Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Manager – Research Analyst

🎯 Role Definition

The Manager – Research Analyst is a strategic leadership role responsible for guiding a team of analysts to transform raw data and market signals into actionable intelligence. This individual serves as the critical link between the data and the business, overseeing the entire research lifecycle from conceptualization to presentation. The manager ensures the team's outputs are not just analytically sound but are also framed within a compelling narrative that drives strategic decisions across marketing, product development, sales, and executive leadership. They are a mentor, a project leader, and a key strategic partner who champions a data-driven culture and ensures the insights function delivers tangible business value.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Research Analyst
Market Research Consultant
Senior Data Analyst with a focus on business insights

Advancement To:

Director of Research & Insights
Senior Manager of Business Intelligence
Head of Analytics & Strategy

Lateral Moves:

Senior Strategy Manager
Product Marketing Manager
Customer Experience (CX) Strategy Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of research analysts, fostering a culture of curiosity, critical thinking, and continuous professional growth through regular coaching and performance management.
Design, manage, and execute comprehensive primary and secondary research projects from end-to-end, including methodology selection, survey design, qualitative guide development, and data collection to address complex business questions.
Oversee the synthesis of complex qualitative and quantitative data from diverse sources (e.g., market data, survey results, customer feedback, competitive intelligence) to identify key trends, patterns, and actionable insights.
Act as a strategic partner to senior leadership and cross-functional teams (Product, Marketing, Sales), translating complex research findings into compelling narratives and actionable recommendations.
Develop and manage the research roadmap, prioritizing projects based on business impact and stakeholder needs to ensure alignment with corporate strategic objectives.
Champion research best practices and innovative methodologies across the organization, continuously evaluating and integrating new tools and techniques to enhance the team's capabilities.
Manage relationships with external research vendors and partners, overseeing project execution, quality control, and budget management to ensure a high return on investment.
Author and present high-impact reports, dashboards, and presentations that clearly communicate key findings and strategic implications to a variety of audiences, from technical teams to the C-suite.
Conduct in-depth competitive landscape analysis, tracking competitor activities, market positioning, and emerging threats to inform strategic planning and differentiation.
Lead market sizing, segmentation, and trend forecasting initiatives to identify new growth opportunities and guide go-to-market strategies.
Drive the 'voice of the customer' program, ensuring customer feedback is systematically collected, analyzed, and integrated into product development and service improvement processes.
Collaborate closely with the data analytics and data science teams to integrate behavioral data with attitudinal research for a holistic understanding of the customer journey.
Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for the research function to measure its impact and effectiveness on business outcomes.
Serve as the internal subject matter expert on market trends, consumer behavior, and competitive dynamics, providing proactive insights to the business.
Facilitate workshops and ideation sessions with stakeholders to translate research insights into concrete business initiatives and product features.
Ensure data integrity and analytical rigor in all team outputs, establishing robust quality assurance processes for all research projects.
Manage the team's workload and project pipeline effectively, ensuring timely delivery of high-quality insights while maintaining team morale and work-life balance.
Develop compelling business cases for strategic initiatives, supported by robust data and market evidence generated by the research team.
Drive the creation and maintenance of a centralized knowledge management system for all research findings, making insights easily accessible across the organization.
Prepare and manage the annual budget for the research department, including subscriptions, vendor costs, and necessary tools.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis from executive leadership.
Contribute to the organization's broader data governance and data strategy initiatives.
Collaborate with business units to translate ambiguous data needs into concrete engineering and analysis requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies where research insights are needed to inform development cycles.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Deep expertise in a wide range of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies (e.g., conjoint analysis, segmentation, A/B testing, focus groups, in-depth interviews).
High proficiency in statistical analysis software packages such as SPSS, R, or Stata for advanced modeling and data analysis.
Advanced skills in creating compelling data visualizations and dashboards using tools like Tableau, Power BI, or Looker.
Expertise in survey design, programming, and analysis using platforms like Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, or similar enterprise-level tools.
Strong command of SQL for querying complex relational databases to extract and manipulate data for analysis.
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel for data modeling and analysis, and PowerPoint for crafting impactful presentations.
Familiarity with qualitative data analysis software (e.g., NVivo, Dovetail) for thematic analysis of unstructured data.

Soft Skills

Exceptional leadership and team management capabilities, with a proven track record of mentoring and developing analysts.
Superior communication and storytelling skills, with the ability to translate complex data into clear, concise, and persuasive narratives for non-technical audiences.
Strong strategic and critical thinking abilities, adept at connecting disparate data points to overarching business objectives and market dynamics.
Excellent project management and organizational skills, with the capacity to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
High degree of business acumen and an insatiable intellectual curiosity about what drives customer behavior and market shifts.
Polished stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to build rapport and credibility with senior executives and cross-functional partners.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field.

Preferred Education:

Master’s Degree (MBA, MS) in a quantitative, research-oriented, or business field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Market Research, Business Administration, Economics, Statistics
Psychology, Sociology, or other Social Sciences

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

7-10 years of progressive experience in market research, consumer insights, corporate strategy, or data analysis.

Preferred:

A minimum of 3-5 years of direct people management experience, with demonstrated success in leading, coaching, and developing a team of analysts.