We’re hiring! New Market Research Project Director

The role:

The Market Research Project Director (MRPD) will be responsible for resource management and the planning and management of research projects, from new business commissioning through to presentation of results.

The MRPD reports directly to the CEO Mike Rigby for industry and research knowledge and methodology and supports him in managing the business and meeting objectives. Research analysts will report to the MRPD.

MRA Research works as a team; team leaders are hands-on to ensure we wow customers with high quality insights and recommendations, while hitting deadlines and exceeding customer expectations. When necessary we all roll up our sleeves to get the job done.

Most new team members know little about construction, but it can be learned. Attitude and aptitude is far more important.

As we grow and take on the people to grow, and the team expands and learns about the markets and research products, training and learning are critical. New members succeed by getting to know and learning about customers, their markets and the research tools and products we use to help them.

We are realistic in our expectations, but we want to create research experts in construction markets. We therefore encourage learning and training and provide briefings and materials and information, but learning is a two-way business, set equally by the appetite and energy of team members.

The MRPD will be involved at all stages of projects from responding to enquiries, taking briefs, pitching, costing, proposals and planning. The MRPD will work closely with the CEO to build awareness and understanding of proposed projects so they can contribute to and manage the resource and project planning as effectively as possible.

Once the MRPD has settled in the role, they are expected to lead and bring others with them, leaving the CEO to hand over the reins to develop more new research products and markets.

The MRPD liaises with internal and external researchers, fieldwork agencies and customers and is responsible for the quality and timing of data capture, directly or indirectly, through the team of researchers and analysts.

Although we are currently recruiting to grow and add new skills and experience, our policy is to grow from within and we want ambitious leaders-in-waiting at every level. This role has the potential to develop into a broader role, in line with the candidate’s ambitions and aims.

Essential:

• Experienced (4+ years, particularly senior level) and confident in hands-on management of ad-hoc and large multi-phase research projects eg:
  • Customer satisfaction/NPS^®
  • Benchmarking against competitors
  • Reputation/perception
  • Monthly market tracking of performance, expectations and confidence
  • New market investigations
  • Building/managing databases
• Familiar with using different quant and qual research methods (including telephone, online, face-to-face, focus, desk research); proactively learning more to inform new projects including our own suite of trademarked research tools.
• Confident in Microsoft Office suite especially Excel and confident in using survey software. Familiar with Access and Powerpoint.
• Research agency experience handling multiple projects
• Able to manage projects from scoping to timely completion including:
  • Responding to new business queries with good engagement, and preparing/presenting pitches to prospective clients
  • Build and write questionnaires in appropriate software (eg CATI or SNAP) – knowing or able to learn optimal interviewing times
  • Time management and briefing of inhouse and external resources
  • Preparing reports, analysing results, able to spot errors, observe statistical significance, display results clearly, and add key insights and recommendations,
  • Working with the team to give and receive constructive feedback
  • Preparing presentation (with design help) and communicating results clearly, concisely and confidently in person, on the phone or via email.

Desirable:

• Experience in B2B and/or construction markets
• Experience in managing teams
• Experience in dashboards and presentation programmes eg Tableau, Power BI.

Benefits:

• Ideally full-time, but part-time considered
• Hybrid role – some time in office (Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, GL12) required and ability to travel to occasional client offices.
• Competitive salary
• Mobile and laptop provided
• 25 days paid holiday + bank holidays + Christmas Eve

To apply, email your CV to Jane Evans at jane@mra-data.co.uk. 

 

More information on MRA Research:

MRA Research specialises in construction, building products and home improvement markets. In business for 30 years, MRA has a high profile and strong reputation in the industry for reliable data and strategic insights.

We have a mix of regular and ad hoc blue-chip clients that require various research projects and a mix of quant and qual, online and offline.

For one leading building materials plc, we track customer satisfaction and NPS^® in five of its businesses to drive improvement using NPS^® and MRA’s own trademarked measures which enable users to improve NPS^® scores. Tracking ranges from weekly fieldwork to annual.

Key products we developed and manage are the Builders’ Merchant Building Index (bmbi.co.uk) and the Plumbing & Heating Merchant Index (phmi.co.uk). These use sales out data amounting to £9bn pa to builders and trades covering 80%+ of the market from GfK. BMBI includes a panel of industry Experts who explain their markets, including major brands such as Bostik, Dulux Trade, and Knauf Insulation. The BMBI is the only reliable measure of UK RMI building activity in the UK and is widely used by trade and national media commentators, economists, and Government in the UK and internationally.

The Department for Business & Trade includes BMBI alongside the BoE and ONS stats in its Monthly Construction Update.