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PLACED: Associate Research Director, Qual, $90-110K, NYC

Boutique strategy and research shop is seeking to add a magical thinker and leader to their nimble team. This is a fast growing shop who thinks research should be fun! The firm specializes in utilizing digital technology and creative qualitative methodology to help clients solve their biggest challenges. Work tends to focus on new product development, communications development, and consumer empathy building. You’ll connect with consumers to understand what they want/need and how they live, to better create products, services or marketing and then turn this insight into powerful strategy.

We are looking for real people who share a passion for problem-solving, interest in understanding people’s motivations and behaviors, and talent for storytelling; creative, interesting and talented people who want to do great and innovative work. The major offering of the agency is the creation, engagement, and mining of bespoke, closed online consumer communities; offline work generally takes the form of 1-on-1 interviews. Your role will involve managing on/offline qualitative research, connecting with clients, overseeing junior talent, pitching new business, and working within an entrepreneurial team to create business-changing insights, crafting beautiful reports and writing like the wind. Current clients include General Mills, Pepsico, UBS, Delta, Coca-Cola, Reebok, Vans, Gap, Kipling, ABInBev, AXA, etc.

Please be human, imaginative, and energized; resourcefulness, flexibility, individual passions, and confidence mixed with quirkiness are highly valued. Previous qualitative research, brand consultancy or ad agency planning work required. Anywhere between 5-7+ years relevant experience; intelligence and cultural awareness a must.

Sounds perfect?  Shoot your resume and a work sample to [email protected].Not for you?  Share with your network and get someone working!

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PLACED: Research Director (Qual), $120-150K, NYC

Ready to join a new breed of qualitative research company?

Global insight and strategic branding group is seeking to add an inspirational Research Director to their nimble and entrepreneurial team.  These folks believe research should be creative, rigorous, and flexible.

The Research Director will have various responsibilities including client management and drafting proposals, to workshops and creation of documentaries, reporting, new business pitches, invoicing, strategic initiatives, conducting various modes of research (ethnographies, shop-alongs, in-depth interviews, moderation of focus groups, etc.), development of junior staff, operations/P&L.  An important aspect of this role will also be helping to develop and secure new business either through existing or forged relationships.  Present projects touch on myriad categories such as CPG, technology, retail, hospitality, lifestyle, etc.  Enjoyment is key; please love what you do.

YOU are a talented senior researcher, planner or strategist with an involved, passionate, connected, collaborative spirit. You are smart, ambitious, exciting, a strategic thinker up for the challenge of growth.  You’ll need to be able to win business from and work with some of the most cutting edge clients that are out there. You’ll want to work on some of the most exciting projects in research and brand development with some of the most experienced practitioners. Experienced in tackling strategic, high profile briefs and projects, you’ll be happy working in a creative, informal but intellectually demanding environment.

Further, a forward-thinking qualitative researcher with 7+ years experience (planning, brand consulting and/or research), involved in all stages of the research process, from designing and setting up projects and conducting fieldwork, through to analysis, report writing/storytelling and presenting findings. You must have experience leading projects and being the main client point of contact.  You should relish the idea of working in a small growing team that offers progression through achievement and attitude rather than moving up a static career ladder.  Please be human, creative and full of energy; resourcefulness, flexibility, individual passions, and confidence mixed with quirkiness are highly valued.

You will be fully supported by a well developed project management team, back office support team, film team and a very ambitious group of qualitative researchers and brand consultants who delight in getting on planes to go to places to solve client problems. Compensation will be competitive based on the skills and experience of the candidate and will include healthcare, 4 weeks vacation as standard, participation in the company bonus scheme and of course invitations to our various outings, shindigs and away days.

If this is you, send us your resume and a presentation showing that you are as smart as f*ck and never boring and why we would be mad not to have you on the team.  Email: [email protected]

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PLACED: Senior Account Planner, $110K, NYC

Are you a creative problem-solver who can think big, is a student of culture and are passionate about ideas? Come join the agency that creates innovative cultural movements for exceptional brands.

Seeking an inquisitive and self-aware Senior Account Planner with the experience and stature to lead accounts/projects independently, yet knows when to ask for help. With initiative and confidence, you can demonstrate a proficiency with myriad research methodologies and are adept at procuring, analyzing and distilling primary & secondary research, through to developing brand strategy recommendations grounded in human insights, guiding project trajectories and realizing the full potential of each client engagement. Collaborative in spirit, you’ll work closely with agency’s Design, Account and Leadership teams to deliver creative excellence, engaging clients and consumers through compelling brand strategy insights. Awash in pop culture and emerging trends, you have an ever-expanding knowledge-base and remain current on key subject matter and industry areas. Agency clients are diverse and require a quick mind and eagerness to understand their categories and businesses. A proven track record of excellence in writing and presenting will put you ahead of the pack.

And please… be collaborative and welcoming; people need to feel they can ask for your help and actively involve you in discussions with clients and amongst the team. You are quick thinking and smart, able to debate complex issues with clients at length and under pressure. To that end, you likely have a natural authority and can clearly and brilliantly express complex ideas simply. However, you need to act in an ‘open’ way, responding openly to client questions, seeking information from other parties and sharing the knowledge you have. Your ‘can do’ spirit is infectious and attractive to both colleagues and clients. Experience working with financial brands is a plus; 5-7 years of agency strategic planning experience required.

Sounds great? Please shoot your resume/portfolio to [email protected]. Not for you? Share with your network and get someone working!

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PLACED: Strategy Director & Brand Strategist, Integrated, NYC

The Agency: A global full-service creative business and a different kind of advertising agency – one that merges the highest standards of creativity and strategic thinking to help build brands that truly stand out. This is one of the most revered agencies in the world – named Agency of the Year multiple times and countless strategy awards. They strive for simple, enduring ideas that are rooted in real human truths, and executed with brilliant craft. Their culture celebrates difference, education, inclusivity, innovation, restlessness, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. They also really like nice people.

The role of Strategy: To open up new spaces for brand transformation and growth, through visionary, innovative thinking and a precise, data-based understanding of business. It is about Intelligence and Magic. Fine-tuning the marketing machine, but also crucially, unlocking the idea that will animate the machine. It’s about getting to great work that works. Strategy should ensure that creativity is originated, deployed, and tracked so as to maximize the value of ideas and deliver success for a client’s business. There is not one way of doing strategy – one school of thought or dogma. Instead, everyone uses their judgement to draw from different theories, and develop thinking that is right for the specific problem you’re solving. As you can see, you’ll be at the intersection of excellence, teamwork, adaptability and openness.

What we need from You:

Thoroughly understands the brand, product and market

– Understanding of the brand: what it stands for, whom it speaks to, what it sells, who and what it competes against, how it differentiates, what its core purpose and commercial vision is, strengths and weaknesses

– The strategist on the account should be “the knowledge,” holds the best factual knowledge and knows how to access more

Ensures performance is central to creative process and client relationship

– In depth understanding of how client’s business operates, how it grows, what are drivers and barriers, what their portfolio of opportunities look like, what might be threats to and opportunities for growth in the future

– Ability to understand and use data to ensure creativity is rooted in and connected to commercial performance

– Ensures performance remains at the heart of the idea throughout production and implementation

Knows how to access insight and research, and make sense of it

– Understanding of the cultural context within which the brand operates, good understanding of the consumer world and culture

– Understand how quantitative and qualitative research works

– Ability to conduct desk research, together with Research and Data teams, and put together an informed point of view on a brand, consumer group, category, market, or area of culture

– Basic understanding of data-led insight tools

– Ability to unlock creative and commercial insights through data

Has an informed point of view on how the brand should engage

– Understanding of the consumer behaviors driving existing channel landscape and key trends linked to media and content consumption, leading to an informed point of view on channel planning (topline)

– Ability to build on ideas and help them connect better with desired behavior change, consumers and culture

Collaborates with creative and account teams to deliver work that successfully answers performance-based briefs

– Writes clear and inspiring briefs, to deliver a consistent strategic narrative from commercial objectives to executions

– Actively fuels the creative process with stimulus, pushing for the most innovative solutions whenever possible

– Builds good relationships with creative teams, able to provide upstream inspiration, collaborate and build on ideas further down

– Good judge of creative work, able to judge (with an open mind) whether work is on brief and give clear and constructive feedback

Organizes information into simple strategic narrative, delivers it in an engaging and compelling way

– Able to put together a strategic and creative story that is simple yet compelling, written and spoken, to any audience, adapting to the needs of different audiences

– Good analytic skills yet ability for sacrifice and simplification, distilling a lot of information into short and clear outputs

Please have approximately 3+ years (Strategist) or 8+ years (Strategy Director) in Strategy/Planning at a creative agency. Entertainment, CPG, Tech or Gaming experience is a plus.

Sounds perfect? Shoot a resume/samples to [email protected]. Not for you? Share with your network and get someone working!

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