Sr. Director, Insights & Strategy

Apex Tool Group, LLC; United States; Remote; USD 151,000 - 249,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

Short/Long-term disability coverage

401(k) Savings Plan

Educational assistance

15 days paid vacation

11 paid holidays

Job summary

Apex Tool Group, LLC is seeking a Senior Director of Insights and Strategy to lead our consumer and customer insights function and partner with Product Marketing and Brand Teams to drive marketing and product strategy. This remote role sets the research agenda, manages an expert advisory panel, and applies evidence to brand positioning and portfolio direction.

The position oversees market intelligence, cross-functional collaboration, and a strategic roadmap for product development and channel

Qualifications

• 12+ years in consumer or customer insights, market research, or marketing strategy.
• Experience in durable goods, tools, building products.
• Direct experience building segmentation, positioning, and brand architecture.
• Experience contributing to product portfolio and roadmap decisions.
• Working fluency in qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Experience running a panel, community, or advisory council.
• Experience with distributor, industrial supply, retail, and home center channels.
• Comfortable presenting to executives and working directly with end users in the field.

Responsibilities

• Develop customer segmentation and audience profiles across end users, distributors, retailers, and channel partners.
• Define brand positioning, messaging, and growth priorities using customer and market insights.
• Evaluate messaging, pricing, channel effectiveness, and brand health to support business decisions.
• Identify customer needs and market opportunities through research and VOC insights.
• Assess and validate new product concepts through testing and field trials.
• Support innovation priorities based on customer and channel needs.
• Lead a 12–18 month research roadmap aligned with business priorities.
• Manage research intake, prioritization, budget, and quality standards.
• Maintain and socialize a centralized knowledge library of research findings.
• Build and manage a panel of industry professionals and end users.
• Oversee product testing, concept evaluation, and customer feedback programs.
• Track panel effectiveness and ensure representative participation.
• Monitor market trends, competitive activity, and channel dynamics.
• Provide insights on future demand and portfolio opportunities.
• Translate market intelligence into actionable business recommendations.
• Support stage-gate product development with consumer and customer insights.
• Lead concept testing, market validation, and post-launch performance analysis.
• Establish evidence-based criteria for advancement through development stages.
• Lead and develop internal and external research resources.
• Establish standards for insights generation, reporting, and knowledge sharing.
• Enable self-service access to research tools and insights across the organization.

Skills

Insights leadership

Durable goods experience

Tools industry

Segmentation & positioning

Product roadmap

Qualitative methods

Quantitative methods

Panel/community management

Channel experience

Executive presentation

Job description

Apex Tool Group is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status.

The Blueprint (Role Profile)

The Senior Director of Insights and Strategy leads Apex Tool Group's consumer and customer insights function and partners with the Product Marketing and Brand Teams to drive marketing and product strategy. The role sets the company's research agenda, manages a standing panel of expert advisors who test tools and evaluate new concepts, maintains the company's view of market and competitive trends and intelligence, and applies that evidence to brand positioning, portfolio direction, channel strategy, and the product pipeline. This is a remote position.

Come build your future with us!

The Build (Responsibilities)

Marketing Strategy

• Develop customer segmentation and audience profiles across end users, distributors, retailers, and channel partners.
• Define brand positioning, messaging, and growth priorities using customer and market insights.
• Evaluate messaging, pricing, channel effectiveness, and brand health to support business decisions.

Product Strategy

• Identify customer needs and market opportunities through research and VOC insights.
• Assess and validate new product concepts through testing and field trials.
• Support innovation priorities based on customer and channel needs.

Research Management

• Lead a 12–18 month research roadmap aligned with business priorities.
• Manage research intake, prioritization, budget, and quality standards.
• Maintain and socialize a centralized knowledge library of research findings.

Expert Advisor Panel Management

• Build and manage a panel of industry professionals and end users.
• Oversee product testing, concept evaluation, and customer feedback programs.
• Track panel effectiveness and ensure representative participation.

Market & Competitive Intelligence

• Monitor market trends, competitive activity, and channel dynamics.
• Provide insights on future demand and portfolio opportunities.
• Translate market intelligence into actionable business recommendations.

Product Development Support

• Support stage-gate product development with consumer and customer insights.
• Lead concept testing, market validation, and post-launch performance analysis.
• Establish evidence-based criteria for advancement through development stages.

Team Leadership

• Lead and develop internal and external research resources.
• Establish standards for insights generation, reporting, and knowledge sharing.
• Enable self-service access to research tools and insights across the organization.

Budget & Vendor Management

• Manage research and intelligence budgets.
• Oversee agency and vendor relationships, contracts, and performance.
• Optimize the use of internal, external, panel, and AI-enabled research resources.

The Toolbox (Qualifications)

• 12+ years in consumer or customer insights, market research, or marketing strategy, including at least 5 years leading and building teams
• Experience in durable goods, tools, building products, or a similar category where the buyer and the end user are often different
• Direct experience building segmentation, positioning, and brand architecture work that was adopted by the business
• Experience contributing to product portfolio and roadmap decisions
• Working fluency in both qualitative and quantitative methods
• Experience running a panel, community, or advisory council, including recruiting and retention
• Experience with distributor, industrial supply, retail, and home center channels
• Comfortable presenting to executives and working directly with end users in the field

This position’s anticipated annual salary range is $151,000— $249,000 with a performance-based discretionary bonus; at plan, this position’s bonus opportunity is 25%. Apex Tool Group’s competitive compensation package includes medical, dental, vision, life and short term and long-term coverage/insurance, 401(k) Savings Plan, educational assistance, 15 days paid vacation, and 11 paid holidays.

• medical
• dental
• vision
• life and short term and long-term coverage/insurance
• 401(k) Savings Plan
• educational assistance
• 15 days paid vacation
• 11 paid holidays

At Apex Tool Group (www.apextoolgroup.com), we build innovation. Each day, our associates strive to find new and exciting ways to help our customers solve their most complex challenges. By harnessing our global resources, unprecedented insights and spirit for service, we build more than just tools for the jobsite – we help build the future.

ATG is a global manufacturer of hand and power tools, tool storage and accessories, chain, and electronic soldering solutions with more than $1.2 billion in annual revenues. Our 6,700 associates around the world have built powerhouse brands like GEARWRENCH®, SATA®, Crescent®, Cleco®, Weller® and APEX®. Our brands are trusted by the professional trades and DIY enthusiasts alike. With our roots dating back to the 1800’s, our tools have driven technological advancements that drive efficiency, speed and safety for customers in a broad range of commercial and consumer markets.

As part of the ATG team, you will move fast, think globally, learn from your colleagues and grow your career. You’ll enjoy competitive benefits, a healthy work/life balance and have opportunities to give back to the communities we serve.

Our six core values - Customers Come First, Integrity in All We Do, Continuous Improvement, Innovation for Growth, Passion to Succeed and Best Talent, One Team - drive our daily decisions. Connect with us on social media to learn more – Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

If your goal is to work where finding a better way never ends and your ideas become reality, join us and say #WeBuildATG!