Research Manager in Manchester

At The Insights Family, our purpose is to help the world's leading brands navigate the rapidly evolving worlds of children, teenagers, young adults and families. Through the provision of continuous audience intelligence, we empower organisations across media and entertainment, toys and gaming, sport, food and drink, retail and consumer products to make more informed, commercially successful decisions.

Research Solutions is at the heart of that mission. We transform complex data into meaningful insight, helping our customers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters and what they should do next. Alongside our subscription services, we undertake specific projects on behalf of our customers, ranging from marketing effectiveness and creative assessments to attitude and usage studies and audience segmentations.

The Opportunity

We're looking for a strong quantitative researcher who's ready to take greater ownership of projects and start building real client-facing confidence.

As a Research Manager, you'll take briefs from our customers through to delivery. This will involve developing questionnaires, analysing structured datasets, and producing insight-led outputs that go beyond narrating the data to explain what it means and why it matters. You'll work with complex datasets, contribute to client presentations, and begin to take ownership of projects and relationships with growing autonomy.

This is a role for someone with relevant experience and demonstrated capability in audience insight or market research who wants to sharpen their analytical depth, develop their storytelling, and is capable of managing larger, more complex projects and clients.

We aren't looking for someone who just wants to run the numbers. We're looking for someone who wants to become a trusted voice in research delivery; someone who's curious about kids', teens' and families' behaviours, and who takes pride in turning data into insight that shapes real business decisions.

We are recruiting now to support delivery of commissioned client research, initially for a 6 month fixed term contract. Extension will be subject to confirmed client requirements and business needs.

What You’ll Bring

Experience

• Relevant experience and demonstrated capability in audience insight or market research roles (agency or client-side)
• Experience working with quantitative research and analysing structured datasets
• Demonstrated ability to turn data into clear, relevant insights
• Experience contributing to client deliverables and presentations
• Exposure to managing projects or workstreams independently
• Understanding of qualitative research and how it feeds into quantitative studies

Data and Tools

• Comfortable using survey platforms and/or data analysis tools (e.g. Q, SPSS, Excel)
• Confident working with data to identify patterns, trends, and key findings
• Able to work independently with data, seeking support where needed for more complex analyses

Core Capabilities

• Strong attention to detail and commitment to high-quality outputs
• Clear and structured communication, both written and verbal
• Ability to prioritise and manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment
• Curiosity about kids’, teens’, and families’ behaviours, attitudes, and culture
• Commercial awareness and interest in how research informs business decisions

What You’ll Do

Research Delivery and Project Ownership

• Deliver end-to-end research projects, including customer briefing, questionnaire development, analysis, and reporting
• Produce clear, insight-led outputs that go beyond narrating the data to explain ‘what this means’
• Manage multiple projects simultaneously, ensuring deadlines and quality standards are met
• Identify potential risks or challenges in projects and proactively elevate or resolve them

Data Analysis and Insight Development

• Confidence working with increasingly complex datasets over time
• Analyse quantitative data to identify meaningful trends, and implications
• Translate findings into structured, client-ready insight with clear narratives
• Contribute to improving how we analyse and interpret subscription data

Client Delivery and Communication

• Support client relationships through clear, professional communication
• Contribute to presentations and client discussions, building confidence over time
• Respond to client questions and help translate business challenges into research outputs
• Begin to take ownership of projects or client interactions

Team Contribution and Ongoing Development

• Collaborate with colleagues to deliver high-quality work and share best practices
• Support and mentor other team members where appropriate
• Take ownership of your development, particularly in advanced analysis and storytelling

Continuous Improvement

• Contribute ideas to improve research outputs, processes, and ways of working
• Stay informed on trends in youth, media, entertainment, and consumer behaviour
• Support the evolution of our research and insight approaches over time

What Success Looks Like

• Consistently delivers high-quality, accurate, and insight-led outputs
• Moves beyond reporting data to explaining implications and potential business impact
• Manages projects reliably and communicates clearly with stakeholders
• Builds confidence in client-facing situations
• Demonstrates growth in analytical depth and storytelling capability

Development Opportunities in This Role

This role offers the opportunity to develop your skills by building capability in:

• Advanced quantitative analysis
• Insight storytelling and narrative development
• Client ownership and strategic thinking
• Managing larger and more complex projects

This is initially a fixed term contract and any extension will be subject to client requirements.

Our Culture

We are a curious, collaborative and commercially focused team. We value:

• Clear thinking over complexity
• Storytelling over information
• Continuous learning and development

Working arrangements

Working hours - 37.5/hours per week FTE. Part time equivalent will be considered. Role is based in our Manchester city centre HQ with an expectation of 3 days per week (Tues/Weds/Thurs) in the office.

Equal Opportunities

We are committed to building an inclusive workplace and welcome applications from all backgrounds. Please notify us if you need any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process.