User Researcher

About OPSS

Do you care about the safety of products and want to protect people and places? Can we use your skills, knowledge and experience to enable UK business to thrive? If the answer is yes, then we would like to hear from you!

We are the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), part of the Department for Business Innovation Science & Trade. We are here for the purpose of making regulation work to deliver real world impact. Regulation is a powerful Government tool to address market failures, influence behaviour and promote positive action. Crafted and delivered well, regulation can be an enabler of growth, innovation and efficiency.

Since early 2018 we have been building a positive and creative team that enjoys a position of influence and respect within an organisation that continues to grow.

Our primary purpose is to protect people and places from product-related harm, ensuring consumers and businesses can buy and sell products with confidence

Further information can be found on our website here.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. We embrace diversity and promote equality of opportunity. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and skills. There is a guaranteed interview scheme (DCS) for people with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

We are Inclusive

We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible and recognise how important inclusivity is to achieve the best outcomes. We hope to attract applications from all underrepresented groups.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation if required to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

About the team

We are the OPSS Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) team, and we build digital, data and technology solutions to support consumer product regulation.

​Our team is a mix of civil servants and contractors that collaborate in agile service teams working on user centred designs.

​We have an exciting portfolio of services that have internal and external users and there are already further services in our pipeline for future development.

This is an exciting time to be at OPSS DDaT. As a fast-growing area of the Department for Business Innovation Science and Trade, we’re raising compliance standards across the board and making a real-world impact on millions of lives nationwide.

​We are currently looking for a User Researcher who will be expected to use their research and analysis skills to identify and communicate user needs to their service teams, informing the decision making of their projects.

​OPSS has sites in Birmingham, London and Teddington. For this role, you can be based in Birmingham or London. There will be a need to travel to our other sites on occasions.

About the role

Do you have a passion for user research in digital?

​User researchers support our service teams by planning and carrying out research activity that identifies user needs and requirements. You’ll work with a diverse set of users across our existing and future services and be required to determine and deliver the optimal research approach.

​We need excellent user researchers to take a lead role in our projects and ensure that our services deliver to user needs and that research activity informs the decision making of the team. If you enjoy working with diverse users and ensuring your teams deliver user-centred practices, then we want to hear from you!

​Our digital service portfolio is continually growing, with services at different stages of the service delivery lifecycle: discovery through to live. Depending on priorities, you could be working on an existing live service or one that’s in the development pipeline. Along with the rest of the team, you’ll be helping lead OPSS colleagues through the service development lifecycle.

​Our flexible working policy ensures a healthy work-life balance. We also nurture talent and offer a broad range of learning and development opportunities that will help you flourish in your role.

​We work hard to maintain a positive working culture and are committed to helping you fulfil your potential. We value diversity and provide an open, inclusive and supportive environment to help you do your best work.

​If you are successful in your written application, you will be invited to interview where your knowledge of delivering user research as part of a multidisciplinary team will be discussed.

Key responsibilities

As a User Researcher at OPSS, you will:

• ​align user research activities to help your team understand changing user behaviour.
• ​apply techniques for the analysis of research data and synthesis of findings.
• ​understand the diversity of users of government services and the need to make services usable and accessible for everyone.
• ​use user research methods to establish user needs and involve your team in research activities.
• ​align user research activities to inform decision making and action in the team.
• ​apply knowledge of the technologies used to build and operate digital services.
• ​apply a range of user-centred practices and work with colleagues to plan and do continuous user research in a multidisciplinary team.
• ​Support and develop a Junior User Researcher.

​You can find out more about what we expect from a User Researcher here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/user-researcher

We are looking for candidates with the experience that matches the responsibilities listed previously. We are keen to promote diversity, and we are not realistically expecting any applicant to have experience of every responsibility. You should apply if you think you have experience related to the majority of the role responsibilities, and we will support you on the job to fill gaps in experience.

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, Experience and Technical skills.

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages.
• A Personal Statement of up to 500 words, explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential criteria.

Your application will be sifted against the Experience criteria of the Civil Service Success Profiles.

It is likely that the sift will take place 1-2 weeks after the closing date and interviews 3-5 weeks after the closing date, though this is subject to change.

We aim to sift both the CV and the Personal Statement but, in the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift may be conducted on the Personal Statement only. Candidates who pass the initial sift of the Personal Statement will either progressed to a full sift where the CV is then assessed, or progressed straight to further assessment/interview.

Candidates who pass the sift will be invited to interview, where we will assess you on the Success Profiles elements of Behaviours and Technical Skills.

As part of your interview, you will be asked to deliver a short oral presentation, details will be provided prior to your interview.

Please note, following a recent change to the Machinery of Government, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) will be renamed to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) as of 20th July 2026. BIST will connect the UK’s world-class science and technology base directly to the businesses, places and workers that will drive good growth across the country. Such changes will not affect the selection process for this campaign; however, we wanted to take this opportunity to advise you of the recent changes to our department.

You can find further information here regarding recent governmental changes Machinery of Government changes: Fact Sheet - GOV.UK.

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. In order to request an adjustment:

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section on the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process.

Alternatively contact the Government Recruitment Service at DBTrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information on: Diversity and Inclusion; Benefits; Learning and Development; Working Patterns and what we deliver as a department.

Further Information:

• A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve Lists will be for each location and appointments made in merit order based on location preferences.
• Any move to the Department for Business and Trade from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments.
• The Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. We are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases.
• New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
• Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty. Any applicant who has details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
• A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.
• Terms and Conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
• Please note – the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before being released for another role.
• Candidates that do not quite meet the standard for this role may be offered a position at a lower grade.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Feedback

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