At Toluna, we keep the world's biggest agencies, consultancies and brands, one step ahead of their markets, their competitors, and their customers. For 25+ years we've been a leader in consumer insights, and today we're at the centre of our industry's biggest shift: the move to AI-powered research grounded in real human truth.
Clients come to us because we've solved a problem most of our industry is still wrestling with: how to move fast without losing trust in the answer. Speed comes from AI we've been developing in-house since 2019, always-on platforms, and a 79M+ validated consumer community across 100+ countries.
Introduction
We are seeking a Managing Director within our Toluna ID division, to lead and grow our local business, driving commercial excellence across both consultancy and agency solutions . This role combines strategic business leadership with deep expertise in market research and insights consulting. The Managing Director will be responsible for delivering sustainable revenue growth, building and developing a high-performing commercial team, strengthening client partnerships, and ensuring Toluna remains a trusted strategic partner.
The successful candidate will act as the senior leader for the market, overseeing business performance, leading key client relationships, driving new business growth, and fostering a collaborative culture that aligns with Toluna's values and strategic objectives.
Responsibilities
- Lead the overall commercial strategy and execution for the local market, ensuring sustainable growth across consultancy, full-service research, technology solutions, and data collection offerings.
- Deliver and exceed market-level commercial KPIs, including bookings, revenue, profitability, and pipeline targets.
- Build, mentor, and develop a high-performing commercial team, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous development.
- Coach senior commercial team members in consultative selling, strategic account management, and client relationship development.
- Own and manage the market pipeline and forecasting process, ensuring accurate reporting and visibility of business performance.
- Develop and drive strategic account plans for key clients, expanding existing partnerships and identifying new growth opportunities.
- Lead high-value client engagements, strategic pitches, and executive-level business development initiatives.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with senior decision-makers across client organisations, acting as a trusted advisor on research, insights, and business challenges.
- Drive new business acquisition and market expansion opportunities through consultative sales and thought leadership.
- Partner with Client Service, Operations, Supply, and other cross-functional teams to ensure the successful delivery of client solutions and excellent client experience.
- Represent Toluna at industry events, conferences, client forums, and thought leadership initiatives, strengthening the company's market presence and reputation.
- Champion innovation, including the adoption of AI-powered research solutions and emerging methodologies that create value for clients.
Your Profile
- Significant commercial leadership experience within the market research, consumer insights, consultancy, or related industries.
- Proven success leading commercial teams and delivering sustained revenue and bookings growth.
- Extensive experience selling market research, consultancy, technology, and/or data-driven insights solutions.
- Strong network of senior client relationships across the UK Market Research and Consultancy sector
- Demonstrated ability to acquire, develop, and expand strategic client partnerships.
- Deep understanding of quantitative research methodologies, insights generation, and consultative client engagement.
- Ability to act as a strategic advisor, helping clients address business challenges through research and insight solutions.
- Experience managing market-level forecasting, budgeting, pipeline management, and commercial planning.
- Strong leadership skills with the ability to coach, motivate, and develop high-performing teams.
- Excellent communication, presentation, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
- Ability to positively influence internal and external stakeholders through collaboration, persuasion, and strategic thinking.
- Hands-on, entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to balance strategic leadership and commercial execution.
Our Values
- A cting with Ownership - Demonstrating individual accountability
- B ringing a forward mindset - Being action-oriented, bold and entrepreneurial
- C ollaborating with Curiosity - Exhibiting teamwork through togetherness
- D iscussing openly, committing jointly - Sharing your views openly
- E mbracing empathy - Being egoless & caring
What We Offer
At Toluna, we’re all about creating a welcoming, diverse workplace where everyone can thrive. We offer competitive pay, great benefits, and plenty of opportunities to grow within our global team. Inclusion and respect are at the heart of what we do. Our community connects over 72 million people across 70 countries. If you're passionate about making an impact, we'd love to have you on board.
- Professional & personal growth: Training opportunities and career development plan.
- Financial package: Competitive salary, performance bonus.
- Health: Private medical insurance, Life insurance
- Office Comfort: We’ve recently relocated to a new office in Central London, providing a modern, comfortable, and accessible space for our team.
- Work-Life Balance: We work in a hybrid setup, combining office presence with flexibility.
Join our global team. We welcome big thinking and reward great work.
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Managing Director in London employer: Toluna
At Toluna, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that fosters innovation and collaboration. Our commitment to employee growth is evident through our competitive pay, comprehensive benefits, and the opportunity to work with cutting-edge AI technologies in a vibrant environment located in London or Manchester. Join us to be part of a global team that values inclusion and respect while driving transformative insights for the world's leading brands.