Senior Director, Research & Insights

Kargo•New York, NY

9h•$180,000 - $200,000•Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a Senior Director, Research & Insights to lead a market-facing insights function that drives revenue, strengthens client partnerships, and advances the company’s leadership position across digital advertising. This is a true functional leadership role, responsible for setting the vision, priorities, and operating model for the team. The ideal candidate brings a strong commercial mindset and understands how research and insights directly drive product adoption, pipeline growth, client strategy, and measurable business outcomes. You will lead the company’s research, measurement, and insights-driven thought leadership strategy across CTV, mobile, video, and cross-channel digital media solutions. This role requires platform-level thinking and the ability to shape how the company positions its broader capabilities and value proposition in market. This is a highly visible, client-facing role requiring strong industry expertise, executive presence, and established relationships across agencies, brands, and the broader adtech ecosystem. The role will regularly engage in senior-level client conversations, industry events, and external presentations, serving as a strategic voice for the company in market.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in research, insights, measurement, analytics, strategy, or product marketing within adtech, media, publisher, agency, or digital advertising environments
Proven experience leading and developing high-performing teams and building organizational functions
Strong commercial acumen with a demonstrated ability to connect insights and measurement to revenue growth, product adoption, and client outcomes
Deep expertise in ad effectiveness, media measurement, attribution, and ROI analysis across digital and CTV channels
Strong understanding of the adtech ecosystem, including programmatic, premium publishers, mobile, video, and emerging channels
Experience working with leading research and measurement partners such as Nielsen, Comscore, Kantar, Dynata, Adelaide, Upwave, DoubleVerify, IAS, and similar platforms
Demonstrated ability to translate complex data into clear, compelling, and revenue-driving narratives
Extensive experience leading client-facing initiatives and partnering closely with Sales and Client Success organizations
Strong executive presence with the ability to engage credibly with senior clients, agency leaders, and internal stakeholders
Established industry relationships and experience representing organizations externally through events, panels, speaking engagements, and thought leadership initiatives
Collaborative leadership style with the ability to influence cross-functional teams and drive organizational alignment
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience

Responsibilities

Lead and grow a high-performing Research & Insights team (6+ people)
Define and evangelize the vision, priorities, and operating model for the function
Drive the evolution of the team into a proactive, commercially focused organization
Align research initiatives with business goals, revenue impact, and platform adoption
Serve as a strategic leader across Sales, Marketing, Product, Data, and Client Success teams
Own the company’s measurement and ad effectiveness strategy across digital, CTV, and cross-channel solutions
Partner with VP of Product Marketing on go-to-market strategy for research and insights initiatives, ensuring strong market positioning and adoption
Oversee custom and syndicated research studies that demonstrate campaign performance, platform value, and business outcomes
Evaluate and integrate emerging methodologies, tools, and partners to maintain industry leadership
Translate campaign, audience, and platform data into actionable insights and strategic recommendations
Input research perspective into the company’s narrative, positioning, all contributing to a data-backed point of view in market
Develop compelling data/insights stories that clearly articulate product and platform differentiation
Drive/support thought leadership initiatives across content, PR, case studies, events, and executive communications
Represent the company externally through industry conferences, panels, client presentations, and strategic engagements
Drive insight-led sales strategies that support pipeline growth and revenue generation
Lead high-impact client conversations and executive presentations focused on measurement, effectiveness, and platform value
Develop data-backed narratives and strategic recommendations that influence investment decisions
Build and maintain strong relationships across agencies, brands, publishers, and measurement partners
Partner with Product and Data teams to inform platform innovation and measurement strategy
Influence product positioning and GTM priorities through market intelligence and customer insights
Ensure research outputs are scalable, actionable, commercially impactful, and aligned with organizational objectives