Lead UX Researcher

Company Description

Informa is a leading academic publishing, business intelligence, knowledge, and events business, creating unique content and connectivity for customers all over the world. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100.  

Taylor & Francis is one of the world’s largest publishers of high-quality, peer reviewed scholarly journals, books, e-books and reference works. We empower learners, thinkers and doers with trusted knowledge that advances research and enriches lives. We bring together diverse people, ideas and opinions to validate and publish the experts, theories and truths that matter. And we’ve been doing this in an unbroken arc since 1798.  

Our purpose is to foster human progress through knowledge.  We strongly believe that this requires us to encourage and examine different ideas and voices, so that any work that meets our exacting levels of quality deserves to be included in our publications. This requires open minds, the opportunity for robust debate, and the courage to defend perspectives that stand up to scrutiny, even if they conflict with our personal beliefs or values. Because that’s the only way to find the best obtainable version of the truth and, ultimately, foster human progress. If you agree, then we’d love to hear from you. 

Research at Taylor & Francis is central to how we understand our users, identify opportunities and shape meaningful digital experiences. As a Lead UX Researcher reporting to the Head of Product Design, you'll bring deep expertise in qualitative and mixed-methods research, uncovering users' motivations, behaviours and unmet needs. 

You'll work within multidisciplinary product teams, contributing throughout the product lifecycle, from discovery and problem framing to exploring concepts, prototyping ideas and evaluating solutions. Alongside research expertise, you'll bring practical design literacy, confidently participating in design conversations, sketching ideas and working with prototypes to help turn insight into action. 

As part of a growing design function, you'll also help establish how we conduct research, share insights and embed evidence-led design practices across Taylor & Francis. 

Discovery & Research 

You'll help teams understand the right problems to solve, bringing user insight into product decisions from the outset. 

• Partner with Product Designers and Product Managers to frame problems, identify assumptions and define research priorities. 

• Plan and conduct generative and evaluative research, including interviews, contextual inquiry, usability testing and concept evaluation. 

• Identify gaps in user understanding and proactively explore opportunities that inform future product direction. 

• Synthesise findings into clear, actionable insights that influence product priorities, design decisions and user experiences. 

• Balance research rigour with the pace of product delivery, selecting appropriate methods for different questions and contexts. 

Design Collaboration & Product Exploration 

Research should actively shape the experiences we create, not simply provide findings for others to interpret. 

• Work as an embedded member of multidisciplinary product teams, contributing to discovery, ideation, experimentation and evaluation. 

• Collaborate with Product Designers to translate research insights into design opportunities and potential solutions. 

• Participate in design workshops, critiques and collaborative problem-solving, bringing an evidence-led perspective to emerging ideas. 

• Use sketching, journey mapping and lightweight prototyping to explore concepts, communicate ideas and support design discussions. 

• Work confidently with wireframes and interactive prototypes, providing constructive feedback on usability, interactions and user needs. 

Mixed Methods & Insight 

You'll combine qualitative depth with quantitative evidence to help teams make informed product decisions. 

• Collaborate with Customer Intelligence, Data Science and Analytics colleagues to connect qualitative insights with behavioural and quantitative data. 

• Identify when findings require further validation and contribute to survey design or other quantitative approaches where appropriate. 

• Communicate research findings through clear, engaging outputs that support decisions rather than simply documenting observations. 

• Champion inclusive and ethical research practices, considering users with diverse needs, abilities and levels of digital confidence. 

Building Our Design Practice 

As part of a growing design function, you'll help establish sustainable research practices and build research confidence across teams. 

• Contribute to research standards, ethical principles and practical approaches to participant recruitment, research planning and insight management. 

• Help make existing research accessible and reusable, reducing duplicated effort and supporting shared user understanding. 

• Coach designers and other colleagues to conduct appropriate lightweight research independently and responsibly. 

• Advocate for evidence-led design, sharing expertise and helping improve collaborative ways of working across Product, Design and Engineering. 

Qualifications

• Strong experience in UX or user research, delivering generative and evaluative research across complex digital products or services. 

• Deep expertise in qualitative research methods, with the judgement to select appropriate approaches. 

• Mixed-methods capability, including confidence interpreting behavioural data, surveys and quantitative evidence. 

• A track record of research that has influenced product decisions, design directions or strategic priorities. 

• Strong understanding of product discovery and user-centred design, with experience working in multidisciplinary product teams. 

• Practical design literacy, including sketching concepts, contributing to ideation and working with wireframes and prototypes. 

• Strong synthesis, communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to translate insights into actionable recommendations. 

• An interest in helping develop research practices, share knowledge and build an evidence-led design culture. 

Additional Information

At Taylor & Francis we care about our colleagues, promoting work-life balance, wellbeing, and flexible working. You will be joining a thriving business, working alongside an exceptional group of people. We believe that the skills and experience you bring to Taylor & Francis are invaluable. We want you to have the opportunity to develop your abilities, and to innovate and develop in areas which you are passionate about.

What we offer in return:

• An excellent work/life balance with a fantastic, flexible working culture
• 25 days annual leave per year plus a day off for your birthday 
• 3 additional discretionary days off during the holiday season at the end of the year 
• 4 paid volunteering days each year 
• Company funded single cover private medical insurance  
• Employee assistance programme – offering 24/7 well-being support 
• Share Match – Plan that matches every share purchased with two free shares. 
• Pension scheme 
• Life assurance, plus optical and medical care

What you should know:

This role is based in the UK and you must have the right to work and live in the UK.

We believe that great things happen when people connect face-to-face. That's why we work in-person with each other, or with customers and partners, three days a week or more. When you’re not spending time together in one of our offices or other workplaces – like at conference – you get the flexibility and support to work from home or remotely.

The successful candidate will be able to utilise our balanced working model. We ask that candidates live within a commutable distance to our Milton Park office to ensure that as a balanced worker they can make it to our office location 3 days per week.  Please note that our Milton Park office will be relocating to Oxford city centre in late 2027 / early 2028, offering an exciting new workplace in the heart of the city.

Being Yourself at Taylor & Francis 

If you’re excited about working with Taylor & Francis to foster human progress through knowledge, we invite you to apply even if your existing skills and experience don’t fit every item listed above. At Taylor & Francis, we are at our best and most successful when colleagues can be themselves and contribute regardless of their identity or background. As a colleague, you will have the opportunity to further innovate and develop in areas that you are passionate about. Our goal is to empower you with the resources, incentives, and flexibility you need to enjoy success at work and to live a healthy, balanced life. 

Taylor & Francis is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe in and value diversity of people and thought, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment where all colleagues can learn and succeed as their true selves. Taylor & Francis recruits, develops, and retains colleagues without regard to any protected personal characteristics or other non-merit-based factor. 

If you have a disability, or face another barrier,  and would like to request an adjustment to assist your participation in the hiring process and/or in the advertised position, please do let us know. Your request will be reviewed and considered in the strictest confidence.