Director of Insights & AI-Driven Social Listening

Burson; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Burson, part of WPP, seeks a Director to lead the Insights & Intelligence team, supporting global brands across tech, retail, financial services, and beyond. This role balances social listening expertise with analytical rigor and strong storytelling, delivering insight-driven strategies for campaigns and reputation.

Client-facing with mentorship of junior teammates is expected. The role emphasizes AI-enabled analytics, collaboration with internal teams, and delivering actionable insights tied to

Qualifications

• 6-7+ years in analytics, insights, or intelligence in PR/communications/advertising.
• Strong background in social listening analytics.
• Experience with Sprinklr, Brandwatch, Meltwater and related platforms.
• Experience translating data into strategic insights for senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Develop strategic insights to inform communications, marketing, and reputation campaigns.
• Translate data into clear narratives and recommendations for senior clients.
• Deep dive into data and manage large datasets for clean, ready-to-use findings.
• Monitor and evaluate earned and owned organic campaign performance analytics against KPIs.
• Identify trends, cultural signals and audience behaviors.
• Oversee social listening programs using Sprinklr/Brandwatch and ensure data integrity.
• Identify opportunities to expand client engagements through analytics and intelligence-led solutions.
• Mentor and develop junior team members and guide client delivery.
• Partner with account teams to shape strategic recommendations and best practices.
• Apply AI to enhance insight generation, trend detection, and forecasting.
• Provide clear social analytics with strategic implications for brand objectives.

Skills

Social listening

Analytics

Client leadership

AI fluency

Team management

Storytelling

Tools

Sprinklr

Brandwatch

Meltwater

Job description

Burson, part of WPP, seeks a Director to lead the Insights & Intelligence team, supporting global brands across tech, retail, financial services, and beyond. This role balances social listening expertise with analytical rigor and strong storytelling, delivering insight-driven strategies for campaigns and reputation.

Client-facing with mentorship of junior teammates is expected. The role emphasizes AI-enabled analytics, collaboration with internal teams, and delivering actionable insights tied to