Senior Manager, Research & Insights

Experience Aviva

Together, we are Aviva. Our values — Care, Commitment, Community, and Confidence — guide how we show up for each other and for our customers. Individually, they’re words. Together, they define who we are.

At Aviva Canada, we put people first, our employees, our customers, and our communities. We’re proud of a culture built on care, inclusion, and collaboration, where your voice matters and your growth is supported. We’re not just about insurance; we’re about protecting what matters most.

This is an opportunity to lead the Research and Insights function for one of Canada’s leading insurers. Reporting to the Vice President, Customer, you will oversee all customer research and insights activities, helping shape how we understand our customers and broker partners.

As part of the Customer leadership team—alongside Customer Analytics, Customer Strategy, and Customer Experience—you will play a key role in ensuring insights are embedded in business decisions across the organization.

This role combines strategic leadership with hands‑on research expertise, strong stakeholder management, and the ability to translate insights into clear, actionable recommendations that drive meaningful business impact.

Come join our team!

• Lead complex, cross‑functional NPS and customer research initiatives with enterprise‑level impact across multiple locations and business functions.
• Provide expert guidance on research methodologies and approaches—qualitative, quantitative, emerging techniques, and the evolving use of AI in research.
• Oversee and advise on major research initiatives, including using text analytics to complement survey findings and identify key drivers of customer recommendation and customer journey opportunities.
• Act as a liaison between external research partners and internal collaborators to shape lines of questioning and ensure robust qualitative and quantitative testing.
• Manage the full research lifecycle: questionnaire design, methodological planning, data analysis, synthesis, and reporting.
• Deliver ongoing internal tracking studies, ensuring tools and questionnaires evolve to reflect business needs and measure performance against targets.
• Engage deeply with each area of the business to understand research needs, uncover opportunities, and recommend the right approaches with curiosity and enthusiasm.
• Prioritize research initiatives within finite budgets and resources. Accountable for research budget management, including prioritization of projects.
• Manage and evaluate research vendors to ensure quality and value.

• Champion the role of customer and broker insights in shaping key business strategies. Leverage creative and strategic thinking to create new research solutions for complex, unprecedented business questions.
• Integrate and synthesize findings from multiple data sources to identify strategic opportunities and make recommendations.
• Deliver clear, concise, and compelling insights—primarily through PowerPoint presentations—tailored to a variety of partner audiences.
• Guide the team in elevating the quality of insights, enhancing clarity, and building strong narratives that resonate with business leaders.

• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, regularly shaping key decisions through data‑driven customer and NPS insights.
• Deliver regular reporting and presentations to senior partners.
• Engage and align multiple partners with varying priorities, including teams in claims, product, digital, broker management, and global partners.
• Adapt to diverse personalities and situations with professionalism and emotional intelligence.
• Work closely with senior leaders (VP+) to understand their business challenges and provide meaningful, valuable insights.
• Serve as the primary Canadian insights liaison to Aviva UK for performance reporting.
• Demonstrate excellent listening skills to uncover business needs and translate them into research opportunities.

• Lead and develop a high‑performing team of 4–5 research and insights professionals.
• Coach and mentor team members to build capability, engagement, and career…