Associate Research Director

In the words of one of our senior clients recently… "Market Research has changed more in the last 3 years than in the previous 40". System1 has been one of the pioneers of this change. As The Effectiveness Agency, our Mission at System1 is to empower every marketer to create great advertising and prove creativity's value to their business. Ultimately our vision is for a world where every single advertising dollar is effective - and no money is wasted.

Our drive to discover breakthrough marketing solutions guaranteed to help our clients grow more (and waste less) has led to our being voted the "Most Innovative Agency" by clients and agencies alike for six of the past seven years:

• The first to champion the predictive accuracy, cost & speed advantages of online research.
• The first to use online interactive and recursive capability, to automatically capture and structure any number of open-ended consumer responses. Since 2000, System1's MindReader has been used 50m times collecting over 100m open responses.
• The first to champion the accuracy of Predictive Markets (wisdom of crowds) and validate its ability to better predict the market potential of our clients' new product ideas. Since 2004 we have successfully assessed the market potential of over 50,000 innovations.
• The first to create an online measure of emotion and validate that a consumers' feelings about a brand and its marketing are the best predictor of their market potential.

System1 is an ambitious Global business. Our objective is to continue to spearhead our industry's change agenda. This innovative and entrepreneurial spirit has led to more major new global launches that will change the way Marketing Leaders approach Market Research:

• The first to launch a service that will test every single Ad across key categories that runs on Television in the UK and USA (all FMCG, Automotive, Financial Services etc).
• System1 Test Your Ad is an online subscription-based Market Research tool that provides predictive next day ratings for any new ad - and past 12 months advertising performance - for any brand or company. We are predicting this will become the industry standard - and a "must have" tool for every marketing leader in the world.
• The first to launch a better, cheaper faster way for clients to test earlier, more often, more accurately than ever before. The System1 Creative Guidance System is a Research & Strategic Guidance tool that has been specifically designed to be flexible enough to fit with any client's existing advertising development process.
• Thought leadership in the form of "Lemon - How The Advertising Brain Turned Sour" - a joint initiative with the IPA-and their most successful publication ever.

Becoming part of our team AIM Listed, and with 10 Global Offices and over 150 employees System1 is now set for delivering the next phase of its own growth agenda. Central to this is our people. We need to hire the right people, into the right roles, at the right time. In short, we need amazing colleagues to join the S1 Revolution.

We are looking for a talented person to join the Research and Guidance team, of our Global Market Research business to help deliver predictive and actionable insight to our clients. Are you up for being a part of the Research & Guidance Team to deliver the best-in-class research to our clients? Would you like to work with colleagues who are passionate about changing the marketing landscape? Do you want to be part of the Revolution at System1?

What would you be doing?

As the Regional R&G Lead for APAC, you will head up the APAC R&G team overseeing & contributing to high quality project output to support Sales in building strong client relationships & securing repeat revenue. You will be the key point of contact for the APAC Commercial team advising on project design, scope & timings to feed into proposals & contribute to pitches. You will line manage the R&G APAC team to include resource allocation for all APAC projects as well as supporting the growth & development of the team. In addition, you will be expected to own at least one R&G strategic initiative focused on improving process or enhancing output/consultancy.

Key Responsibilities

Research Design

Provide guidance to the Sales Team on the whole proposal identifying areas that might need further consideration, for example, timings, design, question flow & any learnings from previous projects. Ensure what is proposed fits within the product taxonomy & be the 'go to' person for research questions on all products in the taxonomy. Coach others in the team on research fundamentals and S1 products and ensure the team is up to date on the latest product suite.

Analysis & Reporting

Be responsible for the preparation and reviewing of all research reports for the region ensuring completion at a high quality & within SLA. Run spot checks to ensure report quality and incorporating value adds to reports. Coaching teams on research and analysis by sharing examples of great work from across the business as well as providing guidance on how to improve efficiency in report writing.

Client Liaison & Relationships

Support the Commercial team in building strong relationships with clients and spot future opportunities for work through existing project work that can be highlighted to the Client Sales team. Find ways to share insights on categories and brands to other R&G team members where relevant. Be present at large debriefs to provide support to the research Lead, or if you are the Research Lead, present together with Client Sales.

Team Management

Manage the APAC R&G team, including workload allocation, 1-1-line management & objective setting to ensure people are at the centre. Identify training requirements and feedback to R&G Global Lead. Work closely with UK/Europe Leads to support on global workload planning providing support on other projects where needed. Be responsible for team engagement, monitoring this over time to identify areas for improvement.

Personal Capability Building

Develop own capabilities by participating in assessment and development planning activities as well as formal and informal training to improve performance and fulfil personal potential. Maintain an understanding of relevant technology, external regulation, and industry best practices through ongoing education, attending conferences, and reading specialist media. Synthesise & share back any learnings with the rest of the team.

Core Competencies

• Manages Complexity: Makes sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems.
• Plans & Aligns: Plans and prioritises work to meet commitments aligned with organisational goals.
• Business Insight: Applies knowledge of business and the marketplace to advance the organization's goals. Monitors business news and market changes for impact on the business or on own expertise area; uses to shape decisions.
• Ensures accountability: Holds self and others accountable to meet commitments.
• Communicates Effectively: Develops and delivers multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences. Keeps others well informed; conveys information clearly, concisely, and professionally when speaking or writing.
• Decision Quality: Makes good and timely decisions that keep the organization moving forward. For example, knows when to act independently and when to escalate issues. Integrates various inputs, decision criteria, and trade-offs to make effective decisions.
• Customer Focus: Builds strong customer relationships and delivers customer-centric solutions. For example, is interested in Sales needs, learns requirements, and delivers effectively. Responds promptly to requests; secures the support of others to resolve the issues.
• Proactivity: Demonstrates proactivity & a positive can-do attitude when working with all stakeholders both internally & externally.

You need to have the following experience:

• Ideally 8+ years' experience
• Passionate about Marketing, Market Research & consultancy
• Proven experience working within the industry across communications, brand & innovation
• Excellent analytical & consultancy skills with the ability to see the 'so what' for clients
• Experience of line management & team development

Get In Touch

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