The Consumer Research & Partnerships Manager is responsible for owning and orchestrating primary consumer research across markets, in close collaboration with external research agencies and internal stakeholders.

The role exists to ensure that consumer research across the organisation is rigorous, consistent, insightful, and decision-oriented, while enabling Category Insights Leads and business teams through strong research design, governance, and first-level insighting. This role acts as the centre of excellence for primary research, driving global standards, quality, and cumulative learning across categories and markets.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Global Research Governance and Excellence

- Act as the global owner of primary consumer research excellence across categories and markets

- Define, standardise, and continuously upgrade research standards, templates, and best practices across the CMI function

- Prioritise and allocate primary research investments, agency capacity, and execution bandwidth in alignment with the Head of CMI

2. Primary Research Leadership

Own end-to-end delivery of primary consumer research projects across categories and markets, including:

- Research briefing and study design (with Category Insights Lead)

- Methodology selection (qualitative and quantitative)

- Agency briefing and supervision

- Fieldwork monitoring and quality control

- Data validation, analysis, and reporting

Ensure high standards of rigor and consistency across:

- Exploratory qualitative research

- Usage & Attitude studies o Need gap & Segmentation studies

- Concept and idea testing

- Product and claim testing o Communication evaluation

3. Agency & Research Partner Management

- Act as the day-to-day point of contact for external research agencies

Ensure clarity on:

- Business objectives

- Research design

- Timelines and deliverables

- Quality standards

Actively challenge agencies on:

- Interpretation and insight depth

- Quality of thinking and recommendations

- Relevance to business decisions

- Drive cost and time efficiency without compromising research quality

4. First-Level Analysis & Insighting

Conduct first-level analysis of research outputs to identify:

- Key patterns and behaviours o Consumer motivations and tensions o Emerging hypotheses and implications

- Build structured storylines and executive summaries

Highlight implications for:

- Brand strategy

- Communication development o Innovation and renovation

- Partner Category Insights Leads on insight framing and synthesis to drive clear decision outcomes

5. Category & Business Support

Work closely with Category Insights Leads to:

- Translate business challenges into effective research approaches

- Support marketing and innovation teams with timely, high-quality inputs

- Prepare materials for decision forums and leadership discussions

- Act as a trusted research and thinking partner within the category pod

6. Quality, Consistency & Knowledge Management

Ensure consistency in:

- Questionnaires and scales o Reporting formats and templates o Insight frameworks

- Maintain proper documentation of studies and learning summaries

- Contribute to the CI knowledge repository to enable cumulative learning

- Continuously improve research processes and standards

INTERFACES:

- Head Consumer & Market Intelligence (primary)

- Category Insights Leads (Home Care, Hygiene, Innovation etc.)

- External research agencies and partners (global)

- Marketing and Innovation teams (through Category Leads)

- Market Intelligence and Analytics teams (as required)

SUCCESS METRICS:

- On-time and on-quality delivery of research projects

- Quality and clarity of research outputs

- Feedback from Category Insights Leads and key stakeholders

- Reduction in rework and agency revisions

- Cost and timeline adherence

- Consistency and usability of insights generated across markets

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE:

- 7-10 years of experience in consumer / market research

- Strong hands-on experience managing qualitative and quantitative research projects

- Solid understanding of research methodologies and study design

- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

- Ability to convert data into clear, actionable insights

- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills

- Experience of working across multiple markets preferred

- Experience with managing direct reports

- Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and agencies without formal authority