Shopper Insight Manager in Watford

At IGD, we’re proud to be a Great Place to Work, where our people are empowered to grow, inspired to lead and ready to make a difference. At the heart of that experience is how we attract, welcome and support new colleagues to join us. We’re looking for a Shopper Insight Manager who will bring expertise and thought leadership to IGD’s insight programme, providing insight and foresight that helps our clients understand the forces shaping food, grocery and shopper behaviour. This is a leadership role designed for someone with a strong reputation for their expertise, knowledge and ability to shape thinking. You’ll play a pivotal role in developing high-impact insight, strengthening client engagement and building IGD’s voice in the market. The role includes line management responsibility and plays an important role in developing future insight capability within IGD.

What you’ll do

• Content and thought leadership
  • You will lead the development and continual evolution of IGD's shopper research programme, ensuring it remains commercially relevant, strategically focused and genuinely useful for clients.
  • Shape IGD's shopper insight agenda, innovating in research methods, and bringing thought leadership that influences industry thinking.
  • Direct, lead and shape the content plan and research programme, including input into priorities, resource allocation and budgeting.
  • Ensure the team delivers consistently high-quality outputs that meet agreed standards for insight, foresight, storytelling and commercial impact.
  • Drive strategic focus areas for IGD’s insight programme, identifying where we can add most value for clients and the wider industry.
  • Deliver thought-leading reports, articles, presentations and client-ready outputs of the highest standard.
  • Continuously review content analytics, client feedback and market developments to identify new ideas aligned to strategy and client needs.
  • Work with marketing, communications and commercial teams to drive awareness of IGD’s insight through all relevant media channels.
• Customer engagement and influence
  • A core part of this role is to strengthen IGD’s relationship with clients and the wider industry.
  • Proactively engage with clients to understand their challenges, priorities and knowledge gaps, using this to shape the insight programme.
  • Deliver thought-leading presentations at high-profile IGD and industry events.
  • Lead strategic client engagement, including deep dives, webinars, advisory sessions and senior stakeholder conversations.
  • Lead and deliver a programme of client engagement events, forums or advisory boards.
  • Develop a strong senior-level external network.
  • Build a client-first mentality across the team by sharing client feedback, market intelligence and examples of what strong engagement looks like.
• Research and methodology
  • You will bring an expert perspective to research design, analysis and interpretation, helping IGD produce robust, credible and future-facing insight.
  • Provide expert interpretation of research data and insight, integrating multiple sources to create a clear, evidence-based perspective.
  • Lead and design full research programmes, ensuring the right methodology is used for the right business question.
  • Advocate for new methodologies and approaches that improve efficiency, strengthen foresight or help close the say-do gap.
  • Work closely with data and analytics colleagues to innovate reporting, visualisation, tools and processes.
• People leadership
  • Manage, coach and develop a shopper analyst, helping them unlock their potential and progress their career.
  • Balance team workload, priorities and resources to deliver against objectives.
  • Set clear objectives and development plans, ensuring strong performance and continued growth.

What we’re looking for

• At least 8-10 years’ experience in insight, research, strategy or a related field, ideally with strong exposure to grocery, retail, FMCG or consumer goods.
• Deep knowledge of the industry, with excellent commercial awareness and strategic influence.
• Credibility presenting to senior and executive-level audiences.
• Advanced methodological capability across qualitative, quantitative research, digital and AI-based tools.
• The ability to interpret complex data sets and integrate multiple evidence sources into a clear, compelling story.
• Exceptional storytelling skills, with the confidence to shape opinion and provide a clear point of view.
• Excellent written English and the ability to produce high-quality reports, articles, presentations and client outputs.
• Advanced PowerPoint, Excel and Word skills.
• Experience using Q or similar analysis software would be desirable.
• Outstanding networking and relationship-building skills, including with senior stakeholders.
• Proven ability to coach, develop and inspire others.
• Line management experience would be desirable.

The rewards

We offer a range of benefits, including a market leading pension, a bonus scheme, the ability to buy and sell annual leave plus a generous medical insurance package. You will have a great work-life balance, where you are empowered & trusted to manage your time.

The location

We are operating a hybrid approach to working with a mix of home and office-based working. We are based in a very accessible location within the M25, just 20 miles from Central London.

Our behaviours

• We’re hungry for better.
• We solve it together.
• We make it happen.
• We say what needs to be said.

More about our people

We’re looking for inspiring professionals; talented people who seek personal and career growth and are ambitious to develop their potential and unlock opportunities for society, for our clients and themselves. We seek and attract the very best people and create an environment that supports and includes them. We aim to encourage a culture where people can be themselves and be valued for their contribution. We welcome applications from diverse candidates. Please discuss any adjustments that you may require throughout the selection and assessment process.

More about IGD

We are a strategic insight foresight and learning organisation. Here to unite the industry and benefit society. We invest all our profit into Social Impact. We foster collaboration through a broad range of forums, bringing together businesses, policymakers, and thought leaders. By providing evidence-based insights, credible research, and strategic foresight, we help organisations make informed decisions that benefit their operations and contribute to the collective good of society.