Associate Director • TAPESTRY
Job Description
Role overview
In a sentence: Directing the team and looking beyond projects
In a bit more detail: A trusted and inspiring representative of the Tapestry brand with oversight over numerous projects, working on and helping to direct the team to deliver excellence on all aspects of our studies, managing and developing team members and acting as a ‘deputy’ to your Team Lead.
The role is a key leadership position within the team, owning and successfully servicing a range of clients in the media and entertainment sector and beyond. It requires playing a pivotal role in a range of studies, splitting your time effectively between them, while also retaining time and headspace to help manage and run the team and contribute to the wider Tapestry business.
The role requires tenacity, accuracy and speed (key things for our clients) but also a calmness under pressure and an ability to effectively manage others and inspire them in their work. You share Tapestry’s values and are able to demonstrate how they influence your work. You are self-motivated and are looking to develop your own leadership style, with a big focus on effective communication in both project and non-project scenarios.
You’ll value this role as a chance to develop beyond being a researcher though you’ll remain closely involved with projects. You’ll proactively look and take the opportunities that come to demonstrate your value to the business whether that is internally with colleagues or externally with clients.
You’ll also be very aware of your visibility within the wider company, both to clients and colleagues, and help Tapestry commercially and in terms of the recruitment, development and retention of staff.
The role demands skilled analysis and interpretation of data, the ability to fuse it with other research outputs when required, using it to fuel insight beyond merely what the data ‘says’. Great communication with colleagues and clients is essential too.
Key Responsibilities
- Work closely with your Team Lead; help them run the team with effective planning and a strong understanding of team member performance
- Manage and develop junior colleagues, helping them progress and ensuring the high quality of their work
- Regularly work on or contribute to proposals
- Proactively look for opportunities to get involved in wider company initiatives
- Advanced understanding of different methodologies, including analytical approaches, applying them and generating engaging insights
- Take responsibility and autonomously deliver projects from beginning to end with inputs from seniors, delegating effectively to junior staff where relevant
- Work on a number of projects, ensuring they run smoothly while being aware support might be needed on other projects or on other Tapestry initiatives
- Oversee or lead the questionnaire development and have key inputs into any other research materials needed e.g. discussion guide, diary task, etc
- Lead the report writing process working with both junior and senior colleagues to ensure comprehensive reporting presented in the client’s preferred style
- Take a lead role in ensuring the accuracy and quality of the work you produce, and the work produced by your team. Everything that leaves your hands should be considered client ready
- Lead client meetings, present debriefs and further develop your exceptional client relationships
The person
- Able to identify with making the complex beautifully simple and the underpinning behaviours we encourage
- Enthusiastic, tenacious, pragmatic and driven
- A strong background in market research (or similar), with around 3-4 years’ experience and a strong interest and aptitude for research
- Experience in directing, managing and delivering projects (both large and small scale) to international clients
- Capable with numbers, but seeks to use that capability as a platform for wider exploration rather than a limiting factor
- Willing and able to process, reflect upon and understand data, with the ability to clearly communicate their thinking to others
- Dedicated to accuracy with an eye for detail and the ability to produce work to exacting standards and the ability to manage others to do the same
- Friendly and open to discussion, with a problem-solving mindset. Willing to accept and build upon constructive feedback
- A genuine interest in the world around you: people, their perceptions, behaviours and culture
- Excellent and clear communicator (both written and verbal) to clients and colleagues alike
- A proven track record of contributing to a team and successfully managing others
About Tapestry
WE MAKE THE COMPLEX beautifully SIMPLE
We don’t just measure; we make, we create, and we provoke debate. We give clients research they want to talk about and share, something that inspires them to make the right decisions.
Four guiding principles shape all our work that we ask you to read, understand and demonstrate in your day-to-day work.
- We balance complexity and simplicity
We are unafraid of complexity and never dumb things down. But we hate unnecessary complexity and want to bring clarity where we can. This is true whether it is a debrief or an internal process. Our teamwork and collaboration make this possible.
- We do less to think more
We strive to find efficiencies for our clients and our people so we can spend more time on the things that matter most. We continuously improve and minimise processes to free ourselves up to think about things as deeply as possible.
- We are partners, not suppliers
Complexity demands collaboration. This is true whether the relationships are internal or external. We celebrate differences and include diverse perspectives, recognising the interconnected nature of all areas of research.
- We are guides as much as scientists
Complex systems can’t be ‘solved’ or ‘fixed’. They don’t have singular ‘correct’ answers. Nevertheless, we seek to help our partners and people progress. We do this by illuminating and clarifying the landscape, giving people the confidence to act.