Associate Director, Customer and Product Insights – Leading Research and Insights to Drive Business Growth and Customer Satisfaction at blithequark

Introduction to blithequark

At blithequark, we empower people to live, work, and play by connecting them to what brings them joy. We drive innovation, creativity, and impact in the world, and our community of people anticipates, leads, and believes that listening is where learning begins. We're committed to enriching lives by bridging the gap between individuals and premium wireless experiences that exceed expectations in value and quality. By joining our team, you'll play a pivotal role in this mission, working towards delivering innovative, customer-focused solutions that open up a world of possibilities.

About the Role

We're looking for a senior insights professional to lead the customer and product research and insights function supporting the blithequark Value portfolio of brands. As the Associate Director of Customer and Product Insights, you and your team will drive business decisions that help us maintain a competitive edge by delivering best-in-class value propositions and experiences to our customers. You'll accomplish this by proactively working across brand and product team leaders to define and prioritize the research roadmap, managing and mentoring direct reports, leading by example, and overseeing key vendor partnerships.

Key Responsibilities

• Proactively work across brand and product team leaders to define and prioritize the research roadmap and ensure appropriate resource allocation, including people, budgets, and vendor partnerships.
• Manage, mentor, and coach direct reports who are focused on specific work streams to ensure world-class insights work and leverage learnings and best practices across these work streams.
• Lead by example and set a high bar for research rigor and insights storytelling.
• Oversee key vendor partnerships, ensuring the team leverages the highest quality research methods and analytical capabilities, and manage spend to forecast.
• Work in close partnership with the Marketing Insights leads to build an integrated understanding of our customers, prospects, and market dynamics.
• Forge relationships with adjacent insight, analytics, and intelligence teams across the blithequark organization to further elevate our total market understanding and identify opportunities for greater efficiencies in spend and operating models.
• Speak on behalf of the customer across blithequark Value leadership forums, ensuring that crucial customer insights and pain points are elevated to key decision-makers and incorporated into short and long-term action planning.
• Oversee and care for the performance and professional development of team members, providing regular feedback, coaching, and direction to ensure each team member is meeting their expectations to deliver impact and drive business objectives.
• Promote and train teams to engage with business senior leadership as consumer champions.

Essential Qualifications

To be successful in this role, you'll need to have:

• Eight or more years of relevant experience required, demonstrated through one or a combination of work and/or military experience, or specialized training.
• Experience in Marketing, Customer Experience, or User Experience research.
• Experience designing research programs, both qualitative and quantitative, to address business needs; can articulate rationale.
• Strong command of advanced quantitative methodologies (maxdiff, conjoint, segmentation, cluster analysis, Gabor Granger, etc.).
• Experience with qualitative and/or user-centered design evaluative research methods (e.g., focus groups, in-depth interviews, diary studies, ethnography, etc.).
• Experience synthesizing data from multiple sources and translating findings into actionable customer insights and recommendations.

Preferred Qualifications

Even better if you have one or more of the following:

• Four or more years of experience managing a team of three or more people.
• Experience providing insights to inform value proposition development.
• Experience leveraging secondary data, trends, and learnings to provide context for business scenarios.
• Experience coaching and advising multiple team members, simultaneously, to push the strategic quality of their insights.
• Ability to present insights in a compelling narrative and establish rapport with Senior Leadership as a Consumer Champion.
• Marketing, CX, or UX research experience specifically in the consumer or business space.
• Are a self-starter, able to identify stakeholders and build credibility for the team.
• Demonstrated effective consultative skills.
• Proven ability to work through ambiguity and effectively collaborate to problem-solve.
• Strong business acumen and understanding of the telecom industry.
• Extensive experience and genuine interest in consumer segment research.
• High degree of comfort using influence and persuasion cross-functionally.
• Experience operating in a fast-moving, rapidly evolving environment.
• Experience contributing to a culture of innovation by finding new and better ways of doing things: identifying, creating, and employing innovative research and operational approaches.

Skills and Competencies

To succeed in this role, you'll need to possess:

• Strong research and analytical skills, with the ability to design and execute research programs that drive business outcomes.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills, with the ability to present complex insights in a clear and compelling way.
• Strong leadership and management skills, with the ability to motivate and develop a team of researchers.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, with multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Strong business acumen, with a deep understanding of the telecom industry and the ability to apply this knowledge to drive business outcomes.
• Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders across the organization, including senior leadership, product teams, and marketing teams.

Career Growth Opportunities and Learning Benefits

At blithequark, we're committed to helping our employees grow and develop in their careers. As the Associate Director of Customer and Product Insights, you'll have the opportunity to:

• Develop and execute research programs that drive business outcomes and impact the company's bottom line.
• Lead and manage a team of researchers, providing coaching, guidance, and development opportunities to help them grow in their careers.
• Collaborate with stakeholders across the organization, including senior leadership, product teams, and marketing teams, to drive business outcomes and impact the company's bottom line.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest research methods and technologies, and apply this knowledge to drive business outcomes and impact the company's bottom line.

Work Environment and Company Culture

At blithequark, we're committed to creating a work environment that is collaborative, inclusive, and empowering. As the Associate Director of Customer and Product Insights, you'll be part of a team that:

• Values diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is committed to creating a workplace that is welcoming and inclusive to all employees.
• Is passionate about driving business outcomes and impact, and is committed to using research and insights to inform business decisions.
• Is collaborative and team-oriented, with a focus on working together to achieve common goals.
• Is committed to helping employees grow and develop in their careers, and provides opportunities for training, development, and advancement.

Compensation, Perks, and Benefits

At blithequark, we offer a competitive compensation package, including:

• A salary range of $127,000.00 to $236,000.00 annually, based on a full-time schedule.
• A comprehensive benefits package, including health and wellness benefits, short-term incentives, 401(k) Savings Plan, stock incentive programs, paid time off, parental leave, adoption assistance, and tuition assistance.
• A dynamic and supportive work environment, with opportunities for growth and development.
• A culture that values diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is committed to creating a workplace that is welcoming and inclusive to all employees.

Conclusion

If you're a motivated and experienced research professional looking for a new challenge, we encourage you to apply for the Associate Director, Customer and Product Insights role at blithequark. With a competitive compensation package, a dynamic and supportive work environment, and opportunities for growth and development, this is an exciting opportunity to join a team that is passionate about driving business outcomes and impact. Apply today to take the first step in your new career!