Senior Design Researcher
- 12-Month Secondment
- Location Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane
About the role:
The Senior Design Researcher role focuses on enabling user centric design of digital customer experiences across Suncorp’s Insurance brands through qualitative research. The role exists to deliver actionable insight to inform UX design and enable evidence-based product decisions that enhance customer engagement and satisfaction in digital journeys.
The position sits within the Experience Design and Research team, which is responsible for applying human centred design thinking and qualitative research methods to explore and advance customer interactions through digital experience design.
The Senior Design Researcher will be responsible for leading generative and evaluative research projects to inform UI/UX design; collaborating closely with UX designers, product owners, content specialists and other stakeholders to develop new digital experiences and/or optimise existing digital interactions. The role will require working across a range of digital assets inclusive of Insurance websites, apps, self-service portals, sales funnels, and virtual assisted channels. Research will focus on uncovering design opportunities, mitigating usability and accessibility risks, and driving measurable business outcomes.
The Senior Design Researcher will also play a core role in evolving the team’s design research practice, working to continuously improve approaches to research methodology, ethics, data analysis and workflow management. The role will involve mentoring less experienced team members and advocating for user-centred thinking across the organisation.
This is a highly collaborative position, and it is expected that the successful candidate will be comfortable networking across the business to tap into expertise as needed and to influence the implementation of insights and best practice in delivery.
Key Accountabilities:
Research planning and execution
- Autonomously plan and execute end-to-end research projects of varying complexity. This includes scoping research plans, defining research goals and milestones, aligning with stakeholders on required deliverables, securing budgets and managing research vendor/supplier engagements (as required).
- Confidently execute on a range of generative and evaluative qualitative research methods; both moderated and unmoderated (e.g. task-based testing, cognitive walkthroughs, and A/B testing to validate design solutions iteratively 1:1 interviews, customer workshops, diary studies, focus groups, usability testing, card sorts, surveys, etc).
- Advise stakeholders on research requirements and options to achieve project objectives within commercial parameters
- Generate research materials and coordinate research logistics (e.g. recruitment specifications, moderation guides, research project plans etc).
- Codify, analyse, synthesise and interpret qualitative data to surface insights, inform decisions and identify customer trends over time.
- Maintain compliance processes and ethical standards for all projects, including participant consent management.
Communication and relationship management
- Prepare engaging reports and research collateral; developing compelling narratives that frame research insights for action.
- Confidently present research insights and recommendations to audiences at all levels of the organisation
- Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to transform insights into design and delivery actions.
- Manage working relationships throughout project execution.
- Enable ongoing stakeholder access to insight through updating internal social platforms, maintaining SharePoint sites and file libraries.
Ways of working
- Operate with proficiency in an agile environment; comfortable designing and deploying ‘lean’ research within sprint cadences of a project.
- Maintain a prioritised backlog of research initiatives and support agile workflow processes for the team.
- Work collaboratively. Shape and facilitate workshops with cross functional stakeholders to define problems, ideate solutions, shape research needs and/or action recommendations.
Research practice
- Be proactive in the continuous development and improvement of research processes, methods, tools, and documentation to support an agile design research practice
- Manage day-to-day vendor relationships for the research practice (e.g. recruitment or tooling suppliers)
- Uplift team capability and maturity through coaching and supporting less experienced design researchers. Participate in and contribute to building a positive, collaborative, high performing team culture
- Stay abreast of emerging trends, best practices, and technologies in design research. Leverage this knowledge to drive innovation and excellence within the team practice and within projects.
- Operate within risk appetite and all related research governance and compliance requirements.
About You:
- Bachelor's degree in a Social Science (Sociology, Psychology, Anthropology) and/or Design.
- Master’s degree in design, Social Sciences or HCI highly desirable.
- Additional training in service design, social science, and/or agile methodologies highly desirable.
- 5+ years’ experience applying qualitative design research methodologies (1:1 interview, unmoderated tests, co-design workshops, diary studies, usability testing, card sorts, surveys, etc)
- Proven experience conducting both in person and remote customer research.
- Experience working within multi-disciplinary teams in an agile sprint framework.
- Advanced knowledge of digital experience design and research tools (e.g Miro, Figma, unmoderated research platforms etc)
- Proven ability to influence stakeholders at all levels within an organisation.
Key Capabilities:
- Personable and Collaborative – Confident and approachable with strong interpersonal skills and a collaborative approach to work.
- Research Practice – Passionate about design research and human centred outcomes. Confident and highly proficient in a range of generative and evaluative qualitative design research methodologies. Experience deploying participatory design and co-creation methods is highly advantageous.
- Communication – Confidently share research methodologies, approaches and socialise customer insights for impact and influence at all levels of an organisation. Be confident to champion customer needs within commercial contexts.
- Research Workflow – Applied knowledge of design research workflows in an agile operating model. Advanced ability to recognise and execute on research opportunities at appropriate stages of a project.
- Digital Experience - Keep abreast of latest digital experience and design research trends. Strong knowledge of UX design and usability research best practices.
What we can offer you:
- Discounts and offers on a range of insurance products
- A range of flexible working and leave options
- Invest in your brighter future with ongoing study support and career development programs.
- Give back to our communities with payroll giving, donation matching and paid volunteer leave.
- Prioritise your work/life balance with our robust employee assistance program and dedicated employee council.
Employee benefits | Suncorp Group
At Suncorp we believe we are our best when our workforce is as diverse, talented and passionate as the communities in which we live and operate, and where our people feel included, valued and connected. We are passionate about inspiring our people by creating a diverse, accessible, and inclusive culture, offering flexible work, career development and internal mobility, and building connected relationships amongst our team members and with our customers.
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