Consumer Insights Researcher, Marketing, Salt Lake , UT

If you're passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country-and you're committed to working hard to play your part in building that future-consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
Grade:
Professional 309 Pay Range: $80,300.00 - $

The Consumer Insights Researcher plays a pivotal role in understanding the motivations, barriers, and decision-making patterns of prospective students and other priority audiences. As part of WGU's marketing research team, this role combines primary research, secondary data, and competitive intelligence to create a holistic, actionable view of students' and other stakeholders' needs. The insights generated inform brand strategy, messaging, market expansion, product and program development, and cross-organizational decision making that drives WGU's growth.

This role partners deeply with marketing, brand, web, analytics, and senior stakeholders across the university. The ideal candidate is a structured thinker, a strong communicator, and someone who can translate complex data into clear, strategic recommendations.

• Bring quantitative and qualitative insights into daily decision-making across the organization.
• Design and execute research initiatives using multiple methods (e.g., surveys, interviews, observations, UX research, secondary data, syndicated sources).
• Triangulate insights from varied data sources to build holistic stories and strategic recommendations.
• Identify emerging trends, unmet needs, and segmentation opportunities to guide marketing, brand, and enrollment strategies.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

• Support and occasionally lead research projects that assess market conditions, competitor positioning, and category trends.
• Collaborate with internal and external research partners to execute high-quality studies that address specific business questions.
• Connect research initiatives across teams to avoid duplication, increase efficiency, and maximize impact.
• Translate findings into data-driven recommendations for growth, differentiation, and prioritization.

• Work closely with the marketing, brand, and communication teams to inform brand positioning and campaign strategy.
• Transform research findings into compelling narratives using clear storytelling, data visualization, and business-relevant framing.
• Provide evidence-based guidance on messaging, creative concepts, and go‑to‑market decisions.

• Build strong relationships across marketing, enrollment, academic programs, and strategy teams.
• Help stakeholders turn ambiguous questions into structured research plans.
• Communicate project progress and outcomes clearly, aligning with partners at each stage.
• Facilitate broader organizational understanding and adoption of insights.

This job description includes a general representation of job requirements rather than a comprehensive inventory of all required responsibilities or work activities. The contents…