Research Lead

The position: Research Lead

Life at Elvie; Meaningful work, Exceptional People 

We're Elvie. We create smart products, new solutions, and a fair few taboo-busting conversations while we’re at it. Founded by Tania Boler in 2013, we develop extraordinary innovations designed to improve women’s lives. It's a fascinating and challenging area that requires us to solve problems that no one else has ever tackled before.

At Elvie, you’ll be surrounded by people who want to improve everything and everyone around them. People who are passionate about our mission. People who are driven to solve problems and constantly consider the best ways to improve the health and wellbeing of women. 

Find out more about life at Elvie here. 

We're deeply proud of our values, which are intrinsic to the way we behave every day. We take them seriously because we want our culture to thrive:

• We make an impact: We are mission-driven and not afraid to break boundaries. We relentlessly focus on going the extra mile to solve problems.
• We’re fearless innovators: We are passionate, curious, and data-driven. We continuously embrace change and innovation.
• We’re in it together: We fail and learn fast — always as one team — and have fun along the way. We stay authentic and embrace our differences.

Did you know?

In some regions our amazing products are considered to be medical devices. This means we maintain our Medical Device quality management system in compliance with ISO 13485:2016, to support the development of our groundbreaking products.

About the role: 

As a Research Lead at Elvie, you'll be there to guide the Research Team and help uncover an abundance of insight about our users. The Research Team sits within the broader Product Team and uncovers the true voice of the user for every step of the product development lifecycle, from conception through to validation.

You will be building our connected product research strategy and approach, guiding your team across  user studies on hardware and digital as well as human factors engineering validations. You will also be helping unblock obstacles for the team's day to day activities, identify and unlock opportunities for the future of the team and the individuals within it and support on live research to help relieve pressure during busy periods. 

Location: This position will be Bristol based. This role will be a blend of home and office-based working, with regular in-office work particularly during live research activities. Some travel to our London office will be required to support the team members who are based there.

Employment type: Full-time Permanent (part-time work may be considered on a case-by-case basis)

Requirements

What you'll be doing at Elvie:

Lead the Research Team activities ensuring projects are effectively resourced and work to cultivate an environment where each team member can thrive. 

• Guide research briefs, identify appropriate methodologies and best practice analysis that lead to actionable outputs, whilst being mindful of budget and time constraints. We’ve been known for our creative method selection, so going off piste is more than welcome in this team
• Activity and resource planning: work out what needs to be done, by who and when. You will work closely with the Product Managers and to ensure we leave no stone unturned in our mission to develop extraordinary products while prioritising effectively to ensure a healthy and happy team
• Professional development: work with the team to support their individual and unique development pathways
• Promote data handling excellence: we manage recruitment in-house, so you will be driving attention to detail within the Research Operations arm of the Research Team
• Champion the regulatory necessities: we’re an ISO compliant organisation and the way we conduct our research is central to ensuring that we remain compliant
• Keep everyone informed: your team’s work should result in actionable outputs to help us create exceptional experiences. Outputs will take various forms, including research reports, personas, user journeys and you will need to make sure you’re up to speed on the content and that these reach the right people across the business
• Look to the future: You should be balancing the now with the next, this covers the type of research the team is able to conduct and the tools used to enable and streamline processes

What we are looking for: 

We are looking for a Research Lead to manage the Product Research and Research Operations teams that make up the Research Team within the Product function.

• You have held a Research Lead or similarly senior position within a related industry (hardware/digital/connected device product development)
• You have a proven track record in making improvements within your department, bringing about positive changes to the team and business
• You've been through the product development trenches of user research and have emerged wiser and excited to put your hard learned lessons into practice
• You’re seasoned in researching connected products / digital products to help guide digital transformation initiatives
• You can support on the ground research activities when needed to relieve pressure from the team through busy periods
• You know your research domain and can support it with judicious use of the right tools and processes to fit the project
• You naturally reduce the complexity of projects in order to focus on what really matters and get more done with less effort
• You are both a logical and creative thinker. Logical when it comes to defining plans and creative when it comes to dreaming up novel research methodologies that uncover the next steps quickly
• You guide your team to anticipate possible issues during research activities and take considered actions to avoid them, ensuring that projects remain on track
• You have an exceptional eye for detail and use this to preempt future roadblocks or mitigate against possible repercussions of seemingly small tasks
• The idea of working within a successful, high growth startup in a fast-paced role excites you
• You are practised in empowering Research Team members to inform and shape product development and post-launch activities
• You lead by example and enjoy the doing and the leading in equal measure
• You make others better through mentorship and guidance
• You are excited about working closely and collaboratively with Product managers, Hardware & Software engineers, Data scientists and Designers

Requirements

• At least 7 years of relevant experience in-house or within a design or research agency
• At least 3 years of team management experience
• Demonstrable experience in planning and carrying out mixed-method research with a variety of methodologies with both physical and digital stimuli
• Interest in women, health and all things technology
• A huge drive to help Elvie reach the next level

Benefits

The benefits you’ll get:

We're on an exceptional journey. And we can offer you a genuinely purpose-led career with a culture built on trust, autonomy, and flexibility. In addition, we'll give you:

• 9 Day Fortnight - for our full time employees we work 9 days every Fortnight with every other Friday as a non-working day for you to spend as you wish!
• Lots of flexibility: whether it’s working from home, doing the school run, or life admin, we understand that flexibility is essential, and we trust you to do the right thing for you and us
• Share options: we want everyone to have a stake in our success
• 25 days’ annual leave, plus bank holidays
• 8 extra life leave days; getting married, moving house, menopause or just things that you can’t put a label on that matter to you
• 5=10 leave: 10 days’ additional leave on your 5th and 10th years of service!
• £100 contribution to your home working set up to spend as you see fit
• An annual personal development allowance of £200 and unlimited access to our learning and development platform, Learnerbly
• Generous parental leave policies; maternity & adoption (16 weeks at full pay, then 8 weeks paid at 75% followed by 15 weeks at SMP rate.), paternity/partner (6 weeks at full pay to take at any point during the first year of your child’s life), shared parental leave
• Healthcare plans, life insurance, and an employee assistance program for you and your family
• A tax-efficient group pension scheme 
• Group income protection; protect your salary if you get sick
• A free Elvie trainer for you to keep or give away when you join
• Generous employee and friends & family discounts on Elvie products
• Wellbeing support from YuLife and access to SmartHealth app with unlimited GP appointments for you and your family, plus various well-being initiatives throughout the year
• Lovely offices in great locations, with drinks and snacks provided, along with fun social events

What you can expect after you’ve applied:

A member of our recruitment team will reach out to you after they have reviewed your application. You must ensure your application is completed correctly, and we strongly encourage you to add a cover letter or note to let us know why Elvie’s the right fit for you.  We do often receive a large number of applications for our roles, please don’t let visibility of this deter you from applying. We review and aim to respond to every application.

We would like to get to know you through your background, attitude, experience and understand your motivation to work with us. Our interview process varies depending on the position, but it typically looks like this: 

• 30-minute video call with one of our recruiters
• 30-45 minute video call with the hiring manager 
• 45-60 minute video interview with the team (some positions may require you to complete a task/presentation)
• For some positions, there may be an additional interview with one of our senior leadership team 

This is an exciting time to join Elvie. You’ll have a voice, make an impact, and have the opportunity to mould your role. So be ready to learn, have fun, and be inspired by our passionate, talented team — and having a sense of humour helps too. 😉

Belonging at Elvie:

At Elvie, we believe having diverse teams in which everyone can be their authentic self is key to our success. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply and we don't discriminate based on race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, marital status, disability or age. 

If you need any support with your application, please get in contact with us: [email removed - click apply for more details] or 0203 884 7223.

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