Senior Research Manager

YouGov; Dubai; Hybrid; AED 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

YouGov in Dubai, UAE, seeks a Senior Research Manager to own complex client relationships across the region, leading quantitative research end‑to‑end and spotting opportunities for expanding client work. You will mentor junior staff and champion AI‑enabled approaches within a hybrid, full‑time role.

The ideal candidate has 7–8+ years in quantitative market research, strong storytelling with data, and fluency in English and Arabic.

Qualifications

• 7–8+ years’ quantitative market research experience, including sustained client management and team leadership.
• Proficiency in managing face‑to‑face and online data collection processes specific to quantitative research.
• Experience with statistical analysis or data weighting.
• A track record of growing accounts, not just delivering projects; you think commercially by instinct.
• Confidence leading a room; you tell a story with data; you don’t just read out a chart.
• Genuine curiosity about AI tools, and comfortable championing them with others.
• Strong analytical, organisational, and problem‑solving skills.
• Strong ability to work on multiple projects at different stages simultaneously while meeting deadlines and being the day‑to‑day point of contact for your clients.
• Fluent in English and Arabic.

Responsibilities

• Own and grow some of our most complex or high‑value client relationships across the region.
• Turn data into a story senior stakeholders remember and act on — not a slide‑by‑slide read‑out.
• Actively expand what clients get from working with us, spotting the next opportunity in every account.
• Champion AI and automation across the team’s ways of working, not just your own.
• Mentor and develop junior researchers and help shape how the team works day‑to‑day.
• Lead complex or sensitive client enquiries end‑to‑end, from proposal through to delivery, including questionnaire development, coordinating translations, testing survey links, survey set‑up, monitoring fieldwork (both online and offline), data processing and reporting, and next‑opportunity suggestion.

Skills

Client management

Team leadership

Quantitative research

Data storytelling

AI tools

English fluency

Arabic fluency

Multitasking

Tools

AI tools

Job description

Senior Research Manager – Client Servicing

Function: Senior Research Manager and client servicing
Department: Data Services – MENA
Location: Dubai, UAE
Working Arrangement: Full‑time, Permanent, Hybrid (Minimum 3 days in office – subject to review)
Line Manager: Director, Data Services

Ever wanted to be the person your biggest clients call first, not the analyst they email later? This role is built for someone who wants to own that relationship. We’re looking for a Senior Research Manager to own some of our most complex and high‑value client relationships across the region. You’ll lead quantitative research end‑to‑end, but the real value you’ll bring is spotting the next opportunity, expanding what clients get from working with us, and presenting findings as a compelling story rather than a read‑through of the data. You’ll also help set the standard for the team around you: championing AI‑enabled ways of working and mentoring more junior colleagues on both the craft and the client‑facing side of the job.

Responsibilities

• Own and grow some of our most complex or high‑value client relationships across the region.
• Turn data into a story senior stakeholders remember and act on — not a slide‑by‑slide read‑out.
• Actively expand what clients get from working with us, spotting the next opportunity in every account.
• Champion AI and automation across the team’s ways of working, not just your own.
• Mentor and develop junior researchers and help shape how the team works day‑to‑day.
• Lead complex or sensitive client enquiries end‑to‑end, from proposal through to delivery, including questionnaire development, coordinating translations, testing survey links, survey set‑up, monitoring fieldwork (both online and offline), data processing and reporting, and next‑opportunity suggestion.

Qualifications

• 7–8+ years’ quantitative market research experience, including sustained client management and team leadership.
• Proficiency in managing face‑to‑face and online data collection processes specific to quantitative research.
• Experience with statistical analysis or data weighting.
• A track record of growing accounts, not just delivering projects; you think commercially by instinct.
• Confidence leading a room; you tell a story with data; you don’t just read out a chart.
• Genuine curiosity about AI tools, and comfortable championing them with others.
• Strong analytical, organisational, and problem‑solving skills.
• Strong ability to work on multiple projects at different stages simultaneously while meeting deadlines and being the day‑to‑day point of contact for your clients.
• Fluent in English and Arabic.
• Comfortable working across different cultural contexts within the MENA region.

Additional Skills and Experience (Nice to Have)

• Commercial acumen with an understanding of how upselling and growing accounts leads to regional commercial success.
• Hands‑on experience using AI or automation tools in a research or analytics context.
• Experience mentoring junior team members.

Equal Opportunity Employer

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity or expression, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, marital status, age, disability, genetic information, HIV status, political affiliation, socioeconomic background, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law or in line with our responsibilities as a fair and ethical employer. All employment decisions are made based on occupational qualifications, merit, and business need.

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