Lead User Researcher (12 month FTC)

Job Title: Lead User Researcher - 12-month Fixed term Contract

Division: Data, Technology and Innovation

Department: Digital Delivery Hub

• Salary: National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £74,900 to £95,000 and London from £82,300 to £102,400 per annum (salary offered will be based on skills and experience)

• This role is graded as: Technical Specialist - Regulatory

• Your external recruitment contact is Benjamin via benjamin.paulon@fca.org.uk.

• Your internal recruitment contact is Lauren via Lauren.Pyrah@fca.org.uk

• Applications must be submitted through our online portal. Applications sent via social media or email will not be accepted.

About the FCA and team

We regulate financial services firms in the UK, to keep financial markets fair, thriving and effective. By joining us, you’ll play a key part in protecting consumers, driving economic growth, and shaping the future of UK finance services.

The Data, Technology and Innovation (DTI) division enables the FCA to be a digital-first, data-led smart regulator by delivering a secure, agile, and cost-effective technology and data ecosystem that drives better decisions, transparency, and operational efficiency.

Sitting within DTI, the Digital Delivery Hub digitally transforms the FCA's regulatory services to efficiently meet the needs of all stakeholders.

You will join the User Centred Design (UCD) Centre of Excellence leadership team within the Digital Delivery Hub (DDH).

Role responsibilities

• Provide profession leadership for the user research community, shaping direction and promoting consistent, high-quality practice across the organisation

• Maintain and continuously evolve standards for user research, ensuring approaches remain relevant, effective and aligned with organisational priorities

• Contribute to the delivery of the user-centred design leadership roadmap in collaboration with Centre of Excellence Leads, aligning activity to strategic outcomes

• Assess and prioritise emerging demand alongside Centre of Excellence Leads, ensuring resource is focused on areas of highest value and impact

• Advance user research practice, building on existing foundations to develop capability and maturity across the community

• Deliver impactful work that supports outcomes focused on helping consumers avoid financial harm and promoting fair, effective markets

• Enable products and services to better meet the needs of firms, consumers and internal users by embedding user-centred insights into design and delivery

• Engage with and support a collaborative community of practitioners, contributing to a positive culture that advances user-centred thinking and organisational effectiveness

Skills required

Minimum:

• Relevant user research experience at Lead or Head of Profession level

• Experience in working in project/programme environments involving business & IT change

• Research experience within any of the following types of organisations/sectors: financial services, government/regulatory body, technology, consultancy (IT consultancy)

Essential:

• Prior experience helping adopt a wide range of user research methods organisationally, lead a community of practice to continually assure, improve and innovate user research, engage and persuade sceptical colleagues and stakeholders

• Effectively include all kinds of users in research activities, and advocate inclusive practices to design accessible services that work for everyone

• Demonstrate experience leading research within a product or technology organisation where user-centred design is embedded in decision-making’

• Guiding adopting effective analysis and synthesis techniques, continually improving practices to deliver clear, meaningful and actionable findings

• Understanding how digital technology is shaping user behaviour, and identify the challenges and opportunities this creates for FCA service design and delivery

• Interpreting organisational goals and challenges, and align research across teams to inform policy development and service propositions

• Knowledge of the technologies used to build and run digital services, and collaborate effectively with colleagues across digital disciplines

Benefits

• 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays

• Hybrid model where employees work a minimum of 40% in the office each month (expectation of 50% for senior leaders). Changing from September to a minimum of 50% in the office each month (expectation of 60% for Directors and Executive Directors)

• Non-contributory pension (8–12% depending on age) and life assurance at eight times your salary

• Private healthcare with Bupa, income protection, and 24/7 Employee Assistance

• 35 hours of paid volunteering annually

• A flexible benefits scheme designed around your lifestyle

For a full list of our benefits, and our recruitment process as a whole visit our benefits page.

Our values & culture

Our colleagues are the key to our success as a regulator. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture: one that’s free from discrimination and bias, celebrates difference, and supports colleagues to deliver at their best. We believe that our differences and similarities enable us to be a better organisation – one that makes better decisions, drives innovation, and delivers better regulation.

If you require any adjustments due to a disability or condition, your recruiter is here to help - reach out for tailored support.

We welcome diverse working styles and aim to find flexible solutions that suit both the role and individual needs, including options like part-time and job sharing where applicable.

Disability Confident: our hiring approach

We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, and therefore, people or individuals with disabilities and long-term conditions who best meet the minimum criteria for a role will go through to the next stage of the recruitment process. In cases of high application volumes, we may progress applicants whose experience most closely matches the role’s key requirements.

Useful information and timeline

• Advert Closing: 12/07/26

• CV Review/Shortlist: 13/07/26

• First Stage Telephone Interviews W/C: 16/07/26

• Second Stage Interviews W/C: 20/07/26

• Your Recruiter will discuss the process in detail with you during screening for the role, therefore, please make them aware if you are going to be unavailable for any date during this time.