Design Researcher (12 Month FTC)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Design Researcher (12 Month FTC)

Company: Lloyds Banking Group

Location: Leeds, United Kingdom

Job Type: Full-time, Temporary

Category: Design Research / User Experience Operations

Date Posted: 2026-05-11T00:00:00

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead qualitative research initiatives within the investments and pensions digital product space, ensuring user needs directly influence product strategy and development.

• Apply rigorous research design and analysis methodologies to test assumptions, enhance decision-making confidence, and synthesize complex findings into actionable insights.

• Collaborate closely with multi-disciplinary teams, including designers, product managers, and engineers, to integrate user feedback throughout the product development lifecycle.

• Translate research insights into tangible improvements across the entire customer lifecycle, focusing on end-to-end user experience optimization and journey mapping.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is a 12-month fixed-term contract (FTC) within a large, established financial institution. The emphasis on "bringing strong research into everyday product decisions" and "making sure what we learn does not sit in a deck" highlights a need for a practical, results-oriented researcher who can drive immediate impact and facilitate cross-functional adoption of user insights. The mention of a "regulated environment" is crucial, implying a need for meticulous research governance and an understanding of customer outcomes.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design, plan, and execute a variety of qualitative research methods, including in-depth interviews, usability testing, contextual inquiry, diary studies, and co-creation workshops, selecting the most appropriate method for each research question.

• Conduct rigorous analysis of research data, identifying patterns, themes, and key insights that inform product strategy, design iterations, and business decisions for investments and pensions digital products.

• Collaborate with product stakeholders to define research objectives, scope, and key questions, ensuring research efforts are aligned with business priorities and delivery timelines.

• Develop clear, concise, and actionable research outputs (e.g., reports, presentations, personas, journey maps) that effectively communicate findings and recommendations to diverse audiences.

• Facilitate workshops and discussions to help teams understand and apply research insights to improve the end-to-end customer journey, focusing on identifying and addressing pain points across all touchpoints.

• Ensure all research activities adhere to ethical guidelines, data privacy regulations, and internal research governance standards, particularly within the context of financial services.

• Contribute to the development and refinement of research processes and best practices within the design and product teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibility to "help us apply insight to the moments that matter across the customer lifecycle" and "make it easier to spot where experiences break down across the end to end flow" suggests a need for a researcher who can think holistically about the user journey and connect individual research findings to a broader strategic context. This goes beyond simply reporting findings to actively enabling teams to implement them.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Design Research, or a related field is typically preferred for roles of this nature, providing a strong theoretical foundation.

Experience: A minimum of 5 years of hands-on experience in qualitative user research is required, with a proven track record of planning, conducting, and analyzing research studies. Experience within the financial services sector, particularly in investments, pensions, or other regulated products, is highly desirable.

Required Skills:

• Expertise in planning and executing qualitative research methodologies, including in-depth interviews and usability testing.

• Proficiency in research design, ensuring studies are robust, reliable, and address key business questions.

• Strong data analysis skills, with the ability to synthesize complex qualitative data into clear, actionable insights.

• Excellent synthesis and storytelling abilities, effectively translating research findings into compelling narratives that drive understanding and action.

• Demonstrated collaboration skills, with experience working effectively alongside designers, product managers, and engineers.

• Ability to apply research insights across the entire customer lifecycle to improve end-to-end user experiences.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience in service design, including the creation or contribution to journey maps and service blueprints.

• Familiarity with a broader range of exploratory research methods such as contextual inquiry, diary studies, or co-creation.

• Experience using unmoderated research tools like Maze or Qualtrics.

• Knowledge or direct experience with investments, pensions, or other regulated financial products, understanding the importance of customer outcomes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for "rigour in research design and analysis, with the ability to test assumptions, handle complex findings, and produce clear, defensible insight" underscores the need for a researcher who can operate with a high degree of scientific and analytical discipline. This is particularly critical in a regulated financial environment where decisions have significant customer impact.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate a portfolio showcasing a minimum of 5 years of impactful qualitative research projects.

• Highlight specific examples of how your research design and analysis directly informed product decisions, leading to measurable improvements in user experience or business outcomes.

• Include case studies that illustrate your ability to synthesize complex data into clear, actionable insights and compelling stories.

• Showcase instances where you've applied research across the full customer lifecycle, demonstrating an understanding of end-to-end journey optimization.

Process Documentation:

• Provide examples of research plans you have developed, detailing how you selected appropriate methodologies and aligned them with project goals.

• Showcase how you have documented and presented research findings, ensuring clarity, impact, and accessibility for various stakeholders.

• Illustrate your approach to translating research findings into practical recommendations and guiding teams through the implementation of those recommendations.

• Include any contributions to improving research processes or documentation standards within previous roles.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the emphasis on "making sure what we learn does not sit in a deck" and "turning findings into clear, usable outputs that teams can act on quickly," the portfolio should strongly emphasize the application and impact of research, not just the research itself. Case studies demonstrating how insights led to tangible changes in product or strategy will be highly valued.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: £61,344 - £68,160 per annum.

Benefits:

• A generous pension contribution of up to 15%.

• An annual performance-related bonus.

• Share schemes, including free shares, offering ownership and long-term incentives.

• A flexible benefits package that can be adapted to individual lifestyles, including discounted shopping.

• A competitive holiday allowance of 30 days per year, in addition to bank holidays.

• A range of wellbeing initiatives to support employee health and work-life balance.

• Generous parental leave policies to support new parents.

Working Hours: Full-time, with an expected 40 hours per week. The role operates on a hybrid model, requiring at least two days per week (40% of time) in the Leeds office.

📝 Enhancement Note: The stated salary range falls within the mid-to-senior level for a Design Researcher in the UK, especially within a large financial institution. The benefits package is comprehensive and reflects the offerings of a major employer, with a strong emphasis on long-term financial security and employee well-being.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Financial Services (Banking, Investments, Pensions). Lloyds Banking Group is one of the UK's largest financial institutions, with a long history and a significant market presence. This context means operating within a highly regulated environment, with a strong focus on customer outcomes, data security, and compliance. The company is undergoing a significant digital transformation, investing heavily in technology and data to improve customer experiences.

Company Size: Lloyds Banking Group is a very large enterprise, employing tens of thousands of people globally. This scale means opportunities for cross-functional collaboration, access to extensive resources, and potential for career development within a vast organization, but also implies established processes and hierarchies.

Founded: The group's origins date back to 1695, with its current form resulting from numerous mergers and acquisitions over centuries. This deep heritage influences its culture, brand reputation, and operational structure.

Team Structure:

• The Design Researcher will join a multi-disciplinary team focused on investments and pensions digital products. This team likely includes designers, product managers, engineers, and potentially other specialists.

• The role reports into a lead within the product development or design function, with close collaboration with an existing Design Researcher.

Methodology:

• The team likely employs agile methodologies for product development, with research integrated into sprints and product roadmaps.

• Emphasis is placed on data-driven decision-making, where qualitative research findings are triangulated with other data sources to inform strategy.

• The focus on "applying insight" suggests a pragmatic approach to research, prioritizing practical application and continuous improvement over purely academic exploration.

Company Website: https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The "agile working" mentioned on their careers site, coupled with the hybrid model, indicates a modern approach to work within a traditional industry. The company's purpose, "to help Britain prosper," suggests a customer-centric and socially conscious ethos that likely influences their operational priorities and team values.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned at a mid-to-senior level for a Design Researcher, requiring a minimum of 5 years of experience. It involves independent execution of research, significant contribution to research design and analysis, and the ability to influence product decisions through synthesized insights. It is not an entry-level position but offers a significant opportunity to contribute to critical product areas.

Reporting Structure: The role will likely report to a Senior Design Researcher or a Head of UX/Product Design within the investments and pensions digital product division. There is a clear expectation of working closely with designers, product managers, and engineering teams, indicating a collaborative and integrated reporting dynamic.

Operations Impact: The Design Researcher's impact is directly tied to improving the usability, clarity, and effectiveness of digital investments and pensions products. By ensuring user needs are understood and addressed, this role influences customer satisfaction, adoption rates, and potentially the financial outcomes for millions of customers. The role plays a crucial part in the 'operations' of product development, ensuring it's user-centered and outcome-driven.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in financial services research, particularly within investments and pensions, a niche area with high demand.

• Methodology Expansion: Gain exposure to a wider range of research techniques and service design artefacts through collaboration within the team and the broader organization.

• Leadership Potential: Develop skills in mentoring junior researchers (if applicable) and leading research efforts for significant product initiatives, potentially leading to senior researcher or team lead roles.

• Cross-Functional Transferability: The skills honed in research design, analysis, and strategic application are highly transferable across different product areas within Lloyds Banking Group or the broader financial technology sector.

📝 Enhancement Note: The FTC nature of this role might be a strategic move by LBG to bring in specialized expertise for a defined project or period of intense development. While it's a temporary contract, the experience gained in a large, regulated financial institution with a focus on digital transformation is highly valuable for future career progression in UX research or product management.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid working model. This means a mix of remote work and in-office presence. The Leeds Wellington Place office is described as a modern hub, likely designed to foster collaboration and innovation.

Office Location(s): Leeds, Wellington Place. This is a specific, modern business district in Leeds, indicating a professional and well-equipped working environment. The office provides a base for in-person collaboration, team meetings, and focused work.

Workspace Context:

• The hybrid model supports flexibility, allowing for focused individual work remotely and collaborative activities in the office.

• The Leeds office is expected to be equipped with the necessary technology and facilities to support design and research activities, including meeting rooms for user testing or team sessions.

• Opportunities for direct interaction with designers, product managers, and engineers will be frequent, fostering a dynamic and collaborative team environment.

Work Schedule: Full-time, 40 hours per week, with a hybrid arrangement requiring a minimum of 2 days in the office per week. This structure balances flexibility with the need for in-person collaboration and team cohesion.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "Flexibility Works policy" and the hybrid model suggests that Lloyds Banking Group is actively promoting a work environment that supports employee well-being and productivity through varied work arrangements, while still valuing face-to-face interaction for key team activities and strategic alignment.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process: While not explicitly detailed, a typical process for such a role at a large financial institution would likely involve:

• Initial Screening: A review of your CV and application by HR or a recruiter.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A conversation focusing on your experience, research approach, and fit for the team and role. This is where your understanding of qualitative research methodologies and your ability to apply them will be assessed.

• Portfolio Review/Presentation: A dedicated session where you present selected case studies from your portfolio. This is crucial for demonstrating your skills in research design, analysis, synthesis, and impact. Be prepared to discuss your process, challenges, and outcomes.

• Team/Stakeholder Interviews: Meetings with potential colleagues (designers, product managers, engineers) to assess collaboration skills and cultural fit.

• Final Interview: Potentially with a more senior leader to discuss strategic alignment and overall suitability.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 projects that best showcase your core strengths in qualitative research design, rigorous analysis, and impactful insight translation, especially those relevant to financial services or complex user journeys.

• Focus on Impact: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the methods used, the key findings, and, most importantly, the impact of your research on the product or business. Use metrics where possible.

• Show Your Process: Be ready to walk through your thought process for research design, how you synthesized findings, and how you collaborated with teams to ensure insights were acted upon.

• Highlight Governance: Given the regulated environment, be prepared to discuss how you ensure ethical research practices, data privacy, and responsible handling of participant information.

• Tailor to LBG: Research Lloyds Banking Group's products and services in investments and pensions. Mention how your experience aligns with their goals of making these services simpler, clearer, and more usable.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be prepared for a potential take-home assignment or a live case study exercise that might involve critiquing a user flow, proposing research methods for a given problem, or synthesizing mock research data.

• Practice articulating complex research concepts and findings concisely and clearly, as if explaining them to non-researchers.

• Consider how you would approach researching a specific financial product or a customer journey within investments or pensions, demonstrating your understanding of the domain's complexities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "making sure what we learn does not sit in a deck" means interviewers will be looking for evidence of driving action. Your portfolio and interview responses should clearly link your research activities to tangible outcomes and product improvements.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Qualitative Research Platforms: Experience with tools for conducting interviews and usability testing, potentially including unmoderated platforms like Maze or Qualtrics, as mentioned in the preferred skills.

• Collaboration Tools: Proficiency with standard office suites (e.g., Microsoft Office, Google Workspace) for documentation and presentations. Familiarity with tools like Miro or Mural for collaborative workshops and journey mapping.

• Project Management Tools: Exposure to agile project management software (e.g., Jira, Confluence) is likely beneficial for integrating with development teams.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While this role is primarily qualitative, an understanding of how to integrate qualitative insights with quantitative data is valuable. Familiarity with analytics dashboards or reporting tools used by product teams can be a plus.

CRM & Automation:

• Not directly applicable to the core research function, but an awareness of how customer data is managed within a CRM context can inform research about customer lifecycle touchpoints.

📝 Enhancement Note: The mention of "Maze or Qualtrics" for unmoderated research suggests the company is open to modern tooling. However, the core requirement is strong qualitative research skills, not necessarily deep technical expertise in specific platforms. The ability to choose the right method implies adaptability beyond a fixed toolset.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer-Centricity: A strong focus on understanding and serving the needs of millions of customers, particularly in making complex financial products accessible.

• Integrity & Responsibility: Operating with high ethical standards in a regulated environment, prioritizing customer outcomes and data security.

• Collaboration: Working effectively across diverse teams to achieve shared goals, fostering an environment of mutual respect and shared ownership.

• Continuous Improvement: A drive to innovate and enhance processes and products, embracing change and learning from both successes and failures.

• Efficiency & Clarity: A commitment to making investments and pensions simpler, clearer, and more usable, reflecting in the team's approach to design and research.

Collaboration Style:

• The team operates with a hybrid model, requiring proactive communication and clear documentation to ensure alignment between remote and in-office colleagues.

• Expect a collaborative style where research insights are openly shared and debated, with a focus on collective problem-solving.

• The culture encourages embedding research into the product development lifecycle, meaning researchers are active participants in team discussions and decision-making, not just external consultants.

• A willingness to share knowledge and mentor others on research best practices is likely valued.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's stated purpose, "to help Britain prosper," and its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion suggest a culture that values purpose-driven work, social responsibility, and an inclusive environment where all colleagues can thrive. This will likely translate into how teams interact and prioritize their work.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating a Regulated Environment: Conducting research while adhering to strict financial regulations and compliance requirements, ensuring customer data is handled with utmost care and ethical considerations are paramount.

• Synthesizing Complex Financial Products: Effectively researching and communicating insights about complex financial products like investments and pensions, which can be challenging for both customers and researchers.

• Driving Action from Insights: Ensuring that research findings translate into concrete product changes and strategic decisions, overcoming potential organizational inertia or competing priorities.

• Hybrid Collaboration: Effectively collaborating and maintaining strong team cohesion and research momentum within a hybrid work model.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Domain Expertise: Gain deep knowledge of the investments and pensions sector, a specialized area within financial services.

• Advanced Methodologies: Opportunity to work alongside an existing Design Researcher and potentially expand the use of research methods, including exploratory and service design techniques.

• Cross-Functional Skill Development: Enhance collaboration and communication skills by working closely with product, design, and engineering teams.

• Impactful Contribution: Contribute to significant digital transformation initiatives within a major UK financial institution, building a strong portfolio of impactful work.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "12 Month FTC" presents a unique challenge and opportunity. The challenge is to deliver significant value within a defined timeframe. The opportunity lies in the focused nature of the role, allowing for deep immersion in a specific problem space and the potential to make a demonstrable impact quickly, which can be a great career accelerant.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to choose between multiple research methods for a single project. How did you decide, and what was the outcome?" (Assesses research design methodology and decision-making.)

• "How do you ensure your research findings are understood and acted upon by product and engineering teams, especially when they might challenge existing assumptions?" (Focuses on synthesis, storytelling, and influence.)

• "Walk us through a complex customer journey you've researched. What were the key moments of truth, and how did your insights help improve the end-to-end experience?" (Tests holistic journey thinking and application of research.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about researching investments and pensions products specifically?" (Assesses domain interest and understanding.)

• "How do you see your research approach fitting within a hybrid working model and a large, established organization like Lloyds Banking Group?" (Tests adaptability and understanding of organizational context.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: For each case study, clearly outline the Problem, Your Role, Research Methods, Key Findings, Recommendations, and Impact (quantified if possible).

• Narrative: Tell a compelling story about the user and how your research brought their needs to the forefront. Emphasize your process and problem-solving skills.

• Visuals: Use visuals (e.g., anonymized quotes, journey maps, key insight slides) to support your presentation. Avoid dense text.

• Interaction: Be prepared for Q&A. Anticipate questions about your methodology choices, challenges faced, and how you handled conflicting data.

• Tailoring: Highlight projects that demonstrate your ability to work in regulated environments, handle complexity, and drive actionable outcomes – qualities espoused in the job description.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interviewers will be keen to see how you translate "research design and analysis" into "clear, usable outputs that teams can act on quickly." Your portfolio presentation should strongly emphasize this practical application and the measurable impact of your work.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the Lloyds Banking Group careers portal.

• Portfolio Customization: Select 2-3 of your most relevant and impactful research projects. Prioritize those demonstrating strong qualitative research design, rigorous analysis, and clear impact on product decisions, especially any related to financial services or complex user journeys.

• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to highlight your 5+ years of qualitative research experience, specific methodologies used, analytical skills, collaboration experience, and any experience within regulated environments or the financial sector. Use keywords from the job description.

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your research process, key findings, and the impact of your work. Prepare specific examples to answer strategy and behavioral questions, focusing on how you drive action from insights.

• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Lloyds Banking Group's purpose, values, and current digital transformation efforts, particularly in investments and pensions. Understand their commitment to customer outcomes and hybrid working.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.