Candidates must complete the full application form, and include CV and a statement of suitability (750 words max), which describes how you meet the requirements set out below, from the essential criteria:

The statement of suitability should outline your experience and suitability, in no more than 250 words per section, against the following 3 criteria (750 words max). We recommend, clearly outlining each 3 sections and answers, in separate paragraphs within the statement.

• Using research methods, primarily qualitative but ideally with some quantitative experience, and being able to select the right research method for the problem that needs to be solved

• Ensuring research and insights support the iterative development of a service/product

• Including different kinds of users in appropriate research activities, and knowing how to run inclusive and ethical research

**Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on ‘User research methods’ will be conducted prior to the sift.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).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.

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

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 : SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team
• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk
• Telephone : 0345 241 5359

Recruitment team

• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles and would like to raise this, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) in the first instance. If the role has been advertised externally (outside of the Civil Service) and you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitm…

https://www.jobtrain.co.uk/justicedigital/Job/JobDetail?jobid=939

Attachments

Copy of UR- mid- Jan 2026 (1) Opens in new window (docx, 42kB)