Senior Director, Research

ABOUT OUTWARD INTELLIGENCE

Outward Intelligence is a quantitative research company and platform built to help organizations run agile, high-quality surveys faster - without sacrificing rigor. We combine automation and AI with experienced researchers to deliver clean data and actionable insights quickly, and make results accessible through our dashboard and workflows.

We're a nimble team building an organization of smart, driven individuals who are passionate about research and creating client value. We seek people who are detail-oriented, take ownership, and thrive on tackling meaningful problems across diverse industry verticals with immediate real-world impact.

ROLE

In this role, you'll lead our client research function—setting the strategy, standards, and processes that ensure every client gets exceptional value from our platform. While you'll stay close to client work, your primary focus will be building and scaling a high-performing team of Research Managers, establishing best practices, and driving measurable outcomes across retention, expansion, and client satisfaction.

This is a player-coach role for someone who can operate at altitude—shaping how we deliver research services—while staying grounded in the details when high-stakes client situations require senior involvement. You'll partner closely with Sales, Product, and Engineering to align our research capabilities with market needs and ensure client feedback directly informs our roadmap.

Success in this role means a research organization that runs smoothly, a team that's growing and developing, and a client base that sees Outward Intelligence as an irreplaceable partner in how they do research.

RESPONSIBILITIES

As Senior Director, Research Manager, you will lead and scale our client research function. Your primary responsibilities will include:

• Team Leadership & Development: Hiring, coaching, and developing a team of Research Managers. Setting clear expectations, providing regular feedback, and creating growth pathways for team members.
• Operational Excellence: Establishing and refining processes, workflows, and quality standards that enable the team to deliver consistent, high-quality work efficiently as we scale.
• Strategic Client Partnership: Owning relationships with key accounts and serving as an escalation point for complex client needs. Ensuring our largest clients receive white-glove service and strategic guidance.
• Research Methodology & Innovation: Serving as an internal authority on research best practices. Identifying opportunities to enhance our survey design, analysis approaches, and insight delivery.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partnering with Sales on positioning, scoping, and closing new business. Working with Product and Engineering to translate client feedback into platform improvements. Aligning with leadership on go-to-market strategy.
• Revenue Growth & Retention: Driving client retention and expansion targets. Identifying opportunities for value-added services and ensuring the team delivers against growth goals.
• Client Advocacy at Scale: Synthesizing feedback across the client base to identify trends, systemic issues, and opportunities. Championing the voice of the customer in strategic decisions.

Your role will be instrumental in building a research organization that can scale with the company while maintaining the quality and client intimacy that sets us apart.

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