Senior Director, Insights & Research

Job Description

Job DescriptionSalary: $155,000 - $175,000

Role Description

Narrative is seeking a Senior Director/Managing Director to lead our growing Insights practice. This senior leader will drive the design, delivery, and commercialization of Narratives flagship research products across financial services and/or health care, manage and expand key client relationships, and spearhead business development efforts.

This role blends deep quantitative and qualitative research expertise with strong commercial instincts, client-facing leadership, and the ability to translate complex data into strategic, persuasive narratives. The Senior Director/Managing Director will partner across the firm to ensure research excellence, mentor and scale the Insights team, and represent Narrative as a thought leader across priority sectors.

Typical Responsibilities

Client Leadership & Business Development

• Serve as the senior client advisor for major accounts.

• Lead business development for Narratives flagship research offerings.

• Build and maintain senior-level client relationships.

• Collaborate with sector, PR, and public affairs leads to integrate research into broader campaigns, thought leadership, and reputation strategies.

Research & Product Leadership

• Oversee the design and execution of complex quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method studiesfrom methodological architecture to final storytelling.

• Drive the evolution and differentiation of Narratives research products, including new measurement models, advanced analytics, and AIenabled insight generation.

• Ensure methodological rigor, data integrity, and strategic relevance across all research engagements.

• Lead the synthesis of insights into compelling narratives, advising clients on strategy, positioning, messaging, and campaign effectiveness.

• Guide measurement frameworks for major campaigns, including KPIs, dashboards, and performance insights.

Team Leadership & Practice Building

• Mentor and develop a high-performing team of researchers, analysts, and project managers.

• Establish best practices, operational systems, and quality standards for the Insights function.

• Represent the practice internally and externally.

• Model collaboration, intellectual curiosity, and humility in your approach.

The Ideal Candidate:

Experience & Expertise

• 10+ years of experience in polling, market research, public opinion, analytics, or insights consulting.

• Significant experience
  in
  financial services and/or health care.

• Expertise in both quantitative and qualitative methods, including survey design, segmentation, message testing, focus groups, IDIs, and advanced analytics.

• Demonstrate success in commercializing research products.

Leadership & Influence

• Proven track record of senior client service, with the ability to advise C-suite or SVP-level stakeholders.

• Strong business development instinctsable to craft compelling proposals, identify new opportunities, and close new work.

• Executive-level communication skills.

Strategic & Operational Strength

• Deep fluency in public affairs, reputation management, issue advocacy, or campaigns.

• Strong project and team leadership skills, with experience building or scaling a research operation.

• Curiosity and adaptability to emerging methodologies, including the use of Generative AI in research and insight development.

About Narrative:

Narrative is a strategic communications firm solving todays most demanding reputational and public affairs challenges. We leverage best practices in business, politics, and journalism to manage multi-faceted communications campaigns. Narratives differentiating strength is its team and culture. Our bipartisan team of professionals operates in a highly collaborative environment where we support and value our clients and each other.
That commitment is reflected in Narrative, having been recognized four years in a row as one of PR Weeks Best Places to Work and as one of PRNewsAgency Elite Top 100. Narrative offers a competitive 401k matching program and work-from-home flexibility on Fridays and around major holidays.