The HRA is a dynamic organisation, delivering excellent services through its committees, simplifying the health research process and championing research in the NHS. We hope that you are as enthused by our vision, our plans and our operations as we are.

Main area User Research Grade NHS AfC: Band 8a Contract 23 months (Fixed term contract until 30 June 2027 with possibility to make permanent depends upon funding) Hours

• Full time
• Flexible working
• Home or remote working
• Compressed hours

Site Manchester Office Town Manchester Salary £53,755 - £60,504 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 31/07/2025 23:59

The HRA is a Non Departmental Public Body with the remit to protect and promote the interests of patients and the public in health and social care research. We do this by supporting and promoting a robust and efficient regulatory and governance framework in the UK. We provide the Research Ethics Service (RES), Confidentiality Advice function, assessments and assurances on behalf of the NHS, and learning, guidance and advice for the research community. Our ambition is to make the UK a great place to do research, where more money invested in research goes into carrying out relevant, good quality research.

Our purpose is to ensure that research involving NHS patients and members of the public is approved through a proportionate and robust system, that they are provided with the information they need to help them decide whether they wish to take part, and that their opportunity to do so is maximised by simplifying the processes by which high quality research is assessed. We have already delivered significant improvements by centralising and simplifying the approval of research in the NHS in England, and are undertaking a range of significant programmes to deliver further improvements.

Job overview

In this role you will lead the user research community in the HRA’s journey to develop its digital services.

The Digital Directorate is modernising and transforming the business, ensuring the user is at the heart of everything; including the delivery of business solutions using agile methods in a continuous delivery environment.

You will be an active leader based in one of our offices or from home, with occasional travel for face to face meetings. Working under general direction and within a clear framework of accountability you will exercise substantial personal responsibility and autonomy to meet objectives and delivery timeframes, as well as providing leadership across the directorate.

Demonstrating excellent communication skills, influencing across multiple groups and partners, you will form a deep understanding of wider customer and organisational needs, participating in both internal and external activities to keep your skills up to date. With a clear ability to rationalise complex technical information, you will transform this to ensure it is understandable for others to work with.

Engaging with stakeholders, you will facilitate collaborative approaches to prioritise requirements and deliver key user insights to constantly improve the design of services; demonstrating a proactive approach to alignment with Government service standards, so that optimum outputs and solutions are delivered to meet user needs, organisational objectives and policy intent.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will:

• Develop and assure good user research practices.
• Identify, capture and implement user needs.
• Implement service strategy with sound research to enable excellent service design.
• Provide guidance across projects on user research methodologies and GDS standards.
• Represent user research at service standard assessments.
• Determine user research standards, policies, user testing plans, roadmaps and vision.
• Manage user data in a secure way.
• Manage user research ethics processes.
• Ensure teams take a user centred, evidence-based approach to service design.
• Consider accessibility and additional needs for inclusive design.
• Combine user research and analytics to improve user experience.
• Communicate the benefits of UI design, user testing tools, methods and standards to technical/non-technical stakeholders.
• Evaluate research and design proposals from suppliers and make recommendations.
• Work across multiple services and lead User Centred Design (UCD) professionals to set direction.
• Interpret strategy and translate emerging trends which might impact or benefit the organisation.
• Draw together and present reasonable conclusions from a wide range of incomplete and complex evidence and data.
• Manage the user research function within the UCD team.
• Support the user research team to maintain focus on delivery, whilst instilling the importance of professional development and learning.
• Coach and lead teams in UCD principles.
• Onboard new staff within the team.

Working for our organisation

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for you, not just us and the work we do.

We’re committed to creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know from experience that different ideas, perspectives, and backgrounds create a stronger, more creative workplace that help us to deliver the best services.

We welcome applications which represent the rich diversity of our community. This includes:
• age
• disability
• ethnicity
• gender identity and expression
• religion or belief
• sex
• sexual orientation
• other diverse characteristics

We have policies in place to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process.

When applying to work here, speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement – if it works for you, we’ll do our best to make it work for us.

Please note, if applying to our Manchester, Nottingham or Bristol locations, we are only able tooffer the role as home based.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

This role sits within HRA Digital. The digital directorate is responsible for developing, delivering and supporting complex solutions within the HRA’s portfolio of UK-wide information systems for health and care research. This includes a major programme to build new systems, and to achieve the successful migration and eventual closure of current systems.

The HRA Digital team is a collaborative, supportive team consisting of HRA employees, secondees, contractors and vendors.

To find out more and to understand the full duties of the role, please refer to the job description attached.

In submitting your application with us, please note the following:

We currently do not accept applications via recruitment agencies.
We do not hold a sponsorship licence and are unable to offer employment under any sponsorship arrangement.
Where applicants fail to demonstrate how they meet any one of the essential criteria of the person specification, the application will not be shortlisted. You will be considered based only on the information in your application form. CVs will not be considered.
The HRA reserves the right to close this vacancy early should it receive a sufficient number of applications.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level (or relevant qualifications) in a relevant field, or significant relevant working experience of the subject matter
• Master's Degree or equivalent Post Graduate qualification

Knowledge, Skills and Expertise

• Implementing long term service strategy with sound research to enable service design.
• Determining research standards, policies, user testing plans, roadmaps and vision.
• Can focus on outcomes rather than solutions and activities.
• User consent processes and user-research ethics management.
• User research operations and participant recruitment.
• Ongoing Continuous Professional Development
• Past experience in Government or NHS organisation
• GDS/CDDO or NHS service standards

Experience

• Onboarding of new staff within a team or professional community
• Identifying user needs and ensure they are captured and implemented
• Managing user data in a secure way, in line with organisational policy
• Accessibility considerations and testing with users with additional needs to shape inclusive design
• Managing user research as a lead or as part of a UCD/user research team
• Working within multidisciplinary agile teams, and experience of creating epics and user stories

Analytical and Judgemental Skills

• Able to have an overall perspective on business issues and activities, understand their wider implications and long-term impact
• Working across multiple services and leading groups of UCD professionals to set direction, assuring the quality and depth of user research
• Evaluate research and design proposals from external suppliers and make recommendations to senior stakeholders
• Interpreting strategy and translate emerging trends and technologies which might impact or benefit the organisation

Interpersonal Skills

• Engaging and building relationships with a range of stakeholders and service owners to support delivery of user needs
• Coaching and leading teams in user centred design principles
• Influence and manage in a complex matrix department

Other

• Commitment to inclusivity and valuing diversity

Knowledge, Skills and Expertise

• Significant experience in a senior/lead research role

Knowledge, Skills and Expertise

• Providing advice and guidance across projects on both user research methodologies and GDS standards related to research and deliverables
• Combining user research and analytics to problem solve through design iterations and improve user experience.
• Understand and communicate to others the benefits and applicability of UI design, user testing tools, methods and standards to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Analytical and Judgemental Skills

• Multi-tasking, analysing opportunities, defining successful approaches, and proactively solve problems
• Ability to draw together and present reasonable conclusions from a wide range of incomplete and complex evidence and data

Interpersonal Skills

• Supporting the user research community to maintain a focus on delivery, whilst instilling the importance of professional development and continual learning
• Facilitating conflict resolution within teams or professions

In return for your commitment, we offer excellent opportunities for personal development and a healthy work-life balance. The HRA is committed to promoting and enhancing inclusion, diversity and equality. We welcome and encourage applications, who meet the criteria for the role, regardless of age, gender identity and gender expression, disability, race, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy, sex or sexual orientation or any other personal circumstances. Reasonable adjustments to the interview process can be made upon request, for candidates with a disability. The HRA welcomes applicants who are interested in flexible working including job share, part time work, secondments or home-based working. Please discuss any preferred flexibility at your interview.

The HRA reserves the right to close this vacancy early should we receive a sufficient number of applications.

The HRA does not hold a sponsor licence in respect of skilled worker visas and so is unable to employ candidates requiring sponsorship.

In order to be considered for this position you must address the criteria outlined in the person specification in your supporting statement. You will be considered based on the information in your application form. CVs will not be considered. All contact is made via our Trac recruitment system. Please check your account regularly.

After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our Third-party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. If you are appointed to a post, information will also be transferred into the NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

If you have a query relating to your application, please contact the recruitment team on HRA.hrqueries@nhsbsa.nhs.uk or 0300 330 9416.

The NHSBSA is responsible for the processing of your application; a privacy notice is available at the following link to advise you on how we will process your personal data.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

The HRA offers a variety of career paths for its staff as well as a wide range of benefits, including NHS pensions and discounts.

Stay up to date with latest news, updates to regulations and upcoming learning events