DCD/Get Involved-Hiring/Sr. UX Design Researcher

Who are we?

The Digital Enablement (DE) Branch of the Treasury Board Secretariat is a team of passionate public servants that helps the Government of Canada and its partners work together, in the open, to create a better world. How? By developing an open and accessible digital workspace as an open source software project – with open standards, open source software, and light-weight partnerships to help us get it right. While we work on that, we are also responsible for maintaining the GCTools (GCcollab, GCconnex, GCpedia and more!). Our work involves everything from strategic planning, policy and foresight, data analysis and reporting, user experience, advocacy and marketing, content management and curation, community management and user support. Our team also looks after the complete technical operations from networking, server provision, application development and user experience. We work with and for our users to make the Government of Canada awesome!

About the UX team

The UX team guides and informs the work towards designing and building better collaboration tools and user experiences using a variety of research and design methods. We work with a multidisciplinary team to incorporate user-centric thinking from problem definition to post-launch iteration. Our priority is to have an in-depth understanding of our users. We ask thoughtful research questions, synthesize insights, develop and evaluate concepts or prototypes, and assist with launches and releases. We value diversity and learning from one another, so you’ll be joining a team of people from various backgrounds. We’re always looking for people who are passionate about their work and who understand the important role that collaboration can play in a large ecosystem, such as the Government of Canada. You’ll have opportunities to learn, lead, and contribute to meaningful work.

As a senior design researcher, you will…

Lead and conduct compelling research that will inform the design of products and drive product decisions.
Develop research plans that align with the product roadmap and initiatives, identifying critical research needs, coaching other members of the research team, as well as leading research yourself.
Coordinate and execute all aspects the research process, including the development of research plans, recruitment, data collection and analysis, and communication.
Articulate research questions and priorities and use a range of research methodologies (story mapping to answer those questions and validate assumptions)
Develop research artefacts such as personas, usage scenarios, journey maps and findings/opportunity reports.
Develop user requirements and product backlog using a variety of lean and agile practices, such as story mapping sessions.
Plan and conduct various workshops and usability tests, and other lightweight research methods, all in an agile environment.
Evaluate the results of UX tests and develop recommendations for improving user interface and user experience.
Collaborate closely with designers, developers, product owners, and other disciplines to design, implement, and track new products and experiences.

You'll need to have

3+ years of professional experience in a senior UX research role, applying a range of research methods with creativity, scrappiness, and critical thinking.
Lead teams through user research planning, facilitation, analysis, and reporting.
Introduce new methods, frameworks, and practices to your team members.
Hands-on experience scoping and prioritizing research questions, planning research, gathering and analyzing data, summarizing, creating meaningful and actionable results.
Ability to translate business needs and research requests into research goals and tasks.
Excellent people skills to interact with staff, colleagues and cross-functional teams, and users.
A desire to continually learn, experiment with and develop new methods.
Be willing to help teammates, share knowledge and experience with them, and learn from them.
Ability and willingness to use Web 2.0 tools & social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, wikis, LinkedIn, blogs, etc.)
Ability to conduct research in both official languages (English and French).

It's a bonus if you have

Ability to effectively communicate in French.
Knowledge of the GCTools (GCconnex, GCcollab, GCpedia)
Knowledge of agile development processes.
Skills, hobbies, or experience that have given you a unique perspective on UX research.

Location

We are located in downtown Ottawa, Ontario.

Duration

Secondment or term contract of 1-2 years.

If you are interested in joining our dynamic team of individuals, and working on awesome projects that will help shift the culture of the Government of Canada towards a collaborative and connected ecosystem, send your cover letter, portfolio and résumé to: Genenevieve.lemieux@tbs-sct.gc.ca.