Senior Analyst, Consumer Insights

Smith Hanley Associates; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 127,000 - 144,000; Full time

Job summary

Smith Hanley Associates in New York City is seeking a Senior Analyst in Consumer Insights to join a market-driven team that informs investment decisions. You’ll combine traditional research with alternative data to understand brand health, buyer behavior, and growth opportunities, shaping portfolio strategies.

You’ll design surveys, track brand performance, and present concise stories to senior stakeholders.

Qualifications

• 2–4 years of relevant experience in consumer insights or market research.
• Strong analytical and commercial mindset.
• Proficient in Excel and PowerPoint; exposure to SQL/Python/R/Tableau is a plus.
• Excellent communication and ability to tell a concise data story.

Responsibilities

• Work across new investment opportunities and existing portfolio brands using traditional consumer research and alternative data.
• Answer questions like brand health, who buys it, growth opportunities, and where to invest.
• Design and analyze surveys, track brand health, and deliver actionable insights.
• Present findings to senior stakeholders and influence business decisions.

Skills

Data analysis

Storytelling

Excel

PowerPoint

SQL

Python

R

Tableau

Stakeholder communication

Tools

SQL

Python

R

Tableau

Job description

Senior Analyst, Consumer Insights Location: New York City | 4 days in-office, Fridays flexible Compensation: $110,000–$125,000 base + 15% target bonus

Market research meets consumer brands meets private equity. This one is a little different. We’re partnering with a highly respected investment firm focused exclusively on the consumer space. Their portfolio spans some seriously recognizable brands across retail, fitness, beauty, food & beverage, wellness, and lifestyle — and they have an internal Consumer Insights team that plays a meaningful role in figuring out which brands to invest in and how to help them grow once they do. They’re looking for a Senior Analyst to join that team in NYC. This is a great opportunity for someone early in their career who is analytical, curious, commercially minded, and ready to see their research actually influence major business decisions.

What You’ll Actually Do

You’ll work across both new investment opportunities and existing portfolio brands, using a mix of traditional consumer research and alternative data to answer some pretty interesting questions: Is this brand actually as healthy as everyone thinks it is? Who is buying it — and who could be? Where are the biggest opportunities for growth? Why are customers leaving? Does a new product or line extension have legs? What does search, web traffic, transaction data, social listening, ratings/reviews and survey data collectively tell us? And ultimately: what should the business do about it?

You’ll get hands-on with survey design and analysis, brand health tracking, custom consumer research, alternative datasets, and presentations that turn a LOT of information into a clear story. You’ll also have the opportunity to experiment with AI-powered research and analytics tools, build smarter workflows, and figure out where AI can make the work faster and better.

Who Could Be Interesting

• A strategy consultant who has worked on commercial due diligence and gotten your hands dirty with consumer research and alternative data.
• An alternative data analyst who understands transaction/credit card data, web traffic, search, social listening or similar datasets — but wants to get closer to the actual business decisions.
• A market researcher with strong quantitative chops who understands survey research, segmentation, regression, TURF and other advanced methods — and wants to move beyond “here are the findings” into “here’s what we should do.”

Regardless of where you’re coming from, you probably have around 2–4 years of experience and are someone who can:

• Get into the weeds with data without getting lost there
• Tell a sharp, concise story about what the data actually means
• Understand the difference between correlation, evidence and a really good hypothesis
• Communicate with smart, senior stakeholders
• Juggle multiple fast-moving projects
• Take ownership without needing every next step mapped out
• Work comfortably in Excel and PowerPoint
• Bring some exposure to SQL, Python, R, Tableau or similar tools — a plus, not necessarily a must
• Get genuinely curious about new tools, datasets and AI

Why This One?

Because your research isn't disappearing into a 70-slide deck never to be seen again. You’ll be sitting close to investment decisions, founders, operators and consumer brands, helping determine where millions of dollars get invested and how those businesses grow afterward. It’s analytical. It’s strategic. It’s fast-moving. And for someone who likes consumer insights but wants a much more commercial seat at the table, it’s a pretty unique opportunity.