THE ROLE: SR MANAGER, CONSUMER INTELLIGENCE AND STRATEGYThis role helps the organization understand consumers in real-world and research settings, then turn that learning into action. It identifies the most important business questions, defines what the organization needs to learn, and takes ownership of influencing faster, better decisions.
As a strategic business partner, the Sr. Manager, Consumer Intelligence & Strategy translates consumer, shopper, cultural, commercial, and business intelligence into growth strategies, innovation priorities, investment decisions, and enterprise learning. This role helps SmartyPants understand today's consumer, anticipate future opportunities, assess what is and is not working, and focus time, resources, and investment to unlock growth.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Consumer Intelligence & Strategy Leadership - Define and lead SPV's consumer intelligence strategy and multi-year learning agenda, aligned with business objectives, growth opportunities, and key strategic decisions.
- Partner with senior business leaders to diagnose performance, identify growth opportunities, and determine where the organization should focus next.
- Translate consumer, shopper, cultural, commercial, and business intelligence into clear recommendations and action plans that shape decisions and drive growth.
- Act as a trusted advisor to the Marketing Leadership Team on brand strategy, innovation priorities, resource allocation, and go-to-market decisions.
- Maintain a strong pulse on business priorities and performance, proactively identifying where consumer intelligence can unlock growth, reduce risk, or accelerate decisions.
- Serve as the voice of the consumer, ensuring decisions reflect consumer needs, market realities, and growth opportunities.
Insights Activation & Experimentation - Build and scale test-and-learn capabilities across marketing, brand strategy, innovation, and performance marketing.
- Translate strategic business questions into prioritized hypotheses, experiments, and nimble learning plans that generate actionable recommendations.
- Design and lead rapid testing across brand, communications, messaging, creative, innovation, go-to-market, and performance marketing to identify what drives results.
- Advance modern insight, experimentation, and analytics approaches that improve learning speed, real-world relevance, and decision quality.
- Capture, share, and translate insights and test results into action, creating a continuous cycle of learning, optimization, and growth.
Modern Experimentation & Learning Methods - Lead experimentation and learning approaches that improve the speed, relevance, and confidence of decision-making.
- Build and evolve AI-enabled intelligence, research, and analytics capabilities that accelerate insight generation, signal detection, learning, and business impact.
- Translate research and experiment findings into clear implications for brand, innovation, and marketing strategy.
Consumer & Brand Insights - Lead the evolution of consumer and brand insights through a faster, more experimentation-led approach.
- Own foundational insights work, including brand health, concept testing, and qualitative research, and make these approaches faster, lighter, and more actionable.
- Integrate qualitative and quantitative learning with in-market signals, consumer behavior, commercial performance, and experimentation to deepen understanding of what consumers do - not just say
- Ensure consumer understanding informs what gets tested, how ideas evolve, and when the organization has learned enough to act.
CAPABILITIES + SKILLS REQUIRED - 10+ years of experience in consumer insights, growth analytics, performance marketing, strategy, or related business-facing functions.
- Experience building and applying AI-enabled research, intelligence, or analytics capabilities to accelerate insight generation, identify meaningful signals, and improve business decision-making.
- Proven experience influencing business strategy and outcomes through consumer insights, analytics, and data-informed recommendations.
- Strong business acumen, analytical judgment, and digital or e-commerce understanding, with a track record of turning data and insights into strategic choices and measurable outcomes.
- Experience translating business questions into learning agendas, actionable insights, and measurable business impact.
- Strong business partnership skills, with a track record of influencing senior leaders and driving action.
- Demonstrated ability to work independently, identify learning opportunities without a formal brief, and drive initiatives from idea to recommendation.
- Proven experience leading test-and-learn approaches in marketing or brand, including DTC or e-commerce environments.
- Strong grounding in traditional insights, including brand health, qualitative research, and concept testing, with the ability to modernize these approaches.
- A bias for action, with the ability to move quickly under pressure, adapt based on results, and make recommendations amid ambiguity.
WHAT TO EXPECT DURING THE INTERVIEW PROCESS- Initial video screen with a member of our Talent team
- Round 1: Conversation with the Hiring Manager + 1-2 conversations with other Ollies on the team
- Round 2: 2-3 conversations with team or cross functional Ollies
- Final Round: Homework*
*At VMS, our final round is called Homework. Candidates who participate in this round are given 3 questions in advance to answer and present to the interview panel they previously spoke with in the process. We understand every candidate is different. If you need a reasonable accommodation to adjust this procedure, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can evaluate and provide other options that work for your needs
THE DETAILS LOCATION: El Segundo, CA - Hybrid 2x/month in office
HOURS: Full time, exempt (salary)
MANAGER: Senior Director, Consumer Intelligence & Strategy, VMS
PLEASE NOTE: Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.
The base salary range for this role is $138,600.00 - $154,000.
WHAT WE OFFER: - An opportunity to work with an intelligent, inspiring, and extraordinarily fun team
- We pay 100% of the premiums for employee-only medical, dental + orthodontics, and vision insurance
- 4 weeks PTO + paid holidays + 12 Mental Health Days per year
- 100% Paid parental leave, Fertility + Adoption Benefits
- Annual Bonus
- 401(k) plan with Employer Match
- Hybrid Work + Wellness + Cell Phone Stipends
- Free product
- And much more!
