Position Summary:

The Manager, Customer Research & Insights serves as an advocate for customer-centric strategy development and decision-making across the enterprise.

This role leads the design, management, and implementation of primary research studies to deliver key insights about customers that inform enterprise and product-line marketing strategies - not limited to customer segmentation, brand positioning, service experience, new product development.

Reporting to the Director, Customer Insights, this position serves as part of the Market Intelligence and Customer Experience Analytics team within the Marketing & Strategy function.

Major Responsibilities:

This role is responsible for primary research projects and will work with cross-functional teams to understand business needs, recommend, design, and manage effective research approaches, and deliver insightful and actionable recommendations.

• Engages with business partners to identify information needs and understand intended application as the foundation to develop project learning agendas
• Serves as the subject matter expert in research and insights, delivering to business needs while adhering to research best practices and standards
• Designs and implements research projects from inception to completion: writing proposals, drafting instruments (e.g., questionnaires, screeners, guides), programming and deploying surveys / managing interviews, analyzing data, synthesis and reporting, presenting findings and recommendations
• Organizes, monitors, and manages all aspects of the project to ensure continuous alignment with business partners and delivery of desired outcomes on time and within budget
• Proactively manages, directly and indirectly, third-party suppliers, junior associates, and cross-functional teams to move workstreams forward and in alignment with objectives
• Produces deliverables that clearly address the research objectives and convey strategic implications and recommendations for the business
• Manages the relationship with research suppliers and industry experts to obtain and socialize relevant third-party research within the organization
• Synthesizes and integrates various data sources to provide a comprehensive understanding of a topic
• Stays apprised of customer and industry trends, tech advancements, and regulations that could impact the business
• Proactive continuous evaluation and implementation of best-practices in terms of methodologies, tools, and benchmarks for an effective enterprise research program
• Other projects and tasks as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree required in Marketing, Marketing Research, Business Administration, Sociology / Social Sciences and/or Economics.
• Master's Degree preferred in Marketing Research, Business Administration, or related fields. If no degree, equivalent work experience is required.
• Minimum of 7+ years of professional work experience
• Minimum 5+ years of relevant marketing research / customer insights experience
• Advanced primary research methodologist with experience spanning quantitative (e.g., surveys) and qualitative (e.g., in-depth interviews)
• Knowledge of statistical concepts commonly used in market research
• Experience with advanced quantitative methodologies to include segmentation, conjoint, max-diff analysis preferred
• Proficiency in SPSS, Qualtrics, Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
• Experience conducting B2B research with hard-to-reach audiences preferred
• Experience managing third-party research suppliers
• Experience with secondary sources and use of secondary survey research
• Intermediate reporting, storytelling, and data visualization skills
• Regular, predictable, full attendance is an essential function of the job
• Willingness to travel as necessary, work the required schedule, work at the specific location required, complete Penske employment application, submit to a background investigation (to include past employment, education, and criminal history) and drug screening are required.

Physical Requirements:

• The physical and mental demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an associate to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• The associate will be required to: read; communicate verbally and/or in written form; remember and analyze certain information; and remember and understand certain instructions or guidelines.
• While performing the duties of this job, the associate may be required to stand, walk, and sit. The associate is frequently required to use hands to touch, handle, and feel, and to reach with hands and arms. The associate must be able to occasionally lift and/or move up to 25lbs/12kg.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.

Penske is an Equal Opportunity Employer: