Director, Consumer Insights

Excel Sports Management•Chicago, IL

13h

About The Position

We are building a dedicated consumer insights capability within our Excel Analytics team and are seeking a Director, Consumer Insights to lead that effort from the ground up. This role sits at the intersection of consumer behavior, fandom, sponsorship marketing, and live brand experiences. The Director will own the end-to-end research lifecycle and play a critical role in evolving how sponsorships are measured, moving beyond exposure and valuation to true consumer and business impact. This is a hands-on leadership role for an experienced insights professional who wants to build something meaningful, shape new measurement models, and influence high-profile brand partnerships. This role will be based in Chicago, but open to strong candidates based in NY or LA

Requirements

5–10 years of consumer insights experience in an agency or brand environment
Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in Market Research/Consumer Behavior, Marketing, Psychology or Economics
Demonstrated mastery of key sponsorship marketing or brand partnership drivers, considerations and activation strategies
End-to-end quantitative and qualitative research expertise, including ability to program surveys independently within major platforms and analyze them via SPSS or similar
A passion for data-driven, narrative storytelling, weaving insights and data from multiple sources and methodologies into compelling deliverables
Working knowledge of advanced statistics and data modeling techniques related to consumer insights analysis
Elite verbal and written comms, including power-user status for MS PowerPoint, that enable understanding and action from stakeholders of all backgrounds
An action-oriented, self-starter who loves being a part of a dynamic team, but also can generate first-class work product independently when needed
Possess a “whatever it takes” attitude to go above and beyond for teammates and clients
Has the ability to think strategically and creatively while identifying stakeholder needs, embodying a proactive, problem-solving approach guided by intellectual curiosity and structured thinking
Must exude emotional intelligence along with the ability to communicate and connect effectively and personably, recognizing the need to adjust communication based on the audience and situation
Uncompromised ethics and integrity, always focused on doing what is right for our clients

Nice To Haves

Experience measuring experiential or live events preferred, incorporating multiple data points beyond consumer responses

Responsibilities

Lead end to end sponsorship and consumer research
Personally lead and oversee primary research programs, owning the full research lifecycle across quantitative and qualitative methodologies
Translate research into actionable sponsorship insights for external clients and internal stakeholders
Lead measurement of B2C experiential marketing and fan activations, capturing the emotional, brand, and behavioral impact of live experiences
Develop and execute measurement frameworks for B2B hospitality, hosting, and relationship-driven sponsorship programs
Drive Sponsorship ROI & Thought Leadership
Develop and deploy new sponsorship ROI and impact frameworks
Integrate consumer insight into broader sponsorship measurement models
Serve as internal thought leader on consumer insights related to our clients, key cultural trends and behavioral shifts among fans
Lead advanced analytics initiatives around consumer insights data including segmentations, TURF analyses, con-joint, Max-Diff, and other methodologies
Stakeholder & Client Partnership
Partner with account team leads, sales and business development colleagues to enhance and communicate commercial appeal of Excel research capabilities
Support business and client development initiatives with ad-hoc research and insights on varied topics including sponsorship category research, fanbase insights and consumer segmentation
Act as trusted advisor to internal stakeholders and clients, with the ability to present insights to senior audiences and influence without authority
Partner with Excel Analytics colleagues on key capability development initiatives related to sponsorship impact, norms/benchmarks and other topics
Tools, Platforms & Vendor Ecosystem
Serve as a power user of consumer insights and fan intelligence platforms across syndicated data, social listening, media monitoring and other tools
Lead identification, evaluation and onboarding of new vendors in service to closing key data and capability gaps
Own strategy and relationships with research vendors and data partners
Build the Function
Establish and document research best practices and standards
Help define hiring and scaling roadmap
Build high-trust relationships with key colleagues that foster the long-term growth and development of Excel Analytics