Associate User Researcher (Digital Transformation) Mayor of London

Salary: £42,111 per annum

Grade: 7

Contract type: Fixed term or secondment opportunity (3 years) 

Reference: GLA5065 Interview date: w/c 20 June and w/c 27 June 2022 

Application closing date: Thursday 09 June 2022 at 23:59 GMT

The GLA has been at the forefront of digital and data innovation in London since its inception – will you join us as we make an exciting step change in our digital capability?

Digital and data services play a critical role in enabling the delivery of the functions of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly, and a relentless focus on user needs is critical to ensuring these services deliver the best experience for our users. As an Associate User Researcher, you’ll report to our Senior User Researcher, and work alongside our product team (including a service designer, content designers, business analysts and project and product managers) to deliver high quality user research as part of our digital transformation programme.

You’ll lead user research of new, complex products and services, with an initial focus on internal products. You’ll work in the open with the user at the centre of all you do, while working across multiple product teams concurrently. You’ll be an ambassador for strong user research skills as key to digital transformation, coaching teams across the organisation in how to deliver in this way. You’ll have experience of working with teams to help them understand, map and articulate their transformation or delivery objectives, helping them identify and articulate the possibilities in their area of work for digital transformation.

It’s essential you’re empathetic, with strong listening and communication skills, can work effectively in multidisciplinary teams and can demonstrate deep experience of applying a range of both qualitative and quantitative research to the development of digital products and services.

Your team and work programme
This role will sit within the Product team in our newly formed Digital Transformation Unit, and report into the Senior User Researcher. You be joining the GLA as we invest in a number of roles focused on our digital transformation and user-centred design, including:

• Senior Content Designers
• Business Analyst
• Senior User Researcher
• Service and Interaction Designer
• Training and Culture Change Manager

While your priority will be improving internal services, you will work in multi-disciplinary teams on a wide range of products with colleagues across a range of service and policy areas. Organisational design and transformation will be at the heart of Digital Transformation Unit’s work – helping to put in place the building blocks of a modern digital organisation: a common core infrastructure of shared digital systems, technology and processes on which it’s easy to build brilliant, user-centric services and products for citizens, partners and GLA staff.

The organisational re-design work will include transformation of:

• Establishment control.
• Correspondence and contact management.
• Mayor’s Questions.

• Freedom of Information requests.
• Functions associated with the work of our Monitoring Officer e.g. registers of interest and gifts and hospitality.
• New requirements from our hybrid working environment.

The Digital Transformation Unit
The GLA’s newly formed Digital Transformation Unit is responsible for the delivery of all internal and external digital products and services at the GLA. The unit is responsible for the design, delivery and management dozens of digital, data and technology services that support the delivery of the functions of the Mayor and the Assembly; and, in doing so, directly serve Londoners.

The GLA’s largest and most visible digital products – London.gov.uk, the London Datastore and Talk London – are used by millions of Londoners every year and provide the GLA with platforms for communications, convening, public engagement, data and information-sharing, and transparency. These services support delivery, scrutiny, and democratic engagement at scale and at a low cost per user compared to non-digital channels and services.

Information sessions
If you would like to hear more about this role, and/or other live vacancies in the Digital Transformation Unit, we are holding two information sessions (online) with members of the team. You can register your details via the Eventbrite links below. You will then be sent an invite a few days before your chosen session with a link to the video call.

Friday 27 May at 13:00 – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/344808069217
Monday 30 May at 18:00 - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/344824438177

This role will be based at London Fire Brigade’s Head Office (Union Street SE1 0LL). GLA staff are hybrid working up to 3 days a week in our offices and remotely depending on their role. As part of this, you will need to split your time between home working and coming into the office.

London's diversity is its biggest asset and we strive to ensure our workforce reflects London's diversity at all levels. We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability.

We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic candidates and disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and we are happy to consider flexible working arrangements. We would welcome applications from candidates who are seeking part time work as this role is open to job share. In addition to a good salary package, we offer an attractive range of benefits including 30 days’ annual leave, interest free season ticket loan, interest free bicycle loan and a career average pension scheme.

If you have a question about the role, please contact luke.marshall-waterfield@london.gov.uk

If you have a question about the application process, please email glarecruitment@engageats.co.uk quoting reference GLA5065

Please note we do not accept CV’s for this role. All applications for this vacancy must be submitted via our online recruitment system. 

To apply and to view a copy of the Job Description and Person specification, please click the "Apply".