Head of User Research and Insights

Do you want to work with innovation and early product development and contribute to improving the well-being of millions of people living with chronic diseases globally? Are you motivated by leading a strong and very competent team of specialized researchers, and by creating an innovative environment supporting the development of future healthcare solutions?

Then this is your moment Apply now and join us as Head of User Research & Insights in the Delivery Solutions Innovation area at Novo Nordisk and be a key part of advancing healthcare for the benefit of people and the planet.

About the department

The User Research & Insights team is part of the Delivery Solutions Innovation (DSI) area within Novo Nordisk Devices & Delivery Solutions (DDS), an organization responsible for the development of human-centred solutions for medical self-treatment within all therapeutic areas of Novo Nordisk.

DSI is a diverse team of over 150 experienced professionals – designers, researchers, engineers, scientists, project managers and prototyping specialists, focused on multi-modal healthcare innovation – from connected injection devices to regulated software (SaMD) products.

In User Research & Insights team we help shape and qualify the early innovation by advising on the improved human value and UX of devices, grounded in primary and secondary research, connecting to market research and forecasting colleagues. All motivated by advancing the care of people living with Diabetes, Obesity, and other chronic conditions.

We are located in Hillerød, in the greater Copenhagen area.

The Position

As Head of User Research & Insights, you will lead a dedicated team that deliver the input for user-driven development process, working closely with design, engineering, development and prototyping colleagues.

The team is diverse, consisting of employees with different cultural and professional backgrounds who work on a wide array of projects including multi-method research initiatives, mainly qualitative. The research range from providing foundational knowledge about the lived experience of a certain illness, to the more generative research encounters aimed at conceptualizing and/or evaluating prototypes and product interaction models and specific touchpoints.

Your main role will be to enable a diverse innovation portfolio, by helping ensure that there is a well-defined user value proposition in all projects, based on a profound understanding of the future end-users. Part of your role is to empower the team to further integrate with the innovation projects so that the UX is considered early on, and we ensure to always ensure to provide meaningful and valuable healthcare solutions for the people we aim to serve.

The innovation portfolio is broad and covers low volume to very high-volume delivery devices with a focus on creating sustainable and user-centred drug delivery platforms. Together with your colleagues, the group defines the product concepts ready to be handed over to the development organisation.

Your working day will be dynamic with multiple tasks and interactions. Your success will be driven by insurance of execution in the projects, your way of engaging with colleagues and stakeholders, and your ability to keep developing the team and the area.

You are expected to thrive in taking decisions, guiding, and setting direction for the team, but also having a keen eye on developing the team and culture to ensure a world-class, inspiring, and healthy work environment.

Qualifications

To thrive and succeed, we expect you to have: A master’s degree within a relevant social science and solid background in various types of research aimed to understand humans and society, as well as theoretical frameworks to explain same 10+ years of experience within insights-based innovation in healthcare, preferably within medical device innovation and development 5+ years of relevant leadership experience from a similar role A proven track record in facilitating insights-lead development and innovation processes that are grounded in qualified knowledge of human behavior-drivers and social phenomena and dynamics Outstanding communication skills and an ability to showcase how you effectively lead, build and develop a performing as well as thriving team, and document you have hands-on experience with change management Experience of working with - and a solid understanding of - design and usability engineering and their role in innovation and product development Fluency in English, both written and orally

As a person, you are responsible, curious, structured, take initiative, feel calm when exposed to complex challenges and have a ‘can do’ mind-set. You are motivated by empowering and delivering through others. You are good at making prioritisations and you are not afraid of getting involved and being hands on. In addition, you are a strong team player and enjoy working with and connecting multiple stakeholders across competence areas and are recognised for your interpersonal skills.