Senior Design Researcher

Job level: 9

As a Senior Design Researcher at TPXimpact, you will help lead and deliver design research within our client teams. Your efforts will contribute significantly to achieving our purpose, DT Ways, and Missions.

On client projects, you’ll work as part of multidisciplinary teams, including others in DT Design and across TPXimpact as well as associates and client teams to produce high-quality work that meets the needs of users. 

In DT Design, you will actively contribute to the Research and Analysis practice, fostering a culture of sharing and learning, supporting business growth and the development of our service offerings, playing a crucial role in achieving our missions.

Responsibilities

• Demonstrate shaping design research best practice through delivering client work – embedding design research approaches into Agile ways of working, delivering high quality design research independently and with others and providing strategic support.

• Adapt your approach depending on a client’s organisation cultures, design maturity and appetite for change. 

• Support and coach other designers and client teams to promote design research best practice, to support delivery outcomes and individual development goals

• Actively contributing to your practice within TPXimpact, and to implementing the DT Design and practice strategy through internal impact time, skills development, knowledge management and sharing.

• Foster a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement on teams and across the practice and DT Design.

• Support business development activities, including contributing to design research proposals and sales bids, pitches and client presentations

• Line manage 1 - 2 researchers in the practice.

• Continuously stay up-to-date with emerging technologies and methods in design research trends, and share this knowledge with others

• Continuously maintain and update skills and knowledge to stay current within your relevant field of expertise

Professional knowledge and experience

• Experience problem framing and research scoping, working with teams to define assumptions and/or hypotheses within institutional complexity. 

• Previous experience designing and leading design research to GDS standards on complex, user facing products and services in client facing teams or projects.

• Experience supporting the design of inclusive and accessible products and services, adapting research methodologies to suit diverse contexts and ensuring safeguarding of both team and participants and compliance throughout the research process.

• Experience working with prototypes and/or pilot interventions using a mix of methods and/or within robust evaluation and impact measurement processes.

• Experience of working with delivery leadership to influence and shape design research and drive evidence-base decision making.

• Experience working with other designers and researchers in a multidisciplinary team to deliver high quality design work

• Experience of working with data, technology and change specialists in technical and complex programmes of work.

• Experience mentoring and coaching others – in the practice and in client teams – to create quality, impactful and user-centred products and services, including in organisations and teams with low design maturity.

• Experience operating in a fast-paced environment, balancing internal business priorities with external delivery and work on client projects.

Technical skills

• Able to design appropriate and engaging research, with ethical and inclusive consideration at its core -  including user grouping and segmentation design, designing approaches and participant and research management.

• Able to deliver research independently and with others using a variety of methods from discovery to evaluative research with transactional, operational users and/or governance stakeholders to understand people - behavioural context, culture and lived experiences to help define, improve and iterate products and services.

• Able to independently analyse and synthesise qualitative data as well as facilitate teams to enable continuous insight development throughout different stages of design and delivery and enables evidence-based learning decision making.

• Able to hold research operations for your project - tooling, knowledge management at scale within client team and  research practice team. 

• Able to effectively convey the value and impact of user-centred design and research design both within an organisation and in the broader public discourse.

• Able to create visual and engaging artefacts for conducting, communicating research and representing users, and/or collaborate effectively with others to do so.

• Able to work in the open - confidently shaping and communicating the story of your work and impact. 

• Able to work within and manage ambiguity – supporting to build shared understanding and team clarity and direction.

• Interest or first hand experience in co-design, participatory, mixed method approaches.

Behaviours and PACT values

• Purpose: You’ll be highly value driven, recognising that our clients needs are paramount. You’ll be able to approach client engagements with professionalism, creativity and flair, whilst balancing our commercial and operational needs. You’ll work to ensure we have clear processes and guardrails in place to deliver well through how we organise and operate within our Design functions. 

• Accountability: When in a leadership position on a client project,, you’ll be accountable for delivering your part of a project on time and under budget and working well with other leaders. You’ll set practice standards that align to our DT Ways and Missions. You will lead by example, promoting a culture where quality, client experience and the pursuit of imaginative solutions to client problems is foremost.

• Craft: You’ll be able to balance multiple priorities while leading high performing teams and through establishing trusted relationships both inside and outside of TPXimpact. As a design or transformational leader who can lead others by example, you will need to navigate ambiguity and use your confidence here to quickly assimilate the direction and approaches that support positive outcomes for our clients and our business.

•  Togetherness: You’ll be able to collaborate effectively with others across TPXimpact. You’ll build strong relationships that demonstrate the importance of excellent delivery and client experience as a collective effort, rather than just focusing on your own area of expertise. You’ll thrive working with others, providing clarity around vision, objectives and holding high standards for our work through the capabilities your practice holds.