We are looking for someone dynamic who can own the Consumer Research & Analytics capability for WLL's R&D function - leading structured research into consumer life-at-home behaviour and future needs across Textile, Flooring, and Advanced Textiles (AT).

Convert consumer and market insight into a usable "market direction" portfolio that shapes the R&D and Product Development innovation agenda, rather than research that stays in a report.

Act as the consistent bridge between external consumer/market signals and internal technical teams, ensuring innovation and product decisions are grounded in validated consumer need rather than assumption.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Consumer & Market Research Strategy:

- Define and own the consumer research agenda across categories, prioritizing studies that materially inform R&D and PD decision-making.

- Select and apply appropriate research methods (qualitative, quantitative, ethnographic/"life-at-home" studies) for each research question.

2. Life-at-Home & Consumer Insights Research:

- Lead consumer "life at home" studies to understand current behaviour, unmet needs, and emerging preferences relevant to home and technical textiles.

- Track macro consumer trends (sustainability, wellness, smart living, etc.) and translate them into implications for WLL's product and innovation roadmap.

3. Insight Dissemination to R&D & PD:

- Regularly process and furnish research findings to R&D capability leads (Material Science, R&D Processing, Smart Textiles, etc.) and Product Development teams in a decision-ready format.

- Build a repeatable cadence (e.g., monthly insight briefings) so consumer input is embedded in ongoing project reviews, not a one-off exercise.

4. Market Direction Portfolio:

- Create and maintain a market direction portfolio - a living view of where consumer demand and category trends are heading - for use in innovation prioritization.

- Partner with Sales & Marketing to validate research findings against real market/commercial signals.

5. Governance & Reporting:

- Maintain a research tracker / MIS covering studies in progress, key findings, and adoption of insights into R&D/PD projects.

- Report consumer research outcomes and market direction updates to the R&D Head on a monthly cadence.

6. Stakeholder Management:

- Serve as the primary point of contact for consumer/market insight across R&D, PD, and Sales & Marketing.

- Engage external research agencies/panels as needed to supplement in-house research capability.

KEY RESULT AREAS (KRAs) / KPIs:

- Consumer life-at-home research - number/quality of studies completed against the annual research plan - Cadence: Monthly.

- Insight dissemination - regularity and usefulness of insight inputs furnished to R&D and PD teams - Cadence: Monthly.

- Market direction portfolio - currency and completeness of the maintained portfolio - Cadence: Monthly.

- Insight-to-pipeline adoption - % of active R&D/PD projects citing a consumer-research input at stage-gate - Cadence: Quarterly.

- Stakeholder satisfaction - feedback from R&D/PD/Sales & Marketing on relevance and timeliness of research support - Cadence: Quarterly.

QUALIFICATION & EXPERIENCE:

- Advanced degree (Master's) in a relevant field such as Consumer Behaviour, Market Research, Design Research, Social Sciences, or a related discipline; MBA is an added advantage.

- 5+ years of experience in consumer/market research, ideally within home textiles, apparel, consumer durables, or a related consumer-facing industry (per approved R&D capability specification).

- Hands-on experience running "life at home" / ethnographic-style consumer studies and converting findings into actionable business input.

SUCCESS PROFILE / CORE COMPETENCIES:

- Strong research craft - designs and runs rigorous consumer studies (qualitative and quantitative) and knows which method fits which question.

- Translation ability - converts research findings into clear, actionable input for technical and product teams, not just a research report.

- Cross-functional influence - gets R&D, PD, and Sales & Marketing to actually act on consumer insight.

- Future orientation - spots emerging consumer needs and trends ahead of the category, rather than only validating the present.

- Structured communication - presents insight in a form senior leadership and technical teams can use directly.

- We are open to explore job location of Either Mumbai/Anjar/Hyderabad for this role.