Director, Market Research & Customer Insights
Job Description
At Cicero®, a part of MGT, no two days are exactly alike. On small teams, you’ll collaborate with energetic and bright minds with diverse perspectives to take on the toughest challenges in the public, private, and social sectors at startups, Fortune 500s, and everything in-between. Within a supportive environment, you’ll work hard to craft innovative strategies and bring about effective lasting impact. You’ll have the opportunity to lead and add real value to each of your projects. Open and honest communication is central to our philosophy, and at Cicero, you’ll find that your voice is not only heard—it’s wanted.
Growth is a core tenet of the Cicero Way. From day one, you’ll be paired with a mentor and have access to an expansive library of continuing education and professional development resources. We will help you identify and achieve your personal and professional goals. In turn, you’ll mentor others and help to create an even more dynamic, vibrant, and inclusive culture.
Our modern, collaborative office spaces are located in Salt Lake City and Washington D.C. At our headquarters, you’ll find yourself in the heart of a growing metropolitan area and a short drive from stunning mountain ranges. On the weekends, you can climb mountains, ski at first-rate resorts, fly fish in pristine rivers, explore the thriving arts and music scenes, or attend one of the hundreds of local festivals.
Cicero™, part of MGT is seeking a Principal-level market research professional to strengthen and expand our Customer Insights capability. This role is designed for a post‑MBA, senior researcher who combines deep methodological expertise with strong client presence and a hands‑on mindset.
This role will help to lead complex market research engagements, personally design and execute advanced analyses, support business development, and coach teams through best‑in‑class methodologies. The ideal candidate combines strong knowledge of market research methodologies, business acumen, and the ability to translate insights into actionable recommendations for clients.
Key Responsibilities
Research Leadership & Delivery (Primary Focus)
- Lead and personally execute end‑to‑end market research engagements, from problem framing and study design through analysis, synthesis, and executive delivery.
- Identify high-value research offerings (e.g., customer insights, competitive intelligence, market segmentation, market sizing, product development, pricing optimization, brand tracking) and build services that align with client needs.
- Design and oversee advanced quantitative research, and apply qualitative and mixed‑method approaches to deepen insight where appropriate.
- Translate complex data into clear, defensible, decision‑ready recommendations aligned to client business objectives.
- Present findings to senior and executive‑level client audiences and serve as a trusted research advisor.
- Serve as a senior methodological authority, ensuring analytic rigor, relevance, and consistency across engagements.
- Evaluate, pilot, and apply AI‑enabled tools and workflows to improve speed, scale, and insight generation (e.g., AI‑assisted survey design, text analytics, synthesis, automation).
- Develop and refine reusable templates, models, and workflows that elevate quality while maintaining efficiency.
- Stay current on emerging research methodologies, platforms, and data sources and selectively integrate them into client work.
- Support and, at times, lead the research component of business development efforts, including proposal design, methodology framing, and scoping.
- Partner with consulting and practice leaders to shape insight‑driven solutions that address client needs.
- Participate in client conversations to define problems, recommend research approaches, and build confidence in MGT’s research capabilities.
- Contribute to thought leadership and points of view that support market‑facing efforts.
- Provide hands‑on guidance on research design, analysis, and interpretation to elevate overall quality.
- Review and strengthen research outputs to ensure methodological soundness, clarity, and impact.
- Deliver targeted training sessions and develop playbooks as needed to build internal capability.
Qualifications
Required
- Masters Degree required (i.e., MBA, MS in Marketing/Market Research, Business/Data Analytics, etc.)
- 8–12+ years of experience in market research, customer insights, or analytics (consulting, research firm, or in‑house).
- Deep, applied expertise in quantitative research methods, particularly conjoint, segmentation, and pricing.
- Strong working knowledge of qualitative and mixed‑method approaches.
- Demonstrated ability to personally execute complex analyses, not solely oversee the work of others.
- Strong client‑facing communication skills and executive presence.
- Comfort operating as a senior individual contributor in a fast‑moving, entrepreneurial environment.
- Experience in a management consulting or research‑driven consulting environment.
- Familiarity with tools such as Qualtrics, Sawtooth, SPSS/R/Python, Tableau, MarketSight, and AI‑enabled insight platforms.
- Experience supporting proposal development and client scoping discussions.
What We Offer
- Opportunity to play a defining role in shaping and elevating MGT’s market research capabilities
- Exposure to diverse industries and high‑impact client challenges
- Competitive compensation and benefits
- A collaborative culture that values rigor, curiosity, and practical impact