Associate Director, Qualitative Research

Research Partnership; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote and hybrid work options

Training and development program

Internal advancement

Annual salary and promotion review

Paid time off

401(k) plan with employee match

Medical/vision/dental insurance

Job summary

Research Partnership, part of Inizio Ignite, leads the healthcare market research practice across global clients. The Senior Research Partner role involves leading research projects with autonomy, serving as day-to-day client contact, and shaping strategic recommendations.

You will mentor junior researchers, contribute to proposals and pitches, and drive growth within existing accounts while collaborating with senior leadership on account strategy.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience with qualitative custom primary market research.
• Experience in the life sciences sector.
• Expertise in qualitative methodologies and advanced moderation.
• Ability to mentor both junior and senior team members.
• Strong client communication and relationship management.

Responsibilities

• Lead research projects and project teams with autonomy, ensuring delivery of high-quality outputs.
• Act as a key day-to-day client contact, building strong relationships and presenting findings and recommendations.
• Shape client recommendations and contribute meaningfully to strategic discussions.
• Support and contribute to business development initiatives, including independently writing proposals and contributing to pitches.
• Drive organic growth within existing clients and contribute to revenue generation.
• Provide guidance, mentorship, and day-to-day support to junior team members; contribute to performance feedback and development.
• Support senior leadership on broader account strategy and commercial decisions.
• Lead qualitative elements such as moderation (e.g., pilot interviews and beyond).
• Contribute to internal initiatives, including training, process improvement, and knowledge sharing.

Skills

Qualitative research

Mentoring

Client engagement

Project leadership

Life sciences

Independent work

Job description

Inizio Ignite is the global advisory partner for health and life sciences, encompassing connected expertise across Research Partnership, Putnam, Vynamic, and STEM. Guided by purpose, passion, and precision, we collaborate with clients to ignite impact, accelerate performance, and deliver lasting change for patients. By uniting strategy, insights, and innovation with a unique depth and breadth of expertise, we drive transformation and shape the future of health.

Our Research Partnership healthcare market research team provides research and insights to inform and power healthcare decisions. Serving a variety of clients across the lifecycle, our expertise includes data, research & insights (proprietary syndicated and custom research) and brand tracking (ATU). Proudly part of Inizio – the market-leading commercialization partner for health and life sciences. From early-stage development to loss of exclusivity, we simplify complexity, unlock value, and make collaboration seamless at every pivotal moment – supporting confident, insight-driven decisions that move innovation forward.

About the team:

Our custom research team partners with global pharmaceutical and biotech clients to enable them to solve marketing, brand, advertising and communications problems through a mixture of innovative qualitative and quantitative market research techniques.

The team is not split into silos by client or therapy area, so you will be empowered to develop broad expertise across the healthcare landscape and will have the opportunity to work with a wide range of expert senior researchers and gain exposure to the full suite of research tools and techniques covered by the team.

Our studies are typically multi-market, encompassing Europe, North America and Emerging Markets. We believe that exposure to a wide range of healthcare systems – and different cultural approaches to healthcare – helps our researchers to offer the most impactful, commercially-relevant insights to our clients.

Your primary role:

• Lead research projects and project teams with a high degree of autonomy, ensuring delivery of high-quality outputs
• Act as a key day-to-day client contact, building strong relationships and presenting findings and recommendations
• Shape client recommendations and contribute meaningfully to strategic discussions
• Support and contribute to business development initiatives, including independently writing proposals and contributing to pitches
• Drive organic growth within existing clients and contribute to revenue generation
• Provide guidance, mentorship, and day-to-day support to junior team members; contribute to performance feedback and development
• Support senior leadership (Directors/VPs) on broader account strategy and commercial decisions
• Lead qualitative elements such as moderation (e.g., pilot interviews and beyond)
• Contribute to internal initiatives, including training, process improvement, and knowledge sharing

About You:

Your skills and experience:

• At least 7 years of experience with qualitative custom primary market research projects
• Experience in the life sciences sector
• Extensive expertise in qualitative market research methodologies, including advanced moderation techniques, delivering actionable insights across diverse markets
• Proven ability to mentor and develop both junior and senior team members, fostering deep expertise in qualitative research practices and pharmaceutical industry knowledge
• Highly skilled in moderating in-depth interviews and focus groups, both via telephone and in-person, ensuring rich, meaningful data collection and analysis
• Strong client engagement and relationship management skills
• Appreciation of marketing/client-side issues, knowledge and understanding of client issues
• Self-motivated and able to work independently
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
• Ability to multitask under pressure and meet tight deadlines

Ideal profile:

• Proactive, dedicated and enthusiastic, with a ‘can do’ attitude
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail
• Collaborative team player
• Communicates ideas clearly and effectively
• Motivated to continue developing strategic and commercial skillset

Life at Research Partnership:

We love what we do and continuously strive for innovation and creativity. We believe everyone should continuously be learning and provide:

• A relaxed and friendly working environment
• Social events - including a summer day out and end of year party, along with regular social events after office hours

Employee Benefits:

• Remote and hybrid work options
• A comprehensive training and development program
• Opportunities for internal advancement
• Annual salary and promotion review
• Paid time off
• 401(k) plan with employee match
• Medical/vision/dental/prescription insurance plans, including heath savings and flexible spending accounts
• Short term/long term disability
• Employee assistance program

Our Pledge

At Research Partnership, we value inclusivity, recognize the power of diversity, and inspire the next generation of change-makers. We are an equal opportunities employer. We believe in creating a work environment that values diversity, equity, and inclusion. We aim to recruit from a diverse slate of candidates and foster an environment that provides the right conditions for long-term success. We welcome all applications regardless of race, color, religion or belief, gender, gender identity, age, national origin, marital status, military veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation and physical or mental disability.

Further information:

This is a full-time role. You can choose to work out of our NYC, SF or Yardley, PA (Philadelphia) office for as many days out of the week as you’d like or work remotely.

The base salary range represents the low and high end of the salary range for this position. This range may differ based on your experience and skill set, geographic location, and cost of living considerations. We consider compensation more than just a base salary – that’s why we also offer an exceptional range of flexible benefits, personal support and tailored learning and development opportunities all designed to help you realize your full potential both in life and at work.

Compensation

$120,000—$130,000 USD