Job summary

Here at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and 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 a 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 have circa 3,500 staff who are based in 20 offices across the UK.

We are recruiting into our Homes for Ukraine team who are supporting a new caseworking system that helps local authorities support people fleeing the war in Ukraine; our Data Analytics Platform - used by our analysts to help inform government policy; and our Elections Directorate who are implementing the government’s elections strategy, including introduction of votes for 16 and 17-year-olds, improvements to voter registration and changes to voter identification.

Our User Researchers plan, design and carry out research activities with real users. Our research helps teams get a deep understanding of the people that use government services and of colleagues who use different systems and tools to deliver services. Your research will inform our policy, services, content, and interaction design so that services work well for users and do what they are supposed to.

Job description

As a User Researcher you’ll;

• Work independently to plan, design and prepare a range of user research activities to support the design, development and continuous improvement of our services

• Conduct user research using a range of research methods, selecting the appropriate method, both qualitative and quantitative, depending on the requirements of the work you're doing

• Analyse research data and identify actionable findings and outcomes, which you’ll communicate with the digital and policy people you work with

• Share research through a combination of presentations at show and tells, stand-ups and wider team meetings, designing and maintaining research outputs on the team wall and creating formal reports

• Establish collaborative working practices with disciplines including Content Designers, Interaction Designers, Product Managers, and Developers, turning your user research findings into stories and actions that lead to valuable service improvements and solutions

Person specification

As a User Researcher you'll have:

• Experience of working as a user researcher in an agile team

• Demonstrable skills in a range of user research methods, techniques for analysis of research data, synthesis of findings and presentation of clear findings that are usable

• A demonstrable track record of placing the user at the centre of design and delivery

• The ability to build and reach consensus with stakeholders and team members of other disciplines

• Strong communication skills

• An understanding of how user research can support accessibility and inclusivity

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,590, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £12,917 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• 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%

Things you need to know

Selection process details

MHCLG want to bring in a diverse workforce at all levels.

Our application system is designed to remove as much bias as possible from the recruitment system – this means that a hiring manager does not know your name, your details, see your whole application in one go (or have your CV at review stage unless stated otherwise).

Your answers are randomised and chunked up. This means that each assessor views sets of responses to the question for example all candidates’ responses to ‘Seeing the Big Picture’ rather than seeing a candidate’s full application. The science behind this is that recruitment can be subject to ordering and fatigue effects and we want to reduce this as much as possible.

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

When writing your application, remember:

• The assessor won’t be reading your application sequentially.

• Do not assume that the same assessors will have read all of your application.

• If talking about something in your question answer, make sure that you write your CV as if you had not written the first (and so on!)

CV Declaration

We recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - this is called anonymous recruitment.

Please remove references to your:

• name/title

• educational institutions

• age

• gender

• email address

• postal address

• phone number

• nationality/immigration status

When submitting your application Applied will ask you to upload a CV, when doing this you should upload your merged document of your CV.

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

In the event that we receive a large number of applications, we may conduct an initial sift using the lead sift question listed in the advert. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to interview.

Lead Sift Question (Technical): Please provide an example of a time you worked as a user researcher in an agile team. Please include how you recruited users, what research methods you used and why, and what was the result of your research. 

At sift, through your CV we will be assessing:

Experience

Technical

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

The interview will be of a blended nature consisting of the following success profiles elements:

Behaviours ("Changing and Improving", "Working Together")

Technical

Strength

The strength based questions will require natural responses from the candidates.

In full the campaign will test the below Success Profile Elements:

Experience: Yes - Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the person specification

Technical: Yes – Technical questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the person specification

Behaviours: ("Changing and Improving", "Working Together")

Strengths: (Yes)

We do not consider direct CV applications – you must apply for this role via the application link on Civil Service Jobs:

Please note that near miss offers may be made at the lower grade to candidates who do not meet the grade criteria for this campaign.

SEO salary

• The salary for this role is £44,319 - £51,888 (London) or £40,669 - £48,509 (National). 

• For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply and is non-negotiable. If you apply for a role that requires a transfer of location, for example if you are transferring from London to a National location, your salary will be adjusted in accordance with our policy on transfer between HQ pay ranges. 

  Please note that the average employer pension contribution is based upon the National minimum salary for this role. Should your agreed starting salary for this role be different, the average employer pension contribution will be calculated accordingly. If you are a Secondee, this will not apply as you will remain on your home organisation’s terms and conditions.   

Benefits

Transfers across the Civil Service on or after 4 October 2018:

Any move to MHCLG from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.

For further information about the benefits available to MHCLG employees, please see the attached Candidate Pack.

Geographical Location:

• Bristol

• Manchester

• Wolverhampton

• Darlington*

There may be opportunities for candidates to work flexibly depending on the business needs. This will be discussed with the vacancy manager on a case-by-case basis if you are successful for the role.

*Please note: The Darlington Economic Campus is a pioneering new cross-government hub which will bring together people across departments and public organisations to play an active role in the most important economic issues of the day. The work of the Campus will make a real difference to people both across the UK and internationally. There will be substantial career opportunities and exciting prospects - a career at the Campus means you will be working at the heart of Government, with access to the benefits and fantastic opportunities offered by the civil service.  This role is based at MHCLG and we will be joined on the campus by:

• HM Treasury

• Department for International Trade

• Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

• Office for National Statistics

• Department for Education

For further information on the DEC, please take a look at the attached DEC candidate pack.

Sift and Interview dates

Sifting is envisaged to take place W/C 13th October 2025 with interview dates to be confirmed. All interviews are currently being held remotely via videocall.

Reserve List

In the event that we identify more appointable candidates than we currently have posts available, we will hold applicant details on a reserve list for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made. This may include roles at a lower grade. Candidates placed on a reserve list will be informed of this. Those candidates who do not wish to remain on the reserve list should contact recruitment@communities.gov.uk to be removed from the reserve list.

Candidate Pack Information

Please see attached Candidate pack for further information.

Before starting your application it’s very important to make sure that you are eligible to apply and meet the Civil Service nationality requirements. All candidates are expected to read the information provided in the MHCLG candidate pack regarding nationality requirements and rules

Internal Fraud Database

The Internal Fraud function of the Fraud, Error, Debt and Grants Function at the Cabinet Office processes details of civil servants who have been dismissed for committing internal fraud, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned. The Cabinet Office receives the details from participating government organisations of civil servants who have been dismissed, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned, for internal fraud. In instances such as this, civil servants are then banned for 5 years from further employment in the civil service. The Cabinet Office then processes this data and discloses a limited dataset back to MHCLG as a participating government organisations. MHCLG then carry out the pre employment checks so as to detect instances where known fraudsters are attempting to reapply for roles in the civil service. In this way, the policy is ensured and the repetition of internal fraud is prevented.

For more information please see- Internal Fraud Register

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

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

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).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

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