Contract Senior User Researcher - 9 Weeks - Immediate Start

We are looking to hire a Senior Interaction Designer for a 9 Week contract - start date will be immediate. Inside IR35

What we’re looking for:  

At NEC Digital Studio, we believe in design practices that make the world more human. 

NEC Digital Studio was created to put people at the centre of services, positively changing how they experience the world. Everything we design, build and maintain is made for life.  

Our mission is to empower organisations to be more effective, inclusive and sustainable, through tools, systems and experiences that are intelligent, integrated and intuitive for all.  

As a people-first digital studio, we are designing and developing evidence-led solutions at scale to transform the services used by everyone, every day. We specialise in working with seldom heard voices and diverse user groups. We practice participatory co-design and ethical research. Our teams are experts in accessibility and digital inclusion 

We’d love your help. And we’ll support you all the way. Discover more at NEC Digital Studio | Made for Life (necsws.com) 

We’re looking for a Senior User Researcher with significant experience in delivering user research projects. The focus of your role will be to plan, facilitate and lead user research activities on a variety of projects. You’ll often be working with multidisciplinary teams on complex projects where autonomy and project management will be important.    

We’re on the hunt for someone who will champion our values: to care passionately, be fluent in people, believe in your craft, push convention, be open to change, and to value each other.   

We work with a broad range of clients, some of whom are completely new to user-centred design (UCD). This means you’ll also play a key role in championing our UCD approach.  

The role may also involve:   

• Leading and directing projects – You’ll lead multidisciplinary teams and clients in the pursuit of inclusive, accessible and effective research outcomes.   
• Team support and management – You’ll help to support the user research team by inspiring and line managing team members, including overseeing appraisals and professional development.   
• Defining and refining practice – You’ll help to define the way our disciplines work together, and progress the way NEC Digital Studio delivers inclusive, accessible, and effective design.    
• Supporting new business – You’ll help NEC Digital Studio identify and win projects by spotting opportunities with clients and helping with proposals and pitches.    
• Supporting our Design School with the development and delivery of courses 

How we work:   

We work with central and local government, the NHS, voluntary, not-for-profit, and private sector organisations.   

We work hand-in-hand with our clients and sometimes we’re embedded in their teams for projects. You’ll move on to different sectors after 3 - 12 months because we want you to get a variety of experiences, from applying GDS (government digital service) standards, to improving customer buy-in. Beyond individual projects, NEC Digital Studio’s User Researchers support each other at weekly meet-ups where we share our work, discuss its wider implications, and learn about methods.   

You’ll also broaden your skills by working closely with members of our Digital teams, including interaction and content designers, and developers.  

All of our User Researchers are supported by more senior members of the User Research team. They look after your wellbeing, help you set goals and objectives and provide feedback to help you grow.

• Experience working as a Senior User Researcher
• Experience working with multi-disciplinary project teams
• Experience with GDS
• Public Sector Experience

• We pride ourselves in offering an excellent benefits package, including an above average pension scheme. When you join the team at NEC Software Solutions, you are provided with the following: 

• Private Medical Cover funded by NEC for Employees (with the option to add family members at an additional cost)  
• 25 days paid holiday with the option to buy/sell (FTE) 
• 4 x basic salary life assurance cover funded by NEC (with the option to increase cover at an additional cost) 
• A Group Pension Plan with fantastic employer contributions up to a maximum of 8.5% 
• A selection of flexible benefits to suit your individual needs 
• All colleagues get free access to LinkedIn Learning. Over 15,000 courses covering a huge breadth of subjects. Learn about what you like, when you like, how you like. 
• Give back days   
• Annual team and company away-days  
• Personal learning budget 

NEC Software Solutions is an equal opportunities employer, welcoming applications from all communities. If you require any reasonable adjustments or have specific accessibility needs during the recruitment or interview process, please feel free to share these with us. We are committed to ensuring an inclusive and accommodating experience for all candidates. 

Other information:

Candidates must be able to demonstrate a pre-existing right to work and travel within the UK. Documentary evidence will be required.  All offers are subject to satisfactory vetting, references and occupational health checks.   Depending on the nature of the role a Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check may also be required.  required.