Senior UX Researcher (Public Sector) - Part-Time

• 6-month contract
• Government project
• Hybrid work arrangement

Role Overview

We are looking for an experienced UX Researcher to execute evaluative research across a portfolio of government digital services. The role focuses on assessing the usability, usefulness, accessibility, and overall user experience of existing products through structured research studies, usability testing, and mystery shopper evaluations.

The researcher will plan and conduct studies in both laboratory and field settings, recruit representative participants, design research protocols, analyse quantitative and qualitative data, and generate evidence-based recommendations to improve public digital services. Findings must be objective, statistically sound where appropriate, and clearly communicated to product, design, engineering, and policy stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and conduct usability evaluations, mystery shopper studies, benchmarking exercises, and service assessments across government digital products.
• Select and apply appropriate research methodologies, including moderated and unmoderated usability testing, surveys, interviews, contextual inquiry, diary studies, and observational research.
• Apply validated measurement frameworks and instruments such as SUS, UEQ, SEQ, CSAT, NPS, accessibility assessments, and task success metrics.
• Analyse quantitative and qualitative data, triangulate findings across multiple sources, and identify meaningful patterns without introducing researcher bias.
• Produce actionable reports, highlight evidence-based recommendations, and communicate findings to senior stakeholders.
• Establish repeatable evaluation frameworks and benchmarks to track service quality over time.
• Collaborate closely with designers, product managers, engineers, accessibility specialists, and service owners.

Preferred Qualifications

• Degree or postgraduate qualification in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Human Factors, Cognitive Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Behavioural Science, Ergonomics, Information Science, Sociology, Anthropology, or a related field.
• Formal training in research design, statistics, survey methodology, experimental methods, or behavioural research.
• Experience applying both qualitative and quantitative research methods in professional settings.
• Strong understanding of validity, reliability, sampling approaches, bias mitigation, and evidence-based evaluation.

Required Experience

• 5+ years of experience conducting UX research, usability evaluations, human factors research, or service evaluations.
• Demonstrated experience planning and facilitating usability testing with diverse participant groups.
• Experience using standard UX metrics and scales, including understanding when and how to apply instruments such as SUS, UEQ, SEQ, CSAT, and task-based performance measures.
• Ability to conduct rigorous qualitative analysis, thematic analysis, coding, and synthesis of research findings.
• Ability to perform quantitative analysis, interpret statistical results, and explain findings clearly to non-research audiences.
• Experience producing objective, defensible findings and recommendations that influence product and service decisions.