Details
Reference number
431339
Salary
£46,100 - £49,585
£49,585 London; £46,100 Durham, Lytham, Glasgow
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP
Job grade
Senior Executive Officer
NS&I Band 4
Contract type
Fixed term
Length of employment
23 Months
Business area
NS&I - Communications and Strategy
Type of role
Analytical
Market Research
Working pattern
Full-time
Number of jobs available
1
Contents
* Location
* About the job
* Benefits
* Things you need to know
* Apply and further information
Location
Can be based in any one of our four office locations across the UK - London, Durham, Lytham St Annes or Glasgow.
About the job
Job summary
The User Researcher and Usability Testing Manager plays a critical role in ensuring that services are designed around the needs of our customers. This role will lead the planning, execution, and integration of user research and usability testing into the design and delivery of both new and existing services.
This role directly supports NS&I's strategic aims to be a user centred, and evidence led organisation. By embedding continuous user insight into our design and delivery processes, the post holder will help us deliver accessible, intuitive, and effective services, improving success rates, and supporting a sustainable model of continual improvement.
The post holder will also work closely with stakeholders to reduce setup times for research, improve internal research operations, and help establish a regular cadence of user engagement essential for iterative service design and improvement.
Job description
Please see attached role profile for full details.
Person specification
Please see attached role profile for full details.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
* Leadership
* Making Effective Decisions
* Managing a Quality Service
* Working Together
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
* Strong experience using tools for remote and in-person testing, (e.g. SPSS) and survey platforms (e.g. Adobe Analytics)
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £46,100, National Savings and Investments contributes £13,355 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
NS&I is one of the largest savings organisations in the UK with more than 24 million customers and over £240 billion invested. We are both a government department and an Executive Agency of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Our origins can be traced back more than 150 years to 1861.
A small company with a big reach, we offer a range of benefits including flexible working, great opportunities for development and a generous pension scheme. We care for colleagues, respect one another, invest in our people and manage talent effectively.
Some benefits of working at NS&I include:
*
o Learning and development tailored to your role
* An environment with flexible hybrid working options
* 9 day fortnight scheme
* A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
* A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 97%
* Generous annual leave – starting at 25 days, increasing to 30 days
* Performance related variable pay bonus
* Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave
Things you need to know
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.
To apply, please click the link on this advert and follow the steps to complete the application form.
In your application you will be asked to provide the following;
* An outline of your career history and qualifications with your key responsibilities and achievements.
* A 750 word personal statement on the following key essential experience
* Extensive experience leading user research and usability testing within agile service design and delivery teams.
* Proven track record of embedding user insight into the design and continuous improvement of digital services.
* Extensive experience using a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research methods and techniques.
* Experience mentoring and developing internal capability in user research and testing.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Please Note:
Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
We will assess applications on your personal statement.
If shortlisted, you will be invited to attend a 1 hour panel interview via video call.
As part of this interview you will be asked to make a presentation with a follow-up Q&A session aimed at demonstrating your experience and abilities in facilitating user research and usability testing.
Interviews will take place in the week commencing 101th November 2025
Note we are unable to accept CVs.
This role is subject to Baseline Personnel Security Standard and financial credit checks.
Reserve List
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
Working for NS&I
NS&I is currently working in a hybrid way with colleagues expected to work at their chosen office location for 40% of their working month.
Any move to NS&I from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at
If you are applying for a role at the same NS&I band as you are currently and the advertised salary of the role is higher, if you are successful, any salary increase will be at the discretion of NS&I and will be reviewed as part of the next annual pay review, in accordance with the NS&I employee handbook.
Note to existing permanent employees at NS&I - Please be aware that if you are a permanent employee appointed to a fixed term role, our recruiting principles ensure you will retain your permanent status at the end of this contract. However, you are not guaranteed to return to your original role. At the conclusion of this fixed term period, you may be redeployed to another suitable role at NS&I, offered retraining or will be given priority mover status to find another role in the civil service.
NS&I employees on a fixed term contract moving to another fixed term role, will continue to be employed for a fixed term to the end date of this role. You may apply for suitable roles within NS&I or the civil service.
Further information
Please visit our website http://nsandi- for further details about NS&I.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality requirements
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)
* 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
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .
Apply and further information
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
* Name : HR Team
* Email :
Recruitment team
* Email :
Further information
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