Job Description

Job Responsibilities

To ensure success in this role, you must be able to:

Leverage existing knowledge, context, and all relationships (internal and external) to navigate challenges by developing creative and effective solutions
Identify efficiencies and opportunities to scale research delivery for maximum profitability
Provide in-the-moment feedback to researchers to support continuous professional development and to ensure consistent performance at all client touch-points

You will lead a team of researchers to provide premier service by:

Ensuring a high standard of program caliber and consistency in all client touch points (e.g., kickoffs, moderation, reporting) via onboarding, maintaining knowledge bases/documentation, and facilitating knowledge shares to new-to-program UXRs
Adhering to AnswerLab’s Core Values and Framework of Empathetic Leadership, which includes: creating capacity for our teams to navigate new challenges, creating and bolstering our own leadership capacity, and being active, empathetic listeners
Providing consistent, individualized support to direct reports via regular 1:1s and performance reviews
Enabling ongoing career development for UXRs through guidance and mentorship
Developing and maintaining cross-functional relationships, both inside AnswerLab and with our clients
Participating in key client and project team meetings (such as project kickoffs and/or report presentations)
Monitoring project status and hours throughout the project lifecycle
Taking an active role in the hiring and onboarding of new research members

You will impact our clients’ business by:

Building and facilitating strong partnerships with clients to ensure alignment of needs and identify areas of opportunity for an improved experience, both for researchers and our clients
Contributing to ongoing thought leadership on current topics and trends in UX and within the account team/client industry
Developing and applying strategic knowledge of the account team/client industry by leveraging learnings across research projects
Communicating with a broad range of clients from designers to C-suite executives
Helping to design research solutions and identify new research opportunities

As a member of the Research Management team, you will contribute to AnswerLab by:

Collaborating with other Research Managers to develop innovative and impactful research solutions that align with our clients’ business needs and are current with UX trends
Evaluating and refining best practices for project delivery and training our research team to execute best-in-class research
Working with account team Research Managers, Strategists, and Research Operations to innovate on the broader account delivery model to support account growth
Serving as a role model to all AnswerLab team members by exemplifying our core values
Contributing to the development and maintenance of the integrity of our research solutions, methodologies, deliverables, and processes
Traveling approximately 25% of the time, when safe to resume. The Research Manager may be expected to travel to an AnswerLab office, client office, or offsite location as needed

Key Relationships

Reports to a Research Director
Manages multiple researchers of varying experience levels
Works closely with strategists, researchers, project managers, and designers within established account teams
Works closely with other Research Management and Operations team members, including project managers, design, IT, and marketing

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

We understand that outstanding candidates come from a variety of backgrounds. While specific experience is important, we are ultimately looking for candidates who have the personal characteristics to thrive in a growing client-focused business. The ideal candidate will likely meet many or most of the job criteria listed below.

5+ years professional experience leading Qualitative UX Research in a client-facing environment
2+ years of professional experience managing a team of 5-7 researchers
Self-starter and self-motivated, with the ability to work autonomously and lead a team of researchers with minimal supervision in a high-volume, client-driven business
Thrives in a fast-paced, growth-oriented, and time-critical environment
Superior organizational skills, keen attention to detail, and demonstrated commitment to the accuracy and completeness of information
Responsive with commitment to follow-through on requests
Ability to build trust quickly and effectively across a variety of relationships (e.g., stakeholders, direct reports, cross-functional roles)
Excellent written and verbal communication skills and well-developed interpersonal skills
Ability to engage with senior-level business managers, executives, and research managers in Fortune 500 companies
Experience leading consulting engagements with clients -- either in research specifically or with a management consulting firm that uses analytical data to support conclusions
Well-versed in multiple research methodologies, such as 1:1 usability studies - both in-person and remote, ethnography, contextual interviews, innovation and co-design workshops, journey mapping, eye-tracking, unmoderated usability, focus groups, card sorting, persona development, surveys, site-intercept, and other user testing techniques
Experience crafting and evaluating discussion guides, screeners, test protocols, and final reports
Clear, concise, and engaging presentation skills, including building presentations and presenting results and recommendations to clients
Experience and demonstrated proficiency in a variety of software, and web technologies (Salesforce, Office 365, Google Workspace, Slack, Box, etc.)
Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, Statistics, Economics, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field preferred

Valid through: 4/17/2021