Senior User Researcher

At the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), we design user-centred services that make the criminal justice system easier to use, quicker to deliver, and fairer for all.

As a Senior User Researcher at CPS, you design and improve end-to-end services that support the delivery of justice, making sure they meet user needs and organisational goals. You work within multi-disciplinary delivery teams and collaborate with service owners and operational colleagues to build a shared understanding of services, use evidence to shape decisions, and develop service improvements across digital and non-digital channels.

You lead user research activity for complex services, or significant parts of services, helping teams take a strategic, user-centred approach to change. You apply the Service Standard and government design principles so that services are inclusive, accessible and effective for the people who use them.

This role involves collaboration across team, programme and organisational boundaries, including with colleagues across the Criminal Justice System where needed, to join up services and improve how they work from end to end. You also support the growth of user research capability at CPS by sharing good practice, supporting colleagues and showing stakeholders the value of user research.

You report to the Lead User Researcher and may provide day-to-day support, mentoring or line management for other researchers.

The Crown Prosecution Service is based in England and Wales. If you’re applying for this role and live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you must let us know when accepting this offer as you need permission to work from your home address if hybrid working is part of your role. There’s no guarantee that we will grant this approval.

You must be aged 16 or over at the point of starting in this role. The expected start date is approximately 8–12 weeks after the application closing date. You are expected to commence employment as soon as possible following the expiry of your notice period. Requests for significantly later start dates may not be accommodated.

As part of this role, you are expected to undertake direct line management responsibilities.

Your roles and responsibilities:

• You lead the planning, design and delivery of user research for complex services, ensuring research is aligned to team priorities and supports evidence-based decision making.
• You work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams to build a deep understanding of user needs, behaviours and experiences, helping shape service design and delivery.
• You select and apply appropriate qualitative and quantitative research methods, advising colleagues on best practice and supporting teams to adopt effective research approaches.
• You analyse and synthesise research findings from multiple sources, translating evidence into clear, actionable insights that inform product, service and policy decisions.
• You champion inclusive and accessible research practices, ensuring diverse user groups are represented and that services are designed to work for all users.
• You build effective relationships with stakeholders, communicating research findings clearly, influencing decision making and advocating for user-centred approaches.
• You adapt research activities to agile delivery environments, balancing pace and quality while ensuring research remains responsive to changing team needs.
• You provide leadership and assurance for user research practice, supporting the development of colleagues, promoting professional standards and helping grow the user-centred design community.

A copy of the full job description is attached.

Drop in sessions

If you would like to find out more about this role and working at CPS we will be running drop in sessions on Teams:

• Monday 21st September 16:30 to 17:00
• Monday 28th September 16:30 to 17:00

https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/386413665870771?p=iirNzpvdJcZxXLAox0

Meeting ID: 386 413 665 870 771

Passcode: oq7Tz7Kp

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)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

Recruitment process

The recruitment process consists of an online application, assessment and interview.

Personal statement

We ask you to complete a personal statement of no more than 750 words. You need to address the core behaviour for this role, which is Communicating and Influencing.

You also need to demonstrate the following experience required for this role:

• experience planning, designing and delivering user research for complex services, products or programmes, using a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods.
• a good understanding of the Government Service Standard, Government Design Principles, agile delivery and evidence-based approaches to service improvement.
• experience working in multidisciplinary teams, collaborating with designers, product managers, business analysts, delivery managers, policy colleagues and technical teams.
• strong experience of analysing and synthesising research findings from multiple sources, turning evidence into clear, actionable insights and recommendations.
• experience conducting inclusive and accessible user research with diverse audiences, and applying insights to support the design of services that work for all users.
• strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence decision making and advocate for user-centred approaches with a range of audiences.
• experience selecting and applying appropriate research methods for complex user needs, services and delivery environments, and advising others on research best practice.
• experience working effectively in agile environments, adapting research approaches to meet changing priorities while maintaining quality and ethical standards.
• experience supporting colleagues, sharing good practice, mentoring others or contributing to the development of user research capability and communities of practice

In addition, you need to demonstrate the Crown Prosecution Service or Civil Service values.

The panel has the right to assess the lead behaviour ‘Communicating and Influencing’ first. If the standard on this behaviour isn’t met, the other behaviours won’t be considered and your application won’t progress. The panel also has the right to raise the minimum standard pass mark. The panel may also refer to the lead behaviour at the interview stage to determine merit order.

CV

You’re not required to upload your CV. However, when submitting your application there is a ‘CV section’. You are required to provide information about your employment and/or academic history for the past three years, skills, and qualification details. The CV section will be assessed.

It’s your responsibility to provide the specified information in the requested format to ensure that you're considered for the post.

If you're unable to cover three years through employment or academic history, you must provide a character reference for clearance purposes.

Interview and Assessment

The interview and assessment are expected to take place on 19 October.

Your interview takes place online through Microsoft Teams. A member of our recruitment team will be in touch with guidance. If you have any queries about this, contact dimitra.siakavara@cps.gov.uk

You should keep this date free or notify us if you're not available. We'll make every effort to accommodate your date preferences but we can't guarantee it.

We ask you to complete an assessment as part of the recruitment process for this role. We will provide details upon invitation to interview.

We use behaviours to help us understand your experience, to see if you're a good fit for the role. You are assessed against SEO in the Civil Service success profiles behaviours framework. We are assessing 4 behaviours at interview stage:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together

Essential Experience will be assessed through the assessment.

Strengths

Strengths are tested at interview stage - the strengths tested are not shared before the interview.

Other

This is a full-time post. We do consider requests for flexible, part-time working and job share, always considering the operational needs of the department.

Please note that the CPS is unable to offer visa sponsorship. If you require visa sponsorship to work in the UK, you will not meet the eligibility criteria for this role.

Clearance

If successful, you are required to secure a Disclosure and Barring Service check, for which you must have a current valid UK address.

If successfully appointed, we ask you to complete a character enquiry form and nationality and immigration questionnaire.

If you're a Crown Prosecution Service member of staff, you won’t need to do a Disclosure and Barring Service check as you already hold this clearance.

The job you’re applying for is covered by Article 3(a) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, consequently Section 4(2) of that Act doesn’t apply. You’re required to disclose all previous convictions and cautions including spent convictions. Failing to make a full declaration will result in withdrawing your offer of employment if our checks reveal convictions that haven’t been disclosed.

Reserve list

If you're recommended by the selection panel but not appointed to the current vacancies, you’re put on a reserve list for 12 months. You may be offered another Senior User Researcher post in the CPS if a vacancy comes up during this period. We may also approach candidates on the waiting list to fill other roles that require similar knowledge and experience.

Fraud check

The Crown Prosecution Service provides a Fair Processing Notice to all new applicants after they’ve been successful at interview. These candidates are informed that, as one aspect of pre-employment screening, their personal details – name, National Insurance number and date of birth – are checked against the Internal Fraud Database. We won't employ anyone included on the database unless they can demonstrate exceptional circumstances.

The Strategic Resourcing team in the Crown Prosecution Service will, on behalf of the vacancy holder, inform applicants when they are refused employment because of their inclusion in the Internal Fraud Database.

Civil Service Commission

If you’re dissatisfied with the recruitment process and wish to make a complaint, please contact Strategic.Resourcing@cps.gov.uk with your concerns.

If you remain dissatisfied and wish to make a further complaint, please click on the following link to the Civil Service Commission complaints page Recruitment Complaints - Civil Service Commission

Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles can be found at https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/

Details of the Civil Service Nationality Rules are located at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

Candidates are subject to UK immigration requirements. For the most up-to-date information on the requirements of working in the UK, please go to the UK Visas and Immigration website at https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas

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