Flexible Working: Due to the nature of the work involved, this is an office-based role. However, we do support a range of working patterns, including full-time, compressed hours and job share.
About Us
MI5 keeps the country safe from serious threats like terrorism and attempts by states to harm the UK, it’s people and way of life. We carry out investigations by obtaining, analysing and assessing intelligence, and then work with a range of partners, including MI6 and GCHQ to disrupt these threats. Through our protective security arm, we provide advice and guidance to government, businesses and other organisations about how to keep themselves safe. A role in MI5 means you’ll do unique and challenging work in a supportive and encouraging environment, making a real difference to UK national security.
The Role
MI5 is embarking on a transformation to ensure we keep our edge in an increasingly uncertain and data driven world. Our growing Experience Design team works hard to design and deliver capabilities that enable our people to help keep the country safe, both now and in the future. The team is closely aligned with our Strategy, Product and Engineering teams and this provides exciting opportunities to deliver innovative capabilities.
As a Senior User Researcher, you will explore the fascinating depths of our work, providing unique insight which will help prioritise areas for change and ensure that we truly understand and meet the needs of mission users. You’ll help to develop and advocate for appropriate research strategies to understand user needs, applying qualitative, quantitative, exploratory and evaluative methods to a variety of complex challenges.
As well as taking the lead in the scoping, design, and running of user research activities – such as identifying and sourcing suitable research participants – you’ll oversee the creation of high-quality design research deliverables and artefacts. You’ll identify how best to communicate research insights in compelling and immersive ways, whilst working closely with Product Managers, Designers and Engineers to turn insights from research data into products that transform user experience.
You’ll ensure accessibility and ethical factors are incorporated throughout your research, as well as define best practice standards. Providing feedback and mentoring on projects, you’ll help junior researchers develop the technical and interpersonal skills needed to achieve their career goals. All the while, you’ll be passionate about helping to encourage team involvement in user research, empowering and training non-research team members to engage in research activities.
About You
As well as extensive experience with a wide range of user research methods, you’ll have demonstrable experience leading and coaching a small to medium sized team in a fast moving, agile environment. Using your collaboration and facilitation skills you’ll help teams explore how digital technology is changing user behaviour, whilst demonstrating empathy with user perspectives and behaviours. You’ll have expert statistical analysis skills and the ability to turn research data into clear findings that drive design outcomes, in addition to being able to effectively scope, plan and forecast timings for research projects.
You are someone who has a passion for learning about the world, human behaviour, and our customers’ motivations, with a desire to make things better. You’ll be someone who can quickly build rapport and trust with others and you’ll possess sound presentation skills to communicate research findings and recommendations to a variety of different audiences. Plus, you’ll be committed to promoting and demonstrating how inclusive research can deliver accessible services.
Training and Development
We are proud to offer an inclusive and supportive working environment that encourages open minds and attitudes. Learning and development is central to our design ethos, and we are committed to helping you fulfil your potential. We will support you in broadening and deepening your technical and non-technical skills, providing access to a wide variety of classroom and online learning, as well as our own development programmes and schemes.
From day one, you’ll be empowered to drive your career. Just as you support others to develop, we’ll support you. As you grow and maintain your technical skills, you’ll progress through and regularly demonstrate your skills based on the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability framework.
Find out more about the framework here: https://ddat-capability-framework.service.gov.uk/role/user-researcher
Rewards and Benefits
You’ll receive a starting salary of £71,073 plus other benefits including:
25 Days Annual Leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days public and privilege holidays
Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
Personal Learning Budget
Interest-free season ticket loan
Excellent pension scheme
Cycle to work scheme
Facilities such as a gym, restaurant and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
Paid parental and adoption leave
Equal Opportunities
At MI5 diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.
Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website: https://www.MI5.gov.uk/careers/diversity
We’re Disability Confident
MI5 is proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWP’s Disability Confident scheme. This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people. As a Disability Confident Leader we aim to ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who best meet the essential minimum criteria for this position, will be offered an interview, if it is practical for us to do so. (This is known as Offer of an Interview.) To secure an interview for this role, the minimum criteria (in order of application process) are:
Be able to demonstrate you have extensive experience in a wide range of user research methods. (Assessed at application sift)
Have experience in leading the scoping, design and running of user research activities (Assessed at application sift)
What to Expect
Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:
Application and CV sift
Competency Interview and DDaT assessment
If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment
Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 - 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.
Before You Apply
To work at MI5 you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can read our full eligibility criteria [here]https://www.mi5.gov.uk/careers/applying-for-jobs).
This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. You can find out more about the vetting process here.
Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can’t take any recreational drugs and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage.
Before you apply, we advise you to consider setting up a separate email address for your contact with us to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid having identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or surname and date of birth. This is good practice and will help you to manage your application more securely.
The role is based in London, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application. An interest-free loan via our benevolent fund is available to assist with relocating into privately rented accommodation to take up the offer of employment.
Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.
Right to Withdraw Statement
Please be aware that we withhold the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment