Principal User Researcher

About The Role
Hippo Digital is looking for a leader who can continue to build our talented user research profession. Our User Researchers are fantastic at what they do, and we think our tight knit sense of community sets us apart from other consultancies. We need someone with the drive and enthusiasm to help our researchers to build on their skills and experience.
You’ll be given the autonomy to work with our other well respected principal consultants to give the user research profession the support and tools they need to do their best work.
As an expert in user-centred design and research techniques, you’ll also be working with senior stakeholders to implement user-centred design strategy on interesting and challenging projects, with a variety of clients.
What you'll do:
- Lead the user research profession at Hippo, helping our User Researchers by designing and promoting innovative and progressive support initiatives
- Define the recruitment processes for User Researchers, advise on suitability of candidates and lead recruitment interviews
- Coach and support Hippo’s User Researchers in their professional development
- Work with the Hippo research and design communities to share best practice
- Coordinate and lead user research and user research teams for complex client projects
- Act as an engagement lead or site delivery lead for projects
- Plan, design and execute a range of user research activities to support the design, development and continuous improvement of client products
- Provide user insight to inform design decisions and convince clients of the value of user research and user-centred design
- Support new business activity by writing bids and taking part in pitch presentations
About the Candidate:
- Experience of leading a team of User Researchers or user-centred designers
- Proven ability to set standards for user-research and coach people in research methodologies within broader service design and across the Agile project cycle
- You can help people explore complex problems, overcoming barriers to delivery
- Proven experience of building and maintaining relationships with senior stakeholders, and the ability to mediate between people
- Practical understanding of other digital disciplines and how they work together across the Agile project cycle
- Experience of recruiting, training and mentoring other User Researchers
- Advanced experience of Agile and service design principles
It would be great if you had
- Some awareness of the GDS Digital Standard and how it’s applied
About The Company
As well as a competitive salary which we’re transparent about from the outset, you can also expect a range of benefits:
- Contributory pension scheme (Hippo 6% with employee contributions of 2%)
- 25 days holiday plus UK public holidays
- Perkbox access for a wide range of discounts
- Critical illness cover
- Life assurance and death in service cover
- Volunteer days
- Cycle-to-work scheme for the avid cyclists
- Salary sacrifice electric vehicles scheme
- Season ticket loans
- Financial and general wellbeing sessions
- Flexible benefits scheme with options of:
- private health cover
- private dental cover
- additional company pension contributions
- additional holidays (up to an extra 2 days)
- wellbeing contribution
- charity contributions
- tree planting
Hi, we’re Hippo Digital.
At Hippo Digital, we design with empathy and build for impact. We do this by combining data-informed evidence, human-centred design and software engineering. We're a digital services partner who is genuinely invested in helping our clients thrive as modern organisations. Our delivery methodology is truly agile, from concept to reality, supporting innovation and continuous improvement to achieve your desired outcomes.
We firmly believe that technology should serve humanity, not the other way around. We take a human-centred approach to everything we do because we understand that complex problems require a service design approach. This means understanding how users behave and ensuring our solutions work for them in the real world.
Our combination of data, design, and engineering delivers bespoke digital services that make a positive and meaningful impact on organisations and society. We're confident in our abilities, authentic in our approach, and passionate about what we do. If you're looking for a digital services partner that can deliver real results, let us help you build for the future and make a lasting impact.
Hippo locations
We are headquartered in Leeds and located across the UK in Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, London and Bristol. We're on the lookout for top talent nationwide, so don't let location hold you back from applying. We welcome candidates from all over the UK who possess the flexibility to work from any of our locations. Plus, we offer a generous relocation support package of up to £8k to help make your move a smooth one. It's worth noting that, given the dynamic nature of our business, you may be required to work on-site at client locations or from your own home.
Diversity and Inclusion at Hippo Digital: A commitment to lasting change
At Hippo Digital, we're wholeheartedly dedicated to promoting diversity, equality and inclusion. For us, it's not about checking off boxes but about making a true, lasting difference. Having a diverse team unlocks our capacity for innovation, creativity and problem-solving while fostering an inclusive environment that benefits everyone. We strongly encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply and join us on this important journey.