Research Director, AI

Informa Group . • Newton, MA

6d • Hybrid

About The Position

Omdia (now part of Informa TechTarget) is seeking a Research Director to lead our Artificial Intelligence practice. The successful candidate will lead and manage a global analyst team and guide the strategic evolution of the AI service area to drive growth across both subscription and custom research offerings. The Omdia Artificial Intelligence Service Area encompasses four core syndicated products: Advanced Compute, AI Applications, AI Platforms, and AI APAC. Each of these products is built on a robust quantitative foundation, complemented by qualitative insights derived from and around that data. A key responsibility of the Research Director is to ensure that the research deliverables associated with these products meet Omdia’s high-quality standards and provide actionable insights for clients. The Research Director will be responsible for building strong relationships with our top clients and prospects based on the team’s leading research products. Additionally, the Research Director will play a critical role in the strategic evolution of these products, ensuring they are well-positioned for growth and continue to address the evolving needs of our clients. Strong commercial acumen is essential for this role. The Research Director will be expected to actively collaborate with sales and engage with clients and prospects to showcase the capabilities of the AI Service Area and the broader Enterprise & Channel group within Omdia. Building strong relationships and effectively engaging with a diverse range of client types, including senior executives at the highest levels of the industry, will be crucial for success in this position. This is a “hands-on” role, requiring the Research Director to conduct their own research, publish under their own name and speak at client and industry events. Therefore, the ideal candidate will be an experienced analyst with a proven track record of producing credible, high-quality research assets and possessing strong insight into the AI technology landscape. The successful candidate must also have the confidence and expertise to present to diverse audiences, ranging from AI practitioners to senior industry executives, at client meetings and industry events. The position is suited to an enthusiastic and collaborative individual who thrives in a dynamic environment, demonstrates exceptional leadership skills, and is passionate about driving innovation in Omdia’s Artificial Intelligence research. The successful candidate will bring a strategic mindset, a commitment to excellence, and the ability to inspire and mentor a team of analysts located around the globe to achieve their full potential.

Requirements

• Team management , with the ability to engage directly with team members to deliver results for clients; build a climate where feedback and review of decisions and practices is part of everyday work.
• Team development , to enhance and invest in a coaching environment focused on long-term performance, personal/team strengths and development areas, linking them to current and future corporate strategy.
• At least 7 years of professional experience .
• Experience as industry analyst or in market research.
• Solid understanding and insight into the Artificial Intelligence technology and services market, and the ability to quickly form credible, distinctive, compelling, and original opinions on how aspects of these will evolve, and why.
• Quantitative research , with the ability to build, maintain, and enhance market forecasts and trackers, and present complex concepts and trends from data in a compelling manner.
• Excellent written communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complex ideas.
• Strong verbal communication and presentation skills, including a personable manner and the confidence to present to, engage with, and influence executives at the highest levels of the industry.
• The ability to build and enhance a profile with industry contacts and opinion formers.
• The ability to quickly and coherently identify and communicate critical issues impacting the commercial performance of Omdia’s vendor clients across Artificial Intelligence tech and services market.
• Experience of working with sales and marketing teams to identify and successfully capitalize on business development opportunities.
• A proven track record of managing a workload to ensure deadlines are met and client expectations are exceeded.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally.
• Cultural awareness, as the role involves working with global clients and within a global virtual team environment.

Nice To Haves

• A network of existing industry contacts would be desirable.

Responsibilities

• Leadership of all team members in the Artificial Intelligence Service Area (APAC, EMEA, NA). The focus is on helping shape and develop the workload within the I&A capability of Informa TechTarget, ensuring delivery for clients, supporting team members, encouraging personal development, and planning research.
• Build and maintain client relationships. Become a trusted advisor to these clients over time.
• Promote a culture of teamwork and knowledge sharing within the research team to enhance productivity and innovation, while fostering cross-functional collaboration with other teams throughout Omdia to align research outputs with business objectives in an AI-driven landscape.
• Support the creation of high-quality research in the form of reports, trackers, forecasts, and presentations. Work with analysts from within the AI team and beyond to develop and test hypotheses that test existing beliefs within a market to provide unique insight. Use all the tools and knowledge at your disposal to produce analysis that goes beyond the descriptive to give Omdia the edge over its competition. Apply the same approach to your own research.
• Use your expertise and experience to define and expand an area of research. Market that expertise at a senior level within our clients and prospects. Provide a timely response to market events and offer up-to-date opinions founded on broad-based experience.
• Build, develop, and manage ongoing relationships with clients. Represent Omdia and Informa TechTarget, demonstrating your expertise in Artificial Intelligence and related areas, as well as taking a broad view of technology and its delivery of business outcomes. Engage with sales, marketing, product management, and PR teams. Actively participate in client-facing meetings with the sales team and add credibility to Omdia and Informa TechTarget relationships.
• Offer insight to our planning meetings. Contribute to the direction and strategy of the team plus the wider Enterprise & Channel team. Through the understanding of client needs based on senior-level relationships, develop a customer-based point of view for new products and advisory services.

Benefits

• Great community: a welcoming culture with in-person and online social events, our fantastic Walk the World charity day and active diversity and inclusion networks
• Broader impact: take up to four days per year to volunteer, with charity match funding available too
• Career opportunity: the opportunity to develop your career with bespoke training and learning, mentoring platforms and on-demand access to thousands of courses on LinkedIn Learning. When it’s time for the next step, we encourage and support internal job moves
• Time out: annual leave, birthday leave, volunteer days and the chance to work from (almost!) anywhere for up to four weeks a year
• A flexible range of personal benefits to choose from, plus company funded private medical cover
• A ShareMatch scheme that allows you to become an Informa shareholder with free matching shares
• Strong wellbeing support through EAP assistance, mental health first aiders, a healthy living subsidy, access to health apps and more
• Recognition for great work, with global awards and kudos programmes
• As an international company, the chance to collaborate with teams around the world

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed