Director of Market Research

Ohio Equities•Columbus, OH

4d•Onsite

About The Position

In commercial real estate, market knowledge is the foundation of great service. The firms that invest in the best data deliver the sharpest insight and the strongest position for their clients. NAI Ohio Equities is making that investment. The Director of Market Research will establish and lead a dedicated, in-house research capability for the Columbus market—creating a single, authoritative source of property and market data that powers our reports, tools, and client conversations with accuracy and confidence. This is a build-it-from-scratch opportunity. The person in this role will not inherit a research department—they will create one. Over time, that work will become a lasting asset for the entire firm.

Requirements

Significant experience in market research, commercial real estate research, analytics, or a related field.
Proven ability to build and improve research processes, databases, or reporting systems.
Strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
Excellent written and verbal communication.
Ability to build relationships across the organization and throughout the market.
Self-starter who enjoys building something from the ground up.

Nice To Haves

Commercial real estate market knowledge.
Experience with Power BI, SQL, Python, Tableau, or similar tools.
Financial analysis and market reporting experience.
Experience presenting market insights or contributing to thought leadership.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain a comprehensive in-house property database for the Columbus MSA across office, retail, and industrial assets.
Create and maintain a centralized comparable database for sales and leases.
Integrate brokerage and property management data to strengthen market intelligence.
Establish processes that ensure data accuracy, consistency, and long-term scalability.
Monitor market activity, ownership changes, lease transactions, and emerging trends.
Build relationships with brokers, appraisers, public agencies, and industry research peers to strengthen the firm's market knowledge.
Continuously evaluate new data sources, technology, and research tools that improve our capabilities.
Produce market reports, dashboards, presentations, and analytics that support brokers, clients, and leadership.
Develop tools and resources that help brokers tell stronger market stories.
Partner with Marketing to support newsletters, social media, presentations, and thought leadership.
Identify opportunities to leverage AI and emerging technology to improve research, reporting, and decision-making.