Senior User Researcher

Job summary

Can you lead, plan, design, and deliver impactful user research activities within an Agile environment, ensuring insights are embedded throughout the product lifecycle?

Have you analysed both qualitative and quantitative research data to create clear user experience artefacts, recommendations, and actionable insights that influence decision-making?

Are you passionate about user-centred design and committed to conducting inclusive research that ensures products and services are accessible and effective for diverse user groups?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

The MCA Digital and Technology function delivers world-class services through technology innovation, strategic transformation, and customer-focused solutions. The Digital and AI team leads the Agency's digital, AI, and innovation strategies, while the User-Centred Design team ensures services are designed around user needs and business objectives. Through expert user research and service design practices, they help create accessible, effective, and user-focused digital services that support the MCA's mission and deliver meaningful outcomes.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at MCA:

MCA roles: MCA Homepage , Civil Service Careers

Job description

The Senior User Researcher leads the planning, design, and delivery of user research to understand user needs, shape services, and inform policy, strategy, and product development. Working within multidisciplinary teams, they champion the voice of the user, ensuring services are accessible, intuitive, and aligned with GDS standards. They manage supplier research outputs, influence decision-making through evidence-based insights, and help deliver inclusive digital services that meet both user and business needs.

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

1. Responsible for leading user research that helps shape digital experiences across complex service areas.
2. Generate insights gained from research into formulas to increase the understanding of user needs by developing user personas, journey maps, stories and other artifacts.
3. Understand and engage with end users and target audiences to gather information about their needs and how they interact with products and services, to discover what requires research, design, usability testing and continuous improvement.
4. Evaluate qualitative and quantitative research to uncover user needs and behaviours.
5. Confidently present and promote findings to set out robust and actionable recommendations for services.
6. Leading on the user research component in GDS assessments.
7. Ensures research includes a diverse range of users with access needs and low digital skills to deliver accessible and inclusive digital services.
8. Develops and manages effective relationships with stakeholders.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Person specification

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

1. Previous experience of leading, planning, designing, and conducting appropriate user research in an AGILE project environment
2. Experience in analysing both quantitative and qualitative data to produce user experience artifacts
3. Strong understanding of user-centred practices
4. Awareness of the importance of inclusive research

Additional Information

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 30 hours per week.

This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.

The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location/visiting stakeholders. Your designated workplace will be your contractual place of work. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.

Occasional travel to other offices will be required, which may involve overnight stays.

If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).

Visa Sponsorship

Please note that we will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. Therefore, this role is not open to applications from those who require sponsorship – candidates must ensure they have the appropriate right to work in the UK before applying. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

Behaviours

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

• Changing and Improving
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture

Technical skills

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

• Agile Research Practices (Practitioner Level)
• Analysis and Synthesis (Practitioner Level)
• Inclusive Research (Practitioner Level)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,241, Maritime and Coastguard Agency contributes £12,816 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).

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maxi