Consumer Insights Manager - HPC at Spectrum Brands in Chicago, IL

The Consumer Insights Manager is responsible for the design, implementation, and analysis of marketing research to provide consumer insights for the Home & Personal Care business unit. They will act as a strategic consultant for the marketing organization through the use of primary and secondary data analysis. A successful person will bring creative solutions for the collection and analysis of consumer trends, behaviors, and preferences. The Consumer Insights Manager will need to have the ability to build close working relationships with multiple teams and be able to effectively communicate relevant research findings.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

• Provide recommendations to support strategic direction on products, channels, and brands to Senior Management, Brand/Product Manager, New Product Development (NPD), and sales based on market research.
• Work with Brand Marketing team on research that defines consumer expectations, desires, etc.
• Lead marketing research projects to support new product development process optimizing product design, features, and appeal. Work closely with the innovation marketing team, new product development team, and industrial design team on all new product research.
• Translate business questions into an appropriate research methodology, and translate data and outcomes back into business actions.
• Familiar with basic and advanced research methodologies, and able to advise on research options.
• Demonstrates effective project management including selecting and guiding suppliers, managing budgeting and timeline constraints and, delivering actionable research reports.
• Present research to Senior Leadership, Brand Marketing, and Product Managers.
• Lead a variety of research including: consumer segmentation, concept testing, advertising campaign testing, brand/category awareness testing and general shopping behavior.
• Sets research standards to ensure projects are designed to ask the right research questions and address important business objectives.
• Develop regular standardized reports summarizing research findings as needed.
• Helps select and manage external agencies and suppliers by setting a clear understanding of project scope, budget, and deliverables.
• Collaborate with other leaders in the development of a coordinated budget recommendation. Provide fiscal oversight of allocated resources, assets and expenses. Make necessary decisions to adjust for variations in projected budget income caused by fluctuating volumes and other external factors.
• Utilize secondary data sources to provide general market and economic trends.
• Establish library of all research derived from both internal and external studies, and serve as central resource regarding all consumer research for Spectrum Brands Home & Personal Care business unit.

Education and Experience Profile

• Bachelor’s Degree required. MBA or Masters strongly preferred with a concentration in market research or marketing communications.
• 5+ years of experience in a consumer insights/market research or similar role.

Additionally:

• Client-side work in consumer products/durables preferred.
• Supplier-side research experience a plus.
• Broad based experience in quantitative and qualitative research methods, with the ability to design and execute research from the ground up.
• Experience communicating to different audiences and stakeholders: brand leadership, cross-functional team members, agency and retail partners, etc.
• Experience discovering consumer insights that lead to actionable recommendations.
• Experience managing a research budget according to annual plan objectives.

Required Skills

• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Must have ability to analyze complex data and situations and develop a range of solutions.
• Knowledge of statistics and statistical applications
• Must possess strong strategic skills to be able to draw insights and recommendations from research.
• Ability to excel in a fast paced, dynamic work environment.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks/strong organizational skills.
• Strong knowledge of MS Office, advanced Excel skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively with all levels within the organization.
• Familiarity with marketing research measurement techniques, practices, and theories.
• Must be comfortable presenting in front of internal and external customers.