Research Manager

At Safaricom, the Market Research and Customer Insights (& Foresights) Department is at the heart of understanding our customers and shaping the future of our business. We turn data and human stories into powerful insights that guide strategy, innovation, and brand growth across the company. Our mission is to ensure every decision starts with the customer. We uncover what drives people, anticipate emerging trends, and provide foresight that keeps Safaricom and M-PESA ahead of change. Joining this team means being part of a dynamic group that combines curiosity, analytical thinking, and creativity to inspire customer-led innovation and impact millions of lives across Africa

At Safaricom, we’re passionate about transforming lives. It’s our human spirit — combined with the power of technology — that empowers us to do so. We challenge, innovate, and collaborate as one dynamic community, guided by our ambition to be a digital-first, insights-led organization that fuels platforms and ecosystem partnerships. Delighting customers and earning their loyalty drives us. Here, you can truly be yourself and belong, share inspiration, embrace new opportunities, thrive, and make a real difference.

What we’re looking for

In keeping with our current business needs, we are looking for a person who meets the criteria indicated below.

Reporting to the Senior Research Manager the role will be responsible for providing reliable data and analysis that form the foundation for market and customer insights. The successful candidate will actively monitor market trends and competitor activity, ensuring the business stays informed and ahead of emerging developments. A key part of the role involves translating complex data into clear, concise summaries that support strategic decision-making and drive informed business actions.
 

Key Accountabilities
• End to end research project management – Design, Execute and manage quantitative and qualitative research projects from brief to presentation
• Uncover Customer & Market Needs: Investigate customer satisfaction, brand perceptions, innovation suitability, and market sizing for key segments
• Monitor and Track the Competition: Conduct competitive intelligence analysis—monitoring competitor pricing, product launches, marketing campaigns, and network performance
• Support Innovation and Product Development: Work with innovation team and product managers to test concepts, features, and pricing for new services while applying HCD techniques (User Experience Research)
• Analyse and Synthesize Data: Analyse research data and outputs, market reports, and industry trends to identify key insights
• Create Compelling Stories: Prepare clear, visually engaging reports and presentations that tell a story and provide clear, actionable recommendations to stakeholders
• Vendor Management: Brief and manage external research agencies to ensure they deliver high-quality, timely, and cost-effective insights
 

Other responsibilities
• Research Methodology & Execution: Proficiency in designing surveys, discussion guides, and utilizing key qualitative and quantitative research techniques
• Data Analysis, Synthesis & Insights Communication: Ability to analyse data sets to identify patterns, trends, and key insights, not just report numbers. Skill in creating clear, concise, and visually engaging reports and presentations that tell a compelling story
• Technical & Analytical Tool Proficiency: Competence with key tools and data analysis software (SPSS, Excel, Power BI)
• Ai and Machine Learning Awareness: Understand how to use Ai tolls for predictive analysis and uncovering deeper relationships
• API and Integration Knowledge:  understanding how to connect different data sources to create a single customer view
• Digital research Tools – Experience with Agile, DIY platforms for rapid iterative testing
• Project Management: Ability to manage multiple research projects simultaneously, from brief to delivery, ensuring they are on time and on budget
• Commercial Acumen: Understanding how research insights connect to business goals, such as revenue, customer retention, and market share.
• Tech & Telecom Curiosity: A genuine interest in the industry's products, services, and trends
• Stakeholder Orientation: Focus on understanding and addressing the core business questions of internal clients
• Health and Safety- Uphold the company code of conduct, policies and procedures, ensuring integrity and accountability in every aspect of your work.
• All employees have a responsibility to adhere to safety, health, and wellbeing policies, guidelines and procedures in all actions and decisions
 

• Must have technical / professional qualifications:
• Bachelor’s Degree from a recognized university preferably Data Science, Statistics, Economics or related field
• 6 years’ experience in a Market research role or M&E - proven hands-on experience with Research Methods
• Strong Analytical, Story Telling, Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills
• Self-Starter attitude who is also a team player

How to apply
If you feel that you are up to the challenge and possess the necessary qualification and experience, kindly proceed to update your candidate profile on the recruitment portal and then Click on the apply button. Remember to attach your resume
 

We are the leading telecommunication company in East Africa. Our purpose is to transform lives by connecting people to people, people to opportunities and people to information. We keep over 42 million customers connected and play a critical role in the society, supporting over one million jobs both directly and indirectly while our total economic value was estimated at KES 362 Billion ($ 3.2 billion) for the 12 months through March 2021. We are listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and with annual revenues of close to KES 298 Billion ($2.5 billion) as at March 2022. We were founded in 1997 as a fully owned subsidiary of Telkom Kenya before a 40 percent acquisition by Vodafone Group PLC in May 2000, and a public offering of 25 percent shares through the NSE in 2008. Under the management of Vodafone Group PLC, we welcomed Michael Joseph, as our first CEO, a few months later in July of 2000. He led the company’s growth to accommodate 16.71 million subscribers from the previous 20,000, largely owing to innovative products like M-PESA in 2007.