Associate Director-Observer

Make Your Mark at Ipsos

Are you an experienced market research leader looking for the opportunity to shape high-profile client programmes, drive commercial growth, and lead talented teams? Do you thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment where your insights and leadership create real impact? If so, we d love to hear from you.

Are you an experienced market research leader looking for the opportunity to shape high-profile client programmes, drive commercial growth, and lead talented teams? Do you thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment where your insights and leadership create real impact? If so, we d love to hear from you.

Ipsos Observer is a specialist team delivering bespoke research solutions that help organisations understand customer behaviour, public opinion, and market trends. Working across a broad range of sectors including government, academia, charities and commercial organisations, the team delivers both continuous and ad hoc research projects in the UK and internationally.

As an Associate Director, you will play a pivotal leadership role within a growing and ambitious team. You ll lead the successful execution and delivery of complex research programmes, ensuring clients receive high-quality fieldwork, robust data, actionable insights and strategic recommendations. You ll take ownership of key client relationships, helping to grow existing accounts while identifying opportunities for new business development and revenue generation.

Working alongside Directors and senior colleagues, you ll lead sizeable project teams, manage project profitability, and collaborate with global Ipsos colleagues to deliver impactful research solutions. This is an excellent opportunity for a commercially minded research professional who enjoys combining client leadership, business growth and people management in a dynamic environment.

• Significant experience within quantitative market research, consumer insights or related research environments.
• Proven success managing complex research projects and developing strong client relationships.
• Experience leading, developing and motivating individuals and project teams.
• Strong understanding of research methodologies and a passion for delivering high-quality insights.
• Experience contributing to commercial growth, revenue generation and account development.
• Proficiency in AI use and adoption to enhance day-to-day research and business activities.

• Strong research skills including questionnaire and study design, project management, sampling and analytical techniques.
• Commercial awareness with the ability to understand client challenges and identify opportunities.
• Strong numerical and analytical capabilities with excellent attention to detail.
• Experience managing project finances, budgets and profitability.
• Knowledge of research and analytics tools such as SPSS, R, Power BI or equivalent platforms.

• Curiosity and lifelong learning
• Leadership and social influence
• Collaboration and relationship building
• Analytical and critical thinking
• Creative problem solving
• Customer and service orientation
• Resilience, flexibility and adaptability
• Empathy and active listening
• Talent development and coaching

We offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support you as an individual. Our standard benefits include 25 days annual leave, pension contribution, income protection and life assurance. In addition, there are a range health & wellbeing, financial benefits and professional development opportunities.

We have a hybrid approach to work and ask people to be in the office or with clients for 3 days per week. We appreciate you may have commitments outside of work and will consider…