Insights Research Assistant Director

L&E Research

3h•$55,000 - $72,000•Remote

About The Position

This is a team leadership and project management role with active involvement in data analysis. The Insights Research Assistant Director serves as the primary project lead throughout the research lifecycle, working with internal stakeholders and clients to understand project needs, directing the team's work, and ensuring findings are translated into clear, actionable deliverables. The role spans research design, project execution, analysis oversight, and quality assurance across all Insights projects. This position directly manages the Data Manager(s), Research Assistant(s), and Data Processor(s) and is responsible for developing team capabilities, managing workloads, and ensuring successful project delivery across multiple concurrent engagements.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Marketing, Market Research, Communications, STEM (Statistics, Data Science, etc.), Psychology, or a related field.
3+ years in a market research related field with a strong understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies.
Experience leading or supervising a team, or clear readiness to step into a people-management role.
Ability to scope a project and translate client objectives into a concrete execution plan for the team.
Strong project management and organizational skills; able to manage multiple projects simultaneously with attention to detail.
Strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
Clear written and verbal communication skills.
Comfort reviewing and interpreting research data and deliverables produced by the team, even if not personally building them.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint), survey platforms (Qualtrics, Forsta, or similar), and data management tools.
Ability to travel occasionally to client sites, industry conferences, or off-site meetings as needed.

Nice To Haves

Experience personally designing, executing, and analyzing complex quantitative research studies.
Advanced data visualization and storytelling skills.
Experience developing executive-level reports and client presentations independently.
Experience with survey programming platforms and emerging research technologies.
Knowledge of diary studies, mobile ethnography, product testing, and behavioral research approaches.
Familiarity with AI-enabled research and analytics tools.

Responsibilities

Partner with Sales, Account Managers, and Project Managers to understand client objectives and research needs.
Participate in client meetings, project consultations, and solution development discussions.
Recommend appropriate research methodologies and approaches based on client goals.
Develop study plans, discussion guides, homework assignments, surveys, activities, and research materials.
Build data collection and reporting plans aligned with study objectives and client expectations.
Support proposal development, scope creation, and bid preparation.
Lead insights-related activities throughout all phases of project execution.
Develop project timelines, responsibilities, and execution plans in partnership with internal stakeholders.
Facilitate project check-ins and ongoing communication regarding project status, priorities, and risks.
Oversee survey programming, technology platform setup, testing, troubleshooting, and field management activities.
Ensure research activities remain aligned with project objectives, timelines, budgets, and quality standards.
Identify risks and proactively implement solutions to maintain project success.
Guide the team's interpretation and synthesis of qualitative and quantitative research findings.
Review and validate data for quality, accuracy, and completeness.
Ensure findings are translated into clear, actionable business recommendations, partnering with senior insights staff on more complex quantitative deliverables as needed.
Oversee development of executive summaries, presentations, dashboards, and client deliverables produced by the team.
Coordinate video reels, highlight summaries, and storytelling materials where applicable.
Present findings and recommendations to clients and internal stakeholders, or support the team member presenting them.
Directly supervise, coach, and develop the Research Assistant, Data Manager, and Data Processor.
Conduct regular one-on-one meetings and performance discussions.
Provide guidance on research methodologies, project execution, data quality, analysis, and reporting.
Support onboarding, training, and professional development of team members.
Establish priorities and balance workloads across the Insights team.
Foster a collaborative, innovative, and solutions-oriented team culture.
Establish and maintain quality standards for research design, programming, data processing, analysis, and reporting.
Review project deliverables to ensure accuracy, consistency, and client readiness.
Develop and maintain best practices, templates, tools, and workflows that improve efficiency and scalability.
Identify opportunities to apply technology, automation, AI, and emerging research tools to improve service delivery.
Support ongoing compliance with company processes and applicable ISO standards.
Manage Insights team capacity and resource allocation across multiple concurrent projects.
Ensure projects are staffed appropriately and workloads are distributed effectively.
Partner with Project Managers to maintain seamless project flow and execution.
Provide leadership on prioritization, issue resolution, and operational planning.
Support departmental planning and growth initiatives for the Insights service line.