Lead User Experience Researcher

Company: Univar
Location: Downers Grove
Posted on: September 15, 2020

Job Description:

Want to work for a company that is reimagining distribution? Join Univar Solutions , the premier global distributor of chemicals and ingredients. Our goal is to function as a direct extension of our customers' teams; to serve as an ally in their quest of business success.

At Univar Solutions , we're building on our more than 90 years of experience and drawing on deep resources - inventory and logistics experts, scientists, PhDs, procurement, customer service, sales and marketers-to deliver consultative services and an unmatched portfolio to solve customers' formulation and operational challenges. When you work for Univar Solutions , you'll play an important role in shaping how we deliver more than chemical and ingredients.

Primary Purpose:

At Univar Solutions , our vision is to redefine distribution and be the most valued chemical and ingredient distributor on the planet. As part of our digital transformation, we are seeking a Lead UX Researcher to join our team. The incumbent will play a critical role in improving our customer experience through user research and usability testing. This role will translate end-user observations and insights into opportunities to improve how we serve our customers. The role will work with our digital product management team and key stakeholders across the business to clearly define and prioritize user research questions, outline and schedule research plans, and deliver rich, actionable insights through qualitative and quantitative user research.

We are looking for a researcher who is knowledgeable about product design, passionate about understanding people, and motivated to leverage technology to inform the design of minimally complex solutions that drive desired outcomes. This role will also require the individual to be comfortable in a fast-paced organization, open-minded about learning new skills, and excited to collaborate closely with interaction designers, engineers, and product managers.

Responsibilities:

Capture the voice of the customer : Understand customer needs. Be a thought leader on research methodologies used to gather user insights at various stages of the product design process

Inform our digital strategy: Partner closely with product managers to influence the product strategy and roadmaps with validated user research findings

Build processes : Participate in decisions on the right processes, methods, and tools for creative problem solving. Help standardize our research protocol and contribute to a repository of user research

Summarize and report key insights : Plan, lead, facilitate, analyze, and report on various research initiatives

Collaborate and integrate: Work collaboratively with a cross-functional team, effectively integrating your research into the product definition and design phases

Deliverables:

Design and execute research that supports the objectives of the digital solutions team, and that represents the needs of the end-users

Communicate research findings through artifacts such as storyboards, personas, journeys, task analyses, as needed at all levels of the product design process. Inform the design of our unified design system by surfacing shared user insights and patterns gathered from research

Collect user behaviors, establish personas, and understand various needs of users of our Ecommerce sites. Establish business requirements for key users and processes in the customer journey

Test with customers: Validate design decisions through a continuous discovery process that utilizes participatory design, early concept testing, formative and summative usability testing

Advocate research findings to various audiences through written reports and presentations at various levels of the organization

Performs other related duties as required or requested.

Education and Experience:

8+ years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience in successfully driving strategic and tactical research

Degree in the field of HCI , Human Factors , Usability Engineering , or a related field (advanced degree a plus), or equivalent relevant experience

Ability to think innovatively and develop creative solutions to research challenges

Experienced in planning and facilitating workshops

Excellent written and oral communication skills: creatively uses storytelling to share research findings clearly and persuasively across varying leadership levels

Successful at conducting product research that ultimately leads to breakthrough product design results

Experience planning, developing and executing user research and usability testing using a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods

Proficiency with Sketch or other wireframe tools is required, expereince with Airtable is highly preferred

Portfolio Requirement:

To apply, submit a resume and, a portfolio that demonstrates a rigorous understanding of research processes and how insights from user research inform the product experience.

Behavioral Competencies :

Building Customer Loyalty: Meeting and exceeding (internal or external) customer expectations while cultivating relationships that secure commitment and trust.

Execution and Driving for Results: Setting high goals for personal and group accomplishment; using measurement methods to monitor progress toward goals; tenaciously working to meet or exceed goals while deriving satisfaction from that achievement and continuous improvement.

Continuous Improvement: Originating action to improve existing conditions and processes; identifying improvement opportunities, generating ideas, and implementing solutions

Active Learning: Seeking and leveraging opportunities to gain new skills, knowledge, and experiences; quickly assimilating and applying new information and skills to enhance sales results.

Collaborating: Working cooperatively with others to help a team or work group achieve its goals.

Univar Solutions is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or other protected classification.

We offer comprehensive benefits to employees including medical, dental, STD, LTD and life insurance, 401k, generous PTO and much more.

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Keywords: Univar, Downers Grove , Lead User Experience Researcher, Other , Downers Grove, Illinois