Director, Research and Insights

Freddie Mac; United States; Remote; USD 150,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global non-profit organization seeks a Director for research strategy and execution. The role includes overseeing market and topical research to support business decisions and requires strong leadership and analytical skills. Competitive compensation and benefits are offered.

Benefits

Ongoing professional development training opportunities

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Health savings and flexible spending accounts

Retirement plan

Annual discretionary bonus

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience leading research projects.
• Proven ability to manage research projects from inception to completion.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of research analysts.
• Manage research budgets and timelines.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with marketing and product teams.

Skills

Research project management

Analytical mindset

Qualitative and quantitative research

Leadership

Communication

Education

MBA or Master's in a research-related field

Bachelor's degree

Job description

WorldatWork is a global non-profit organization dedicated to serving, educating, and inspiring those who reward and engage the workforce. Our members include business professionals who are accountable for the critically important practices of compensation, well-being, benefits, development, and recognition programs within their companies around the world. Over 93% of the global 500 organizations are among the many customers we have served over the last 70 years.

Position Purpose:

This role leads the strategy, execution, and delivery of both market and topical research to provide evidence-based insights that drive business decisions and innovations. The Director oversees quantitative and qualitative research projects that support WorldatWork's internal goals (market and customer experience research) and provide valuable insights for the total rewards and HR professions (topical research).

Primary Responsibilities:

Primary responsibilities include:
• Lead and develop a team of research analysts and external partners to enhance research capabilities.
• Manage research budgets, timelines, and vendor relationships effectively.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with marketing, product, content, events, and other departments to align research projects with business needs.
• Oversee concurrent data collection projects, ensuring proper scheduling, resource allocation, and vendor/partner coordination.
• Conduct and oversee both qualitative and quantitative research, including surveys, focus groups, interviews, data analysis and reporting.
• Ensure effective presentation of research data, including the conceptualization and design of charts, infographics, and reports.
• Write or oversee the creation of narrative analyses to explain research results for use in reports, briefs, articles, and other content.

Market/CX Research:
• Develop and implement comprehensive market research strategies that align with WorldatWork's business goals.
• Present actionable insights and recommendations to senior leadership, supporting product development, marketing, and growth strategies.

Topical Research:
• Manage a dynamic topical research program, adapting projects to meet evolving content and delivery needs, while aligning with organizational priorities.
• Partner with internal and external experts (practitioners, consultants, and academics) to extract key findings and real-world applications from research results.
• Lead the creation of derivative content, such as press releases, articles, presentations, and multimedia based on topical research findings.
• Drive the transition from traditional research reporting to interactive, web-native deliverables, including revenue-generating enhancements.

Essential responsibilities include:

N/A

*Individuals may perform other duties as assigned, including work in other functional areas to cover absences or relief, to equalize peak work periods, or otherwise to contribute to the organization when needed.

Requirements

Qualifications:
• MBA or Master's in a research-related field strongly preferred; bachelor's degree required.
• Minimum 5 years of experience leading research projects and teams.
• Proven ability to manage research projects from inception to completion, including scoping, design, execution, quality control, and presentation.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
• Demonstrated success in leading research teams and delivering meaningful results.
• Strong organizational and time management skills to handle large-scale or competing projects.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to identify key variables, spot patterns, and develop quick, data-driven solutions.
• Expertise in both qualitative and quantitative research methods, with proficiency in relevant data analysis tools.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to translate complex data into clear, actionable insights.
• Strong leadership and project management capabilities.

Preferred Skills:
• Familiarity with total rewards practices and terminology to communicate effectively with professionals in the field.
• Knowledge of emerging tools and methodologies in market research.

Supervisory Responsibilities:
• Manages Research team

At WorldatWork, we offer a competitive and comprehensive total rewards package. The hiring range for this position is $150,000 to $170,000 plus eligibility for an annual discretionary bonus with a target of 15% of base salary. This position may be worked remotely. The benefits for this position include ongoing professional development training opportunities, health, dental, vision, well-being, health savings, flexible spending, retirement, and annual discretionary bonus. For a further description of our benefits please go to https://worldatwork.org/careers.

Disclaimer - The above information on this job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job. Nothing in the job description constitutes an express or implied contract of employment or warranty of any benefits. Employment at WorldatWork is a voluntary employment-at-will relationship for no definite period of time.

Salary Description

$150,000 to $170,000