Overview

Senior User Researcher – Inside IR35 Contract. As a Senior User Researcher Consultant at Version 1, you will shape meaningful, accessible services that deliver lasting value across both public and private sectors. Leading research across the full delivery lifecycle, you’ll help agile teams validate assumptions, reduce risk, and prioritise work based on real user needs.

You will work autonomously within multidisciplinary teams – collaborating with product managers, designers, business analysts, and developers – to ensure evidence drives decision-making at every stage.

Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver user research for complex projects, ensuring findings directly inform product, service, and strategy decisions.
• Proactively contribute to client meetings, workshops, and presentations, building strong relationships and providing actionable recommendations.
• Develop strong client relationships by anticipating client needs, advising on research opportunities, and driving outcomes that align with both user needs and business objectives.
• Takes full ownership of research deliverables, ensuring they are high quality and aligned with project objectives and client needs.
• Anticipates challenges and delivers proactive, evidence-based solutions to complex problems.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience as a researcher, leading research including work on complex digital services in Agile environments.
• Strong knowledge of UK public sector service design, including GDS service standards, GOV.UK design system patterns, and assessment processes.
• End-to-end research capability - from designing and running generative and evaluative studies to analysing and synthesising findings into clear, actionable insights.
• Broad methodological expertise, with the ability to confidently select and apply a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods (e.g., moderated and unmoderated usability testing, depth interviews, surveys, co-design, diary studies) to meet project needs.
• Strong consultancy skills, including building trusted client relationships, advising on research strategy, and influencing decisions at senior levels.
• Stakeholder management expertise, with experience engaging senior stakeholders, facilitating workshops, and driving alignment across multi-disciplinary teams.
• Proven impact, demonstrated through a strong portfolio or case studies showing how your research has informed successful product, service, or strategic outcomes.
• Thorough understanding of ethical considerations in user research, particularly when working with vulnerable users or those with access needs.
• Deep understanding of inclusive design and accessibility, including conducting research with users with access needs and familiarity with WCAG 2.2.
• Experience working within Agile teams, actively contributing to ceremonies and supporting iterative, user-centred delivery.

Benefits

• Share in our success with our Quarterly Performance-Related Profit Share Scheme, where employees collectively benefit from a share of our company\'s profits.
• Strong Career Progression & mentorship coaching through our Strength in Balance & Leadership schemes with a dedicated quarterly Pathways Career Development programme.
• Flexible/remote working, Version 1 is tremendously understanding of life events and people’s individual circumstances and offer flexibility to help achieve a healthy work life balance.
• Financial Wellbeing initiatives including; Pension, Private Healthcare Cover, Life Assurance, Financial advice and an Employee Discount scheme.
• Employee Wellbeing schemes including Gym Discounts, Bike to Work, Fitness classes, Mindfulness Workshops, Employee Assistance Programme and much more. Generous holiday allowance, enhanced maternity/paternity leave, marriage/civil partnership leave and special leave policies.
• Educational assistance, incentivised certifications, and accreditations, including AWS, Microsoft, Oracle, and Red Hat.
• Reward schemes including Version 1’s Annual Excellence Awards & ‘Call-Out’ platform.
• Environment, Social and Community First initiatives allow you to get involved in local fundraising and development opportunities as part of fostering our diversity, inclusion and belonging schemes.
• More benefits available — drop us a note to find out more.

Contact: Ashley.Smith@version1.com

Details

• Seniority level: Mid-Senior level
• Employment type: Full-time
• Job function: Information Technology
• Industries: IT Services and IT Consulting

Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom