User Researcher

User Researcher6 Month ContractLocation: UK - Remote (once a month travel to London)Rate: £500 - £600 per day (Inside IR35)We're looking for an experienced User Researcher to support a product team delivering software used within the public sector.This is a hands-on contract role, working closely with Product, UX, Engineering and customer stakeholders to understand user needs and ensure insight is fed into product development from discovery through to live service.The role is predominantly remote, although there will be occasional travel to UK offices and customer sites, so candidates must be comfortable with some face-to-face research and stakeholder engagement when required.What you'll be doingPlanning and running user research across discovery, alpha, beta and live phasesConducting user interviews, usability testing, user groups, workshops and secondary researchWorking with Product and Engineering teams to turn research findings into clear, actionable recommendationsCreating research plans, discussion guides, scripts, personas, user journeys and user needsSupporting usability testing through wireframes, prototypes or working closely with designers on thesePresenting research findings to product teams, technical teams and wider stakeholdersChampioning inclusive, ethical and user-centred research practicesHelping teams better understand users, their needs, behaviours and pain pointsWhat we're looking forStrong background as a User Researcher / UX Researcher, ideally in complex software or digital product environmentsExperience working in Agile product teams and feeding research into product roadmaps/backlogsConfident planning and delivering research independently with minimal directionGood mix of qualitative and quantitative research methodsExperience producing clear research outputs such as user needs, personas, journeys, recommendations and insight reportsComfortable engaging with users, stakeholders, Product Managers, Designers and EngineersStrong communication, influencing and stakeholder management skillsGood understanding of inclusive design, accessibility and ethical researchAbility to work with ambiguity and help shape research priorities in a busy product environmentDesirable experienceLocal government / local authority experienceWider public sector product or service experienceExperience with Figma or similar prototyping/wireframing toolsExperience with Pendo or similar product analytics toolsKnowledge of WCAG accessibility standards