Moorepay is transforming. We are a trusted leader in UK Payroll and HR solutions, but we aren't resting on our history. We are embarking on a major digital transformation to redefine how businesses manage their most important asset: their people.
We need a Senior UX Researcher to lead the discovery strategy for this next-generation platform. This is not a "ticket-taking" role where you simply run usability tests on demand. It is a strategic opening for a research leader who can build an "Evidence Engine" from scratch — moving the business from assumption-based debates to evidence-led decisions.
You will be the first research hire in this new function, partnering closely with the Head of UX and Senior Product Designer to define what we build before a single line of code is written.
Why this role is unique:
Most "transformation" roles in legacy enterprises are UI modernisation projects with limited strategic scope. This is different.
You'll define the research strategy for a new platform from first principles — greenfield discovery, evidence frameworks, and insight systems — while leveraging the distribution, domain expertise, and resources of a 500+ person established company backed by Zellis Group.
You get start-up autonomy with enterprise stability. You'll shape the research practice, not inherit someone else's playbook.
Why Join?
- Strategic Autonomy: As a founding member of this new function, you will have the freedom to shape the culture, methods, and strategic priorities of research activities from day one, without inheriting legacy processes.
- Foundational Impact: You'll define the research practice for a major digital transformation — not running tests within someone else's framework but building the "Evidence Engine" from scratch.
- Innovation: Work on the cutting edge of HR tech, exploring how intelligent automation transforms complex workflows — and how users learn to trust systems that act on their behalf.
- Rare Greenfield Opportunity: Most enterprise transformation roles are constrained by legacy compromises. Here, you'll define the research roadmap for a new platform from first principles.
The Partnership (The Core Trio)
You will form a "Core Trio" with the Senior Product Designer and Product Manager. This is a partnership model where decisions are made collaboratively, and each discipline has equal weight within their domain.
The AI & Tooling Stack
We encourage experimentation with tools that buy us speed. You're not expected to have mastered all of these, but you should be excited to explore:
- Repository: Dovetail or similar insight libraries.
- Rapid Testing: UserTesting, Maze, or Looppanel.
- Analytics: Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity, or GA4.
This is a full time, 12 month fixed-term role working on a hybrid basis with 3 days per week in Manchester.
Key responsibilities:
Deep Process Mapping (Service Blueprints)
- Map the "As-Is" to build the "To-Be:" A core part of your role will be conducting deep-dive discovery into existing HR workflows (e.g., Onboarding, Pay Runs). You will create detailed Service Blueprints that map system interactions, user touchpoints, and manual workarounds.
- Automation Suitability: You won't just map the process; you will assess it. You will identify which parts of a workflow are rule-based (high automation potential) vs. ambiguous (require human judgment), helping us decide what to automate.
Researching Trust & Automation
- Mental Model Mapping: You will investigate how users perceive and trust intelligent automation. You will explore how much autonomy users are comfortable delegating to the system, and your insights will define the transparency levels required.
- Simulation & Concept Testing: You will be comfortable running simulation tests (often called "Wizard of Oz" testing) to validate automated concepts and interactions before the backend logic is fully built.
Strategic Prioritisation & Judgment
- Own the research roadmap: Identify high-risk assumptions — particularly around user trust and control — and validate them fast. Deciding what not to research is often as important as the research itself.
- Speed over perfection: Prioritise speed-to-insight. You know when to run a deep longitudinal study and when to unblock the team with a 24-hour rapid test.
Execution Ownership (The Founding Reality)
- Player-Coach Model: You are the primary execution engine: recruiting participants, moderating sessions, analysing data, and building research operations infrastructure from scratch.
- Build the Discipline: You will establish recruitment pipelines, consent frameworks, and insight repositories yourself. This is foundational infrastructure that will scale with the function.
Stakeholder Influence & Challenge
- Hold the line on evidence: You must be comfortable managing disagreement, killing low-value ideas early, and challenging senior stakeholders with data.
- Commercial focus: Connect user friction directly to commercial value (churn, adoption, cost-to-serve) to drive executive alignment. :