Head of user research

Band 8c · User researcher · 650 job evaluation points

UK GDaD PCF level: Head of user research

Most often performed at Civil Service grade G7 or G6.

A head of user research leads user researchers in an organisation and attracts and builds talent.
At this role level, you will:
be an expert practitioner who can define and assure best practice
influence organisational strategy and priorities
collaborate with colleagues across government

Contains public sector information from the UK Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework (https://understand-digital-data-roles-skills.service.gov.uk/), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.

Responsibilities

Lead the user research profession and set its strategy, standards, and ethics.
Influence organizational strategy and priorities with evidence about patients, carers, and care staff.
Attract, build, and develop research talent, including career paths and recruitment.
Assure research practice across the organization and act as the escalation point for high-risk research.
Represent research practice with ethics, safeguarding, and research governance bodies.

Skills

Skill	Expected level	What this level means
Agile research practicesUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: advocate for agile working at the organisational level and with senior stakeholders help organisations adopt agile research practices set standards and expectations of how research insights should be delivered to support delivery by agile teams coach and guide other user researchers to adopt agile ways of working
Analysis and synthesisUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: help an organisation to adopt a wide range of analysis and synthesis techniques, and to continually assure, improve and innovate their practices to generate clear and valuable findings
Inclusive researchUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: help organisations understand the diversity of users of government services guide organisations to adopt inclusive practices and apply what they learn to design and deliver accessible services that work for all users
Research management, leadership and assuranceUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: establish and align user research programmes and teams to meet organisational goals synthesise findings from research programmes, producing strategic insights to inform the organisation’s roadmap set and assure good practice user research standards for the organisation, including ethics and safeguarding assure user research quality across the organisation
Stakeholder relationship managementUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: direct the stakeholder relationship strategy for your teams ensure stakeholder's objectives are set and support teams to meet them influence and negotiate with senior stakeholders to resolve issues and enable progress
User research methodsUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: help an organisation adopt a wide range of user research methods lead a community of practice to help an organisation continually assure, improve and innovate their user research
User-centred practice and advocacyUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: find ways to help an organisation adopt user-centred practices and appreciate the value of understanding users ensure discussions at senior levels or between organisations consider user needs and evolving user behaviour help an organisation understand the complete journey of the user and use this knowledge to improve their services
Understanding health and care servicesThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: shape organizational strategy using a deep understanding of the health and care system represent the organization with health and care partners and leaders anticipate how policy and service changes will affect digital services and care
Ethical research with patients and care staffThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: set the organization's standards for ethical research with patients, carers, and care staff assure research practice across teams and advise on high-risk research represent research practice to ethics, safeguarding, and governance bodies
Information governance and data protectionThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: lead data protection impact assessments and information sharing agreements advise teams on lawful basis, consent, confidentiality, and retention investigate incidents and recommend improvements
Equality, diversity, and inclusionThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: set inclusion strategy and hold the organization to account for it lead culture change on equality, diversity, and inclusion
Clinical risk managementThis reference	Working (2)	You can: take part in hazard workshops and contribute to a hazard log follow the clinical risk management process for your work provide evidence for a clinical safety case, such as test results
People managementThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: lead managers and shape the culture of a large area design workforce plans and organizational change coach leaders and resolve complex people issues
Budget managementThis reference	Working (2)	You can: track spending against a small budget and raise variances authorize spending within your limit

Typical qualifications and experience

Extensive experience of leading user research and a research practice.

Band 8c outline

Knowledge: Expert knowledge, and wide organizational and sector understanding.
Autonomy: Sets strategy for a function; accountable to a director.
Scope: A function or department.
Leadership: Leads a function through several management layers.
Accountability: A function's performance, workforce, and budget.

Job evaluation (illustrative)

Factor	Level	Level summary	Points
Communication and relationship skills	6	Gives highly complex, highly contentious information where there are significant barriers to acceptance, using the highest level of communication skills.	60
Knowledge, training, and experience	7	Highly developed specialist knowledge across the range of the specialism (master's level or equivalent).	196
Analytical and judgmental skills	5	Judgments on highly complex facts or situations needing analysis, interpretation, and comparison of options.	60
Planning and organizational skills	5	Forms long-term strategic plans, with uncertainty and effects across the organization.	60
Physical skills	2	Skills gained through practice, such as standard keyboard use or driving.	15
Responsibility for patient and client care	1	Helps patients, clients, or relatives during incidental contact.	4
Responsibility for policy and service development	5	Implements and develops a range of policies or services for a directorate.	45
Responsibility for financial and physical resources	3	Authorizes payments, buys some assets or supplies, monitors or holds a delegated budget, or maintains assets.	21
Responsibility for people	4	Line manages a function or department, designs training programs as a main duty, or delivers a full range of HR services.	32
Responsibility for information resources	5	Designs and develops major information systems, or runs information systems for several services as the main duty.	34
Responsibility for research and development	5	Initiates and develops research and development programs that support the organization's objectives.	45
Freedom to act	5	Works within general policies, and in most cases decides how to interpret them.	45
Physical effort	1	Sitting, standing, and walking, with little physical effort.	3
Mental effort	3	Frequent concentration on unpredictable work, or occasional prolonged concentration.	12
Emotional effort	2	Occasional exposure, or frequent indirect exposure, to distressing circumstances.	11
Working conditions	2	Occasional unpleasant conditions, frequent travel or outdoor work, or near-continuous screen use on most days.	7
Total (Band 8c: 630 to 674)			650

The UK GDaD PCF places both lead user researcher and head of user research at G7 or G6, with a suggested Band 8b. This reference places the head at Band 8c, in line with the heads of other user-centered design professions, because the head leads the profession across the organization and initiates its research programs.