Consumer Research & Insight Lead

Institute of Water; Walsall; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Travel allowance

Company benefits

Job summary

South Staffordshire Water is seeking a Strategic Consumer Research & Insight Lead to place the voice of customers at the heart of business planning. You will drive a comprehensive research programme influencing PR29, long-term plans and customer investment priorities, reporting to the Strategy & Regulation Director.

You will lead qualitative and quantitative studies, manage agencies, and develop innovative engagement approaches to inform decisions with regulators and senior leadership.

Qualifications

• Experience leading customer insight, consumer research or market research programmes.
• Strong analytical skills with ability to turn insights into actionable recommendations.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills across senior stakeholders.
• Experience managing multiple projects and priorities with deadlines.
• Resilience and adaptability in a fast-paced environment.
• Creative approaches to identifying opportunities and improving outcomes.
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Collaborative, customer-focused mindset across teams and partners.
• Knowledge of data governance, GDPR and research compliance standards.

Responsibilities

• Develop and deliver a robust consumer research strategy informing short and long-term plans.
• Ensure compliance with Ofwat regulatory expectations.
• Design and oversee qualitative and quantitative research with external agencies.
• Analyse consumer insight and produce clear recommendations for senior leaders.
• Lead segmentation projects to improve understanding and engagement.
• Develop innovative research and stakeholder engagement approaches.
• Strengthen understanding of future customer needs, incl. Gen Z.
• Present findings through reports, presentations and visualisations.
• Build relationships with regulators, consumer reps and other water companies.
• Manage research agency partnerships and supplier frameworks, on time and within budget.
• Support business teams to keep customer priorities central to decisions.

Skills

Customer insight leadership

Analytical skills

Communication & influence

Project management

Resilience & adaptability

Creative insight methods

Organisational skills

Collaboration

Data governance & GDPR

Job description

Strategic Consumer Research & Insight Lead

Salary: £55,000 - £60,000 per annum | Company Benefits | Travel Allowance

Location: Walsall, West Midlands or Cambridge, Cambridgeshire | Hybrid

Contract: Full Time | 24-Month Fixed Term Contract | 37.5 hours per week

About Us:

South Staffordshire Water, which operates across two regions as Cambridge Water and South Staffs Water is a privately-owned regulated water only company.

South Staffs Water supplies a population of nearly I.3 million. The area of supply stretches from the edge of Ashbourne in the north, to Halesowen in the south, and from Burton on Trent in the east, to Kinver in the west.

The Role:

We're looking for an experienced and passionate Strategic Consumer Research & Insight Lead to ensure the voice of our consumers is at the heart of our next business planning cycle, including PR29 (2029 Price Review), our 25-Year Water Resources Management Plans, and our Long-Term Delivery Strategy.

Reporting to the Strategy & Regulation Director, you'll lead the development and delivery of a comprehensive consumer research and insight programme that directly influences major business decisions, customer investment priorities and environmental outcomes to help shape services that will benefit communities for generations to come.

If you thrive on translating insight into action, enjoy tackling complex challenges, and want your work to make a genuine difference to communities and the environment, we'd love to hear from you.

This role is a 24-Month Fixed-Term Contract with the potential to be made permanent.

Key Responsibilities:

As our Strategic Consumer Research & Insight Lead, you will:

• Develop and deliver a robust consumer research strategy that informs both our short and long-term business plans.
• Ensure compliance with Ofwat's Consumer Involvement requirements and regulatory expectations.
• Design and oversee complex qualitative and quantitative research programmes, working closely with external research agencies and industry partners.
• Analyse and interpret consumer insight to produce clear, compelling recommendations for senior leaders and executive teams.
• Lead consumer segmentation projects to improve understanding, communication and engagement across customer groups.
• Develop innovative approaches to research and stakeholder engagement, building on initiatives such as online communities, advisory panels and citizen engagement programmes.
• Strengthen understanding of future customer needs, including those of Generation Z and emerging consumer groups.
• Present findings through engaging reports, presentations and visualisations that support strategic decision-making.
• Build strong relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, including regulators, consumer representatives and other water companies.
• Lead the management of research agency partnerships and supplier frameworks, ensuring projects are delivered to high standards, on time and within budget.
• Support and challenge business teams to ensure customer priorities remain central to investment and policy decisions.

What Success Looks Like:

In this role, you'll:

• Deliver a high-quality consumer research programme that informs our PR29 and long-term business plans.
• Ensure customer and stakeholder priorities are clearly evidenced in key business decisions.
• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders, regulators and research partners.
• Introduce innovative approaches that strengthen customer engagement and insight.
• Create clear, compelling evidence that helps shape investment and service improvements.
• Champion the customer voice across the organisation and help drive a customer-centric culture.

About You:

Essential

We're looking for an experienced consumer insight professional who can combine strategic thinking with excellent stakeholder engagement.

You'll bring:

• Experience leading customer insight, consumer research or market research programmes, with strong knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods.
• The ability to develop and deliver research strategies that support business objectives and regulatory requirements.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to turn complex and varied insight into clear, actionable recommendations.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to engage colleagues and stakeholders at all levels.
• Experience managing multiple projects and priorities, delivering high-quality outputs to key deadlines.
• Resilience and adaptability, with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced and evolving environment.
• A creative approach to identifying new opportunities, uncovering insights and improving customer outcomes.
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
• A collaborative, positive and customer-focused mindset, with the ability to build strong relationships across teams and external partners.
• Knowledge of data governance, GDPR, and research compliance standards

Desirable

• Experience working within the water sector, utilities or another regulated industry.
• Knowledge of Ofwat, Consumer Council for Water (CCW) and the wider regulatory landscape.
• Experience supporting business planning, regulatory submissions or strategic investment programmes.
• Experience developing customer segmentation models and embedding insight-led approaches across an organisation.
• Familiarity with behavioural insight techniques and innovative customer engagement methodologies.
• Understanding of long-term planning, sustainability and environmental policy considerations.
• Experience managing customer panels, citizen juries, advisory groups or similar stakeholder forums.