Research & Insights Manager

Reports to: Head - Research and Insights

Role: Full Time

Work Arrangement: Hybrid (2 days/week)

Compensation: £40-50K per annum

Experience Level: Senior (4-6 years).

SAMY is a leading global social-first agency. We activate end-to-end media strategies, connecting with audiences in the most integrated and effective ways to solve key business challenges and make brands matter.

We are the first international ecosystem fueled by creativity, technology and culture, with a team of 900+ people across 20 offices and 55 markets, serving over 270 leading clients, including Europe, the U.S., and Latin America. Together, we create relevancy in the social universe for blue-chip brands such as L’Oréal, The North Face, Diageo, Microsoft, and Samsung, among others.

Our vision is to lead the evolution of brand communication. At our core, we are Bold, Human, and Transformative. SAMY is where your career pushes boundaries and unlocks your highest potential.

Overview

Broad Description of the Role:

We are looking for a Research & Insights Manager to join SAMY’s Northern Europe Research & Insights team in [UK / Nordics]. This role leads modern research with social listening intelligence at the centre, combining multi-source data (social, performance, market context and cultural signals) to answer client business questions and unlock growth opportunities. You will define the research approach for projects, lead analysis across complex datasets, and turn findings into clear, senior-ready narratives that guide strategy, creative and media decisions. You’ll own delivery across social listening programmes, brand and category understanding, audience insight, cultural/trend work and (where relevant) performance reporting. You will also set standards for data quality and methodological rigour, partner closely with Strategy/Creative/Media and Data Science, and coach junior team members to raise the consistency and impact of our outputs.

You’ll sit within the Northern Europe Research & Insights team and report directly to the Head of Research & Insights.

Main Responsibilities

• Lead social listening-led insight projects end-to-end: shape the approach/methodology, build/refine queries and taxonomies, validate outputs, and deliver clear client-ready insight.
• Own performance reporting delivery across cycles (monthly/QBR + ad hoc): track what’s changing, explain why it’s changing, and translate movements into implications and actions for the brand across channels, creators, and content streams.
• Deliver clear, client-ready insight storytelling: sharp headlines, defensible interpretation, and recommendations that senior stakeholders can act on.
• Deliver multi-market, multi-language cultural analysis: ensure translation checks, linguistic consistency, and cross-market comparability to ensure insights hold up at the global and regional levels.
• Work across multiple data sources (social, search, behavioural signals, trend inputs) to strengthen interpretation and produce well-rounded recommendations.
• Partner cross-functional team with Strategy, Creative, Content, Media, Implementation/DS to align insight outputs to campaign objectives and business priorities.
• Protect data quality and consistency: apply strong QA discipline, troubleshoot noise/inconsistencies, and maintain reliable KPI definitions and benchmarks over time.
• Turn complexity into clarity: craft sharp headlines, defensible interpretation, and recommendations that senior stakeholders can act on.

Additional Responsibilities

• Improve efficiency by contributing to repeatable reporting workflows (templates, standard checks, reusable analysis structures) that reduce manual effort.
• Support automation-minded delivery: partner with DS/Implementation on light automation opportunities (validation routines, reporting acceleration, dashboard optimisation).
• Test and embed new methods and platform capabilities that deepen insight or accelerate speed (e.g., segmentation, clustering, emerging AI features).
• Support pitches and proactive work: provide rapid insight inputs and evidence-led storylines that strengthen proposals and client conversations.
• Coach Analysts/Juniors on insight craft, QA habits and slide standards; contribute to shared documentation and best practices.

Key Requirements

Must Have

• 4–7 years of experience in research, digital analytics, insights or market intelligence, with a specific focus on social listening.
• Hands-on social listening delivery (not just reviewing outputs): proven experience in tools such as Sprinklr, Talkwalker and/or Brandwatch/Radarly, including query logic, noise reduction, taxonomy/tagging, theme sizing, and insight synthesis.
• Experience leading performance reporting (monthly/QBR + ad hoc): able to interpret trends over time, connect brand/category movement to drivers, and maintain consistent KPI definitions across reporting cycles.
• Strong communication and storytelling: concise headlines, defensible interpretation, and actionable recommendations; confident presenting to senior stakeholders.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration with Strategy, Creative, Content, Media and Account teams; able to lead working sessions to align outputs.
• High data rigour and QA discipline: strong attention to detail, able to troubleshoot inconsistencies and protect dataset reliability over time.
• Fluent English; comfortable working at pace across tight deadlines and reporting cycles.

Good to have

• Advanced listening methods (topic modelling, journey mapping, audience segmentation, trend frameworks).
• Familiarity with R/Python/SQL, with an appetite to learn and apply for efficiency and automation in day-to-day delivery.
• Wider knowledge of modern research tools (e.g., Pulsar, Audiense, GWI/YouGov and other content/audience intelligence tools).
• Multi-market/multi-language experience and additional European languages (role-dependent).
• Curiosity for culture and consumer behaviour: actively tracks trends, creator ecosystems, and category signals.