Senior Research Manager

New Digital Agency part of the Next Fifteen Communications Group plc

Based in Hammersmith, West London

Full time (40 hours per week), permanent role

Job Purpose

Project Metal is the codename for a new Next Fifteen digital agency. As part of the Next Fifteen Communications Group plc, an AIM listed company; Project Metal will be part of a group of public relations agencies that have offices throughout Europe and Africa, North America and Asia Pacific. Next Fifteen Communications Group also owns two research businesses and has an investment in a policy communications business. Between them, these businesses have 39 offices in 18 different countries.

The role holder will be the first Research Manager in the UK business, therefore, the role will evolve over time as the business grows and develops. Working in a team in the US and UK you’ll be responsible for new business, developing research strategies and managing research budgets. You’ll also be working with the other PR brands within the Next Fifteen Group (Outcast, Text 100, Bite, Lexis, MBooth and 463) providing products and services as well as developing Project Metal’s own client base across all sectors. The role will be split 40:60 between client work, where the role holder will establish and maintain the role as the primary interface with client services and external client contacts and new business.

Key Accountabilities

• Responsible for working on new business development efforts through, but not exclusively, competitive research, market evaluation, new product development, marketing collateral development, lead generation and business pitches.
• Create and maintain strong relationships with internal and external clients as the primary consultative interface on assigned accounts.
• Manage medium to large client briefs for secondary and primary studies independently, brief team members appropriately, design research to meet such briefs on budget and deadline.
• Manage client expectations, be the primary point of contact and take responsibility for final timely delivery within budget on various projects for secondary and primary research reports.
• Demonstrate proficiency in advance charting, coding and analysis and ensure high standard of quality in these, from team members working together on projects.
• Support other team members in client presentations, consulting and advisory.
• Demonstrate high client service orientation at all times.
• Negotiate and manage vendor and third-party activities, including contracts and deadlines, as needed for assigned accounts and projects.
• As and when Project Metal grows manage direct reports through the timely completion of annual performance reviews, providing timely and accurate feedback and support their development. In addition, provide informal coaching and mentoring as and when required.
• Interface with clients and PR account teams, when necessary, to facilitate smooth progress of research projects.
• Deliver easy to interpret representation of data by consistently upholding and developing research methodological standards and best practices.
• Review and produce high-quality documents with correct basic grammar and spelling, and appropriate format.
• Be knowledgeable and up-to-speed with the communications research industry – players, methods and other resources, and familiar with existing clients – their technologies, their markets, their competitors, and issues facing them.

Person Specification

• Delivers all communication in a clear, concise and confident manner.
• Able to tailor their communication to a variety of different audiences.
• Takes a high energy approach to achieving objectives and in day to day dealings.
• Proactive approach to achieving and delivering quality results.
• Tangible track record of successfully delivering individual and team projects against time, financial and task objectives.
• Ability to work in an entrepreneurial and start up environment and understand the pressures that this brings.
• Reads beyond the initial facts to identify and pull out underlying issues and problems.
• Robust and assertive approach combined with ability to see someone else’s point of view.
• Self-motivated and owns issues through to resolution.
• Displays positive solutions based approach to problem solving.
• Adapts quickly to changing circumstances in order to achieve best results.
• Successfully prioritises and manages competing deadlines and tasks.
• Displays integrity and professionalism in all dealings with clients and colleagues.
• Enthusiastic team-player with ability to deliver on solo projects.
• Flexible approach to international travel that may take role holder away from home for periods of approximately one week at a time. As a result, the role holder must have no restrictions on their ability to travel on a global basis.
• Appreciates the need for consistency in all areas of work.
• Displays an excellent customer service orientation to all interactions with clients and staff.
• Has a very good sense of humour and displays a respect for all individuals.

Skills

• Graduate degree with an emphasis on business, marketing or communications research
• Experience of working in a research background, ideally gained in the media measurement industry, however, experience within advertising research, social media experience, academic research with a focus on empirical research or management and marketing consulting experience.
• Experience of working with a remote team would be desirable.
• Experience of working within an agency.
• Understanding of the capabilities of internet search services.
• Experience of developing training materials and delivering training, which meets the objectives of the target audience, would be desirable.
• Knowledge of other languages in which the Next Fifteen Group has an office would be desired.
• Excellent English language skills.
• Advanced user of Microsoft Office suite of products.
• Confident and articulate presenter to large and small audiences.
• Excellent face to face and virtual (email, Skype, telephone) communication skills.