PURPOSE OF THE POSITION
Leading the Arby’s Consumer Insights team, the Sr. Manager is responsible for all facets of research and insights development across the Arby’s brand and acts as the primary strategic business partner and “Voice of the Consumer” for the brand team. This person will lead a team of research professionals who work closely with the Brand Experience, Strategy Culinary, Category Management, and IMC teams to deliver insights and recommendations that inform the innovation pipeline, advertising creative, consumer targeting and overall brand strategy. This person will be the subject matter expert for the Arby’s brand team and be experienced in identifying research methodologies, conducting consumer research, executing product tests, and turning data into actionable recommendations for maximum impact. This person will also lead the research planning process and manage the Consumer Insights budget for the Arby’s brand. This role will be based in the Atlanta Support Center.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Interface with key brand leaders (VP/CMO) to develop learning plans, present research findings and drive organizational priorities
- Represent the “voice of the consumer” in brand discussions ensuring the consumer is considered in all brand decisions
- Manage the product research processes that inform product ideation, development, and execution. These include product concept screeners, concept tests, CLT taste tests and buyer reactions studies
- Monitor and report Arby’s brand health metrics and advertising creative evaluations
- Be the brand expert on the Arby’s and BR consumer target and segmentation analysis
- Conduct ad hoc research and analysis that inform menu design and product optimization (e.g., TURF studies, focus groups, menu testing)
- Identify and provide actionable insights from industry sources and consumer trends to impact brand strategy and product innovation
- Lead, coach and manage the Arby’s Consumer Insights team to deliver timely research, project deliverables, insights, and custom analysis
- Socialize insights across Inspire Brands, making connections between business partners where relevant
EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Business, Statistics, Social Science, or similar
- Preferred: Master’s Degree in Market Research or related field
EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATION
- 7-10 years of experience in Market Research, Consumer Insights, or related field
- Preferred: Client- and vendor-side consumer insights experience
REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS or ABILITIES
- Significant experience designing and leading both qualitative and quantitative research studies, with expertise in techniques and methodologies
- A passion for solving business problems using data driven methods and information (data discovery, data visualization and data mining)
- Experience with survey programming tools such as Qualtrics or Decipher; knowledge of SPSS is a plus
- Ability to synthesize and translate consumer research into strong actionable insights to address business challenges
- Proven collaboration, strategic thinking, and leadership skills
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, especially the ability to explain difficult concepts and insights in applicable business terms. Strong ability to summarize insights into (PowerPoint) presentations in clear and understandable calls to action
- Experience leading a team and influencing senior management thinking
- Strong analytical, project and time management skills
- Ability to travel 10% of time
Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,000 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC restaurants worldwide.
We’re made up of some of the world’s most iconic restaurant brands, but we’re much more than just a restaurant company. We’re a team of hundreds of thousands who individually and collectively are changing the way people eat, drink, and gather around the table. We know that food is much more than a staple—it’s an experience. At Inspire, that’s our purpose: to ignite and nourish flavorful experiences.
