* Please note, you will need to merge your personal statement and CV into one document. When submitting your application Applied will ask you to upload a CV, when doing this you should upload your merged document of your CV and personal statement. If you experience any technical issues, please contact digitaldatajobs@communities.gov.uk.

Here at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), we work on things that make a real difference to people’s lives.    

Whether it's through the homes we live in, the work of our local councils, or the communities we’re all part of, our work is at the top of the political agenda. We have ambitious and far-reaching outcomes to achieve this year and, if you’re thinking of joining us, there’s never been a more exciting time.  

We are looking for two Senior User Researchers to work with policy teams to apply digital, user-centered thinking to big important problems like homelessness, job creation, and getting onto the property ladder. In some cases, we’ll build new digital services – in others we expect to discover from our users that digital isn’t the answer. We build agile, multidisciplinary teams to help us find which is which.

You will work on complex, high profile areas where the thoughtful use of data, combined with user centred design, can unlock new insight, reduce delivery friction, or enable smarter, more proactive policy interventions. Your research will help teams understand how people access, interpret, produce and rely on data, and how their experiences can be improved through clearer journeys, better tools, and more intuitive services.

Find out more about what it's like to work in a digital, data and technology role at MHCLG  including our culture, ways of working, career progression and staff benefits. You can also read the MHCLG Digital blog to learn about the work we're doing.   

Job description

As a Senior User Researcher, you will:

• plan, prepare and carry out a range of user research activities to support the design and improvement of services and data enabled tools 

• lead colleagues to analyse research data and synthesise clear and actionable findings   

• effectively communicate findings to help people understand users and their needs, and influence decision-making 

• work closely with colleagues to turn user research findings into action, including insight that improves how policy colleagues work with data.   

• align user research activities with your team’s goals to inform decision making and action   

• include all kinds of users in research to help teams understand the diversity of users   

• building relationships with sceptical stakeholders and persuading them of the benefits of adopting an evidence-led user-centred approach 

• supervise and develop other user researchers to assure and improve research practice, including approaches that help teams understand data use, interpretation, and decision making behaviours 

• work with minimal support   

Person specification

As a Senior User Researcher you’ll have:

• experience planning, preparing, and carrying out different user research activities with a wide range of methods for services or tools that help users access or make sense of data. 

• the skill to lead colleagues to analyse research data and synthesise clear and actionable findings  

• the competence to align user research activities with your team’s goals to inform decision making and action  

• the expertise of embedding user research as a collaborative practice in teams   

• experience sharing findings widely to help people understand users and their needs, including how users work with data, and respond to insight. 

• the ability to include all kinds of users in research to help teams understand the diversity of users   

• the proficiency of championing users and their experience, especially people with disabilities and people who don’t have access to the internet or lack the skills or confidence to use it   

• experience working in multidisciplinary teams alongside analysts, data specialists and technologists to understand data journeys and support evidence driven policy development

• familiarity with the Government Service Standard and GOV.UK Service Manual, and a solid understanding of how to apply them within user research to ensure services follow good practice. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,167, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £16,271 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

At MHCLG we offer many benefits that range from tailored career pathways and flexible working to MyLifestyle Childcare Voucher and Cycle to Work Schemes. For more information, please click here.

Things you need to know

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

Find out more about our Digital teams and what they are working on through our MHCLG Digital blog.  Please note that MHCLG do not offer visa sponsorship and applicants will need a valid visa for the duration of your employment. 

Application and Selection  The application process will be split into 2 stages, testing the following Success Profiles: 

Behaviours ,  Experience , Technical 

Please ensure your CV does not contain any personally identifiable information. 

Note: We do not consider direct CV applications. All applications must be submitted via the provided application link. 

Important: Your CV and Cover Letter must be merged into a single document before uploading. 

Stage 1: Sift (CV & Cover Letter) 

Experience & Technical: 

In your CV and covering letter, please include:    a. why you are interested in the role;   b. how you meet the essential skills and experience required 

Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that each of your answers would be viewed by different assessors.  

Stage 2: Interview    

• Behaviours: Communicating and Influencing, Working Together

• Experience: Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description. 

• Technical: Technical questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.  

Candidates will be asked to prepare a presentation, further details will be provided on invitation to interview. 

Sift and Interview Dates 

Sifting is envisaged to take place the week commencing Tuesday 7th April 2026. 

Interviews are currently being held remotely via videocall. This could be subject to change. 

How We Recruit 

Find out everything you need to know before applying here.. 

• Applying 

• Sifting 

• Interview 

• Interview Results & Feedback 

• Reserve List 

• Near Miss 

• Civil Service Grades 

• We are a DCS, RIS & GPTWV employer 

• Reasonable Adjustments 

How to Apply 

What you need to know before applying. 

Here’s a link to the MHCLG Digital blog   

You must review the following information from the MHCLG Career's Site before submitting your application. This step is essential to ensure your eligibility for the role and that your application is completed correctly. 

• Security Clearance Requirements 

• Civil Service Nationality Requirements 

• Right to Work 

• Artificial Intelligence 

• Civil Service Code and Recruitment Principles 

• CV Declaration 

• Sponsorships 

• Salary and Grade 

• Existing Civil Servants 

• Conflict of Interest 

• Location and Flexible Working 

• Fixed Term Contracts 

• Internal Fraud Database - Internal Fraud Register 

• Appeals and Complaints 

• Conflict of Interest 

Security Clearance Requirements 

National Office: BPSS  

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

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

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)

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.

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