Research Director, Marketing Audience Insights

About the Role, Mission or Department Overview

The Research Director leads research to inform and measure our brand strategy and reputation, brand marketing and earned marketing efforts. As an individual contributor, you will deepen our understanding of our audiences and translate insights into clear, relevant strategies that shape communications, creative, media mix, and long-term planning.

You will report to the Managing Director, Audience & Marketing Insights, and work with partners in Marketing, Communications, and the Newsroom. You will have frequent exposure to senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.

You will create the right research plan, implement qualitative and quantitative research methods, lead meetings, and communicate insights for different internal audiences.

This position is based in our New York City HQ, and requires regular attendance in the office.

Responsibilities:

• Lead end-to-end quantitative and qualitative research projects to help develop messages, campaigns, and media strategies shaping brand reputation.
• Own the end-to-end research process: develop briefs, design screeners and questionnaires, launch surveys and unmoderated studies, analyze and synthesize results, and deliver narratives that directly inform creative and media decisions.
• Partner with marketers, communications leaders, and newsroom partners to clarify business questions and scope the right methodologies to answer them.
• Design and implement an array of different research approaches (concept testing, creative evaluation, brand tracking, message testing) to help the brand strategy team evolve their strategy and creative campaign approach.
• Design and implement a suite of campaign measurement approaches to evaluate the effectiveness of brand marketing, earned media, and PR campaigns. Methodologies include exposed/unexposed media tagging studies, opportunity to see/hear studies, brand tracking, and on-site survey work.
• Translate complex findings into concise, executive-ready communications (decks, memos, live presentations) that highlight possible effects and recommended actions that influence decisions and enhance audience empathy across the organization.
• Manage multiple research projects and ad-hoc requests at once, including developing timelines and planning bandwidth to ensure resourcing and on-time delivery.
• Manage relationships with research and media vendors, including scoping, survey design, analysis plans, quality control, and delivery of reports.
• Improve how we produce and apply brand and earned marketing insights — identifying gaps, proposing new vendors or methods, and piloting approaches that increase quality, speed, and influence.
• Collaborate with internal research partners and consultants across The Times to connect brand research with broader audience, growth, and product insights, bringing an integrated perspective to your work.
• Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.

Basic Qualifications:

• 10+ years of hands-on experience in marketing research or consumer insights, with an emphasis on brand research, brand tracking, campaign measurement, and brand strategy.
• 3+ years of experience leading all facets of marketing and communications effectiveness measurement programs, including vendor relationships, questionnaire development, data mining, and reporting.
• Experience leading creative message evaluation, informing brand strategy, and evaluating campaign creative.
• Experience leading all aspects of quantitative research, including analyzing large quantitative datasets, identifying insights, and creating clear reports.
• Experience leading all aspects of qualitative research, including screener development, discussion guides, and reporting.
• Experience managing external research partners/vendors
• Experience working with different teams, including Marketing and Communications, and presenting research to leadership.

Preferred Qualifications

• B.A./B.S. degree in a relevant field (e.g., Human-Computer Interaction, Interaction Design, Information Science, Psychology, Graphic/Communication/Product Design, Design Engineering, Human Factors Engineering, Cognitive Science, Digital Anthropology, Marketing, Business).

REQ-020113