Research Manager

State-of-South-Carolina; South Carolina; On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism is seeking a seasoned economist/market researcher to provide tourism data support and conduct macro-economic analyses. You will design complex studies, benchmark tourism performance and guide advertising strategy with solid data insights.

Requirements include advanced economics or statistics training with years of applied research, strong knowledge of data handling and multiple analytic tools, and the ability to manage multiple projects on

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in economics, statistics or a related field and at least four years' applied research experience in economic development or marketing research.
• Or a bachelor’s degree in economics, statistics or a related field with at least six years' experience in economic development or marketing research.
• Ability to plan and manage projects and meet deadlines.
• Ability to plan, assign, direct and review the work of others.
• Ability to understand and carry out complex oral and written instructions.

Responsibilities

• Provide tourism-related data and technical support to agency staff, government officials, industry partners and the general public on an ad hoc or periodical basis.
• Produce macro-economic analyses that benchmark and measure the contributions of tourism-related economic performance at state and local levels.
• Produce marketing research studies to provide strategic direction for SCPRT’s advertising/marketing programs and evaluate their effectiveness.
• Coordinate and execute research activities that support and inform agency strategic planning, goals and objectives.
• Promote teamwork within the program area, throughout the agency and with external agency stakeholders; represent Section on agency teams assigned throughout the year.

Skills

Macro-economic modeling

Marketing research

Inferential statistics

Research design

Data analysis

Excel

SAS

SPSS

R

LLMs in research

Education

Master’s degree in economics or statistics

Bachelor’s degree in economics or statistics

Tools

IMPLAN

REMI

SAS

SPSS

R

Microsoft Office

Job description

The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism is a cabinet agency assigned to operate and manage South Carolina's state parks, market the state as a preferred vacation destination and provide assistance to communities to develop recreation assets.

Job Purpose and Duties:

• 1) Provide tourism-related data and technical support to agency staff, government officials, industry partners and the general public on an ad hoc or periodical basis. Perform special duties as requested by the Agency Director, Chief of Staff, or Director of Recreation, Grants & Policy.
• 2) Produce macro-economic analyses that benchmark and measure the contributions of tourism-related economic performance at state and local levels.
• 3) Produce marketing research studies to provide strategic direction for SCPRT’s advertising/marketing programs and evaluate their effectiveness.
• 4) Recommend, coordinate and execute research activities that support and inform agency strategic planning, goals and objectives.
• 5) Practice and promote teamwork within the program area, throughout the agency and with external agency stakeholders. Represents Section as an active member on agency teams assigned throughout the year.

Master’s degree in economics, statistics or a related field and at least four (4) years experience in applied research related to economic development or marketing research or a bachelor's degree in economics, statistics or a related field with at least six (6) years experience in economic development or marketing research.

Additional Requirements:

• 1) Ability to plan and manage projects and meet deadlines. Ability to plan, assign, direct and review the work of others. Ability to understand and carry out complex oral and written instructions. Ability to coordinate multiple activities simultaneously while exercising exceptional attention to detail; ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others. Ability to exercise discretion. Working knowledge of agency mission, policy, and procedure.
• 2) Extensive knowledge of and experience with macro-economic modeling, preferably related to tourism; considerable knowledge of inferential statistics and consumer research methods, preferably related to marketing research; ability to design complex research studies; knowledge of sampling and other data collection methods; Knowledge and experience with data handling and creating complex analyses; Extensive knowledge of Microsoft Office products; Extensive knowledge of and experience with economic and statistical analysis software (e.g. IMPLAN, REMI, SAS, SPSS, R); Some experience with using LLMs to conduct research.

Actual Job Location: Recreational Grants & Policy

• This position is Monday-Friday, onsite (not a remote position).
• This position will supervise the Research Coordinator position.

The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism is an Equal Opportunity, Aff