PR-0137 Senior User Researcher (for Export Licensing) in the BIS Digital Group

Tender description

Summary of the work * Responsible: **testing a (mostly digital) service at the BETA stage of the government service design manual. **coaching and mentoring of two ‘fast stream’ civil servants in the specialism of user research * Accountable for the work of one mid-weight user researcher Specialist role User researcher Expected Contract Length 24 months, but may be shorter, depending on how the project develops and the needs. Latest start date 15/07/2016 Maximum Day Rate £550/day Who Speclialist Work With A multi disciplinary team of specialists organised into a scrum team as per the GDS service manual’s recommendations. What Specialists Work On * Licensing for International Trade and Enterprise (LITE) is a joint project between the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Ministry of Defence (MOD). It will create a cross-government service for import & export licensing. * The Export Control Organisation (ECO) at BIS are responsible for the licensing of controlled (military and dual-use) goods under the Export Control Act (2002) * The value of export licences handled is about £47 million per day or about £12 billion per year. * The Beta will focus on prototyping and developing the digital service further into licenses assessed by BIS. Skills & Experience • Have a mix of substantial hands on experience and/or degree in the relevant field combined with experience. Degrees in HCI, psychology, design research or similar are relevant. • Full understanding and demonstrable experience in User Centred Design (UCD) product development. • Full understanding and demonstrable experience of research methodologies. Qualitative: RITE, usability testing, and contextual enquiry. Quantitative: usability metrics. • Full understanding and demonstrable experience in indirect data collection techniques such as web traffic analytics. • Experience in delivering insights in a scrum team of cross-disciplinary team members using Lean UX techniques. • Ability to work with users and stakeholders at all levels. • Experience in mentoring and coaching those new to user research/user experience. Nice to Haves • Full understanding and demonstrable experience in planning and running a private and public beta of a product to the real user (i.e. use of the product in a live environment). • A full understanding and demonstrable experience of research methodologies: open and closed card sorting, multivariate testing. • A full understanding and demonstrable experience in indirect data collection techniques: surveys, digital diary studies. • A demonstrable focus in experience in validating for digital products. Physical or service design is acceptable too. • Strong understanding of the Government Digital Service’s Design Principles and Digital Service Standard. Work Location Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, 1 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0ET Working Arrangments Monday to Friday on site with a requirement to travel to locations around Britain to conduct user testing on the Beta service. A professional working day, hours and working pattern as needed to deliver the service in an efficient way. Mainly based from our office in Westminster, London. Security Clearance Minimum Baseline Personnel Security Standard No. of Specialists to Evaluate 3 Cultural Fit Criteria • Work well in a collaborative agile team (Scores 5%) • Demonstrate courage (e.g. can express controversial views, confront reality, make tough decisions, question actions inconsistent with group behaviours, candid about progress/estimates) (Scores 3%) • Demonstrate vulnerability (e.g. declare uncertainty, fear, recognise mistakes, apologise, acknowledge weaknesses) (Scores 3%) • Demonstrate responsibility (e.g. act like a leader, serve your team, provide solutions to problems, engage in external/internal environments, seek the best for the organisation beyond your team) (Scores 2%) • Demonstrate simplicity (e.g. take simple steps to goals, do less but better, mitigate failures, talk straight with respect) (Scores 3%) • Demonstrate excellence (e.g. seek actionable feedback, set challenging targets, know users, deliver cost effective high level customer satisfaction) (Scores 2%) • Demonstrate enthusiasm (e.g. bring whole self to work, celebrate success, share passion and energy with others, optimistic) (Scores 2%) Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers 1. Can we clarify that you do require a Senior User Researcher ? We only ask, as it's not written (the word "Senior") anywhere in the specification just in the title of the DOS opportunities. Most of the requirement could apply to any level User Researcher. Yes we are looking for a senior user researcher. The mentoring and coaching is listed in the essential criteria. The candidate should be senior enough to not only manage themselves and a mid-weight researcher, but someone who can teach two fast stream civil servants at the same time. In addition, we are looking for a person with experience in every kind of user interface validation. 2. £550 is a very low day rate for someone who is senior and at a level where they can mentor and train others. Are you open to responses at a higher rate? We have used a rate card produced by Crown Commercial Services to set this rate and feel that the Maximum Day Rate of £550 we have set is suitable for this role.Any rates submitted higher than the Maximum Day rate will be excluded on this basis.