Senior D2C Research and Insights Manager

Job Description

Overview

We’re now recruiting a Senior D2C Research and Insights Manager to lead the AJ Bell D2C Insights function, developing it into a centre of excellence that drives customer focused, data led decision making across strategy, product, marketing, PR & content, and business development.

With responsibility for customer research, customer feedback, market intelligence, competitor analysis, and data driven insights, you will play a critical role in shaping strategic direction and ensuring decisions are underpinned by a deep understanding of AJ Bell’s customers and broader market dynamics.

You will build and champion an “insights engine” to give leaders across the business trusted, timely, and actionable intelligence. We’re looking for someone who is curious, proactive, and passionate about understanding how and why people invest. You’ll be an advocate for embedding a culture of insight and evidence based decision making at every level of the D2C division.

What does the job involve?

Strategic and Data Insights

• Lead and mentor a team of insights managers, analysts, and engineers, turning complex data into meaningful insights for senior leaders and teams across AJ Bell.
• Provide dashboards, reports, and presentations that enable confident, data driven decisions.
• Partner with technology teams to optimise data capabilities across systems including Snowflake, Bloomreach, GA4, PowerBI, and Contentsquare.
• Build and deliver an “insights engine” using analytics, AI, and automation to create real time, actionable intelligence.
• Support business planning and forecasting with analysis that underpins key growth assumptions.

Customer, Competitor & Market Research

• Scope, brief, and oversee customer and market research projects (internal and external).
• Ensure outputs are actionable, relevant, and aligned to business priorities.
• Translate customer feedback and competitor insights into clear opportunities and risks, sharing them promptly with the right teams.
• Monitor market and regulatory developments, advising senior leaders on implications for strategy.

Marketing Insights

• Partner with the D2C marketing team to analyse performance data across channels, identifying key trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Support the Insights Manager with campaign analysis to drive segmentation, personalisation, and customer engagement strategies.
• Work closely with brand and marketing teams to optimise campaigns, strengthen brand positioning, and improve channel effectiveness.

Team Development & Collaboration

• Lead, support, and develop the insights team, building expertise in analytics, research, and storytelling.
• Act as a trusted advisor across strategy, product, marketing, PR & content, and business development teams.
• Communicate insights clearly and persuasively, tailoring messages to different audiences across the business.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements including Consumer Duty and data regulation.

What you’ll bring

• 5+ years’ experience in research, insights, strategy, or marketing with a strong insights focus and a track record of driving commercial impact.
• Proven leadership skills, with experience building, managing, and developing high-performing teams.
• Expertise in customer and market research, competitor analysis, and customer feedback, with the ability to translate findings into clear, actionable insights.
• Excellent storytelling and influencing skills, able to simplify complex data and shape senior decision making.
• Strong knowledge of data regulation (GDPR) and an interest in the UK investment platform market.
• Technical confidence with analytics and visualisation tools (Power BI, Snowflake, GA4, Bloomreach) and emerging AI solutions.
• Skilled in stakeholder engagement, agency management, and budget ownership, with the ability to take people on the journey with you.

Nice to have

• Experience working in a regulated industry.
• Familiarity with SQL, Python, R, or SAS for data analysis.
• Additional expertise in Power BI and other visualisation tools.
• Knowledge of JIRA and Confluence.

About Us

AJ Bell is one of the fastest-growing investment platform businesses in the UK offering an award-winning range of solutions that caters for everyone, from professional financial advisers to DIY investors with little to no experience. We have over 620,000 customers using our award-winning platform propositions to manage assets totalling more than £96.1 billion. Our customers trust us with their investments, and by continuously striving to make investing easier, we aim to help even more people take control of their financial futures.

Having listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in December 2018, AJ Bell is now a FTSE 250 company.

Headquartered in Manchester with offices in central London and Bristol, we now have over 1,450 employees and have been named one of the UK’s ‘Best 100 Companies to Work For’ for six consecutive years and in 2024 named a Great Place to Work.

At AJ Bell you can expect a friendly working environment with a strong sense of teamwork, we have a great sense of pride in what we do, and this is reflected in our guiding principles.

What we offer:

• Competitive starting salary
• Starting holiday entitlement of 27, increasing up to 31 days with length of service and a holiday buy and sell scheme
• A choice of pension schemes with matched contributions up to 8%
• Discretionary bonus scheme
• Annual free share awards scheme
• Buy As You Earn (BAYE) Scheme
• Health Cash Plan — provided by Simply Health
• Discounted private healthcare scheme and dental plan
• Free gym
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Bike loan scheme
• Sick pay+ pledge
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave
• Loans for travel season tickets
• Death in service scheme
• Paid time off for volunteer work
• Charitable giving opportunities through salary sacrifice
• Calendar of social events, including monthly payday drinks, annual Christmas party, summer party and much more
• Personal development programmes built around you and your career goals, including access to personal skills workshops
• Monthly leadership breakfasts and lunches
• Casual dress code
• Access to a range of benefits from our sponsorship deals

Hybrid working

At AJ Bell, our people are the heart of our culture. We believe in building strong connections by working together. That’s why we offer a hybrid working model, where you’ll spend 3-4 days per week in the office. For new team members, the first 3 months will be spent full-time in the office to help you immerse yourself in our business and build valuable relationships with your colleagues.

AJ Bell is committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and all employees are empowered to bring their whole self to work.

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy, religion, physical and mental disability, marital status and any other characteristics protected by the Equality Act 2010. All decisions to hire are based on qualifications, merit and business need.

If you like the sound of the above, or just want to know more about the company and the role, we’d love to speak to you.