Research Director, Marketing Audience Insights

The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That means independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It’s why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It’s why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination. And it’s why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for. 

About the Role, Mission or Department Overview

The Research Director leads research to inform and measure our brand strategy and reputation, brand marketing and earned marketing efforts. As an individual contributor, you will deepen our understanding of our audiences and translate insights into clear, relevant strategies that shape communications, creative, media mix, and long-term planning.

You will report to the Managing Director, Audience & Marketing Insights, and work with partners in Marketing, Communications, and the Newsroom. You will have frequent exposure to senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.

You will create the right research plan, implement qualitative and quantitative research methods, lead meetings, and communicate insights for different internal audiences.

This position is based in our New York City HQ, and requires regular attendance in the office.

Responsibilities:

• Lead end-to-end quantitative and qualitative research projects to help develop messages, campaigns, and media strategies shaping brand reputation.
• Own the end-to-end research process: develop briefs, design screeners and questionnaires, launch surveys and unmoderated studies, analyze and synthesize results, and deliver narratives that directly inform creative and media decisions.
• Partner with marketers, communications leaders, and newsroom partners to clarify business questions and scope the right methodologies to answer them.
• Design and implement an array of different research approaches (concept testing, creative evaluation, brand tracking, message testing) to help the brand strategy team evolve their strategy and creative campaign approach.
• Design and implement a suite of campaign measurement approaches to evaluate the effectiveness of brand marketing, earned media, and PR campaigns. Methodologies include exposed/unexposed media tagging studies, opportunity to see/hear studies, brand tracking, and on-site survey work.
• Translate complex findings into concise, executive-ready communications (decks, memos, live presentations) that highlight possible effects and recommended actions that influence decisions and enhance audience empathy across the organization.
• Manage multiple research projects and ad-hoc requests at once, including developing timelines and planning bandwidth to ensure resourcing and on-time delivery.
• Manage relationships with research and media vendors, including scoping, survey design, analysis plans, quality control, and delivery of reports.
• Improve how we produce and apply brand and earned marketing insights — identifying gaps, proposing new vendors or methods, and piloting approaches that increase quality, speed, and influence.
• Collaborate with internal research partners and consultants across The Times to connect brand research with broader audience, growth, and product insights, bringing an integrated perspective to your work.
• Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.

Basic Qualifications:

• 10+ years of hands-on experience in marketing research or consumer insights, with an emphasis on brand research, brand tracking, campaign measurement, and brand strategy.
• 3+ years of experience leading all facets of marketing and communications effectiveness measurement programs, including vendor relationships, questionnaire development, data mining, and reporting.
• Experience leading creative message evaluation, informing brand strategy, and evaluating campaign creative.
• Experience leading all aspects of quantitative research, including analyzing large quantitative datasets, identifying insights, and creating clear reports.
• Experience leading all aspects of qualitative research, including screener development, discussion guides, and reporting.
• Experience managing external research partners/vendors
• Experience working with different teams, including Marketing and Communications, and presenting research to leadership.

Preferred Qualifications

• B.A./B.S. degree in a relevant field (e.g., Human-Computer Interaction, Interaction Design, Information Science, Psychology, Graphic/Communication/Product Design, Design Engineering, Human Factors Engineering, Cognitive Science, Digital Anthropology, Marketing, Business).

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The annual base pay range for this role is between:$160,000—$180,000 USD

For roles in the U.S., dependent on your role, you may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock. Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s), a company-matching 401(k) plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs. 

For roles outside of the U.S., information on benefits will be provided during the interview process.

We’re excited to learn more about you and your experience. To keep our hiring process as fair and authentic as possible, we ask that you submit your own work and not use GenAI tools to generate substantive content during the application and interview process.

If you’re an Engineering candidate, we’ll let you know what specific GenAI tools you are permitted to use for your technical assessment.

The New York Times Company is committed to being the world’s best source of independent, reliable and quality journalism. To do so, we embrace a diverse workforce that has a broad range of backgrounds and experiences across our ranks, at all levels of the organization. We encourage people from all  backgrounds to apply.

We are  an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics.  The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s Know Your Rights Poster is available here. 

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