You?Three people at Helix Health, and one empty chair.
Grief-Informed UX Researcher · Helix Health · Leeds or remote UK · £58–68k · 60 people
- Health · end-of-life care
- Hospice care × Product research
- Closes 8 Dec
Meet the crew. There's a seat for you.
- You?This seatGrief-Informed UX Researcher
Malika Osei · Clinical lead, former hospice nurse
“I'll take you onto the ward in your first week. You'll learn more at the nurses' station than from any transcript.”
On a bad day: goes for a long walk and comes back with the answer.
A Wednesday at Helix
During a research week
- 09:00Check-in with the research ethics lead
- 10:30Interview with a bereaved family (two a day at most)
- 12:30Lunch walk, no screens
- 14:00Synthesis with Harper
- 15:30Debrief with Ruth
- 17:00Log off. No evening interviews.
Why this seat matters
“Nobody asks how you are when you're filling in the fourth form about your dad's medication.”
Claire Dawson, daughter and carer, Leeds
The hardest months of a family's life shouldn't also be the most administrative.
Helix Health runs a care navigation service for families of people receiving end-of-life care, used across six NHS trusts. Families get one place for medication, appointments, equipment and the paperwork that follows a death.
Research with bereaved families is easy to get wrong. This role sets how Helix listens to them: the consent process, the interview methods, and what gets built from what they say.
Where this role takes you
Helix Health's 2030 goal, and where the work is today
38kfamilies supported
15% of the way to the goal250kby 2030
Week 1
You shadow a hospice nurse.
Two days on the ward with Malika's team, then a day at a bereavement café. You don't interview anyone yet. You watch where the paperwork lands on families.
With
0interviews in week one, by design
What changes because this job exists
How things work at Helix Health today, and how they should look a year after you start.
BeforeFamilies found the service through a leaflet in a hospital corridor.
A year after you startFamilies hear about it from the nurse they already trust.
BeforeResearch meant ad-hoc calls with whoever agreed to talk.
A year after you startA consent and aftercare protocol that every researcher at Helix follows.
BeforeThe first 72 hours after a death meant eleven calls on average.
A year after you startFamilies make six calls, and Helix handles the rest.
What life is like
- Every month
- Clinical supervision with Dr Ruth Lowe, paid and on work time.
- Grief leave
- No fixed limit, for your own losses.
- Research weeks
- Two interviews a day at most.
- Fridays
- Show-and-tell of what families told us that week.
What you'll do
- Lead research with families and carers
- Write and maintain the trauma-informed research protocol
- Turn findings into product decisions with design and clinical teams
- Train others at Helix to do this research safely
What you bring
- Experience in hospice, palliative or bereavement care
- 2+ years of qualitative research, or a strong portfolio
- Clear writing for clinicians and engineers
- Steadiness in hard conversations
- No "UX researcher" title needed. We care about method, not job titles.
Your part in it
- SHADOW
- a hospice ward with Malika's team before you interview anyone.
- DESIGN
- the consent, pacing and aftercare protocol for bereaved families.
- TALK
- with families and carers, two a day at most and never in the evening.
- BUILD
- product decisions from the findings, with Harper.
What success looks like
- DAY 30
- you've spent time on the ward and at a bereavement café, and drafted the consent process.
- DAY 60
- Ruth and the research ethics lead have reviewed your protocol.
- DAY 90
- the protocol is set and the first study, with 20 families, has begun.
What you’ll need
- Experience in hospice, palliative or bereavement care
- 2+ years of qualitative research, or a strong portfolio
- Steadiness in hard conversations
Nice to have, not required
- Experience of research ethics review in the NHS.
Where you’ll work
- OFFICE
- Leeds, as often as you like. Synthesis with Harper works well in person.
- REMOTE
- Anywhere in the UK. Hospice visits are arranged around you.
- HOURS
- UK time. Done by 17:00, with no evening interviews.
Languages
| Language | Need | Why |
|---|---|---|
| English | Required | Every interview, protocol and write-up. |
| Urdu | Nice to have | Spoken at home by some families we support. We book interpreters otherwise. |
The essentials
Grief-Informed UX Researcher · Helix Health
- Salary
- £58–68k
- Where
- Leeds or remote UK
- Leave
- 30 days + grief leave
- Support
- Monthly supervision
How you'll interview · about 3 weeks
- 1 · Chat with Malika
- 2 · Talk us through a past study
- 3 · Plan a study (paid)
- 4 · Meet the crew
Your first stop
Two days on a hospice ward
Not ready to apply? Talk to Malika for 15 minutes.
No CV needed. Ask about the work, the people, or what a hard week looks like.