Research Director or Senior Director, Gaming & Sports

About NRG

NRG is a leading global insights and strategy firm at the confluence of content, culture, and technology.  We stay ahead of what’s next, providing fresh insights to spark new ideas. We’re a trusted partner to our clients, working behind the scenes to bring imagination, depth, and clarity to their biggest challenges—in entertainment, technology, lifestyle, sports, and gaming.  Together, we create with confidence. 

 

We’re proud of our company’s values – these values guide us as we navigate sunny days, gray skies and everything in between:    

 

• Do what you love. With conviction. 

• Where discovery lives. And impact drives. 

• Celebrate difference. Cultivate belonging. 

• Big thinking. Collectively inspired. 

• Embrace the journey. Be human. 

The Opportunity

We are seeking a strategic and innovative Research Director or Senior Director to join our growing Gaming & Sports team. This team is a global leader in insights across both the Sports and Gaming industries, providing their clients with custom and syndicated research along with consultative expertise across a range of initiatives. In sports, our team helps leagues, teams, rightsholders and brands understand their target audiences and grow across the globe. Our Gaming experts work on the full go-to-market life cycle of titles, platforms and services for all the major video game platforms, publishers and developers.   

 

In this role, you will lead a wide range of research initiatives across the full project lifecycle from proposal to report delivery for both our gaming and sports clients. You will bring your intellectual curiosity, entrepreneurial mindset, and storytelling ability to lead projects that help solve our clients’ biggest challenges, shaping the future of the industry landscape.    

 

If you’re passionate about qualitative and quantitative research; if you enjoy visualizing data and discovering insights with confidence; if you’re passionate about the sports and gaming industries – this opportunity is for you! 

Your Impact

• Lead all phases of quantitative and qualitative research projects, including proposal drafting, research design, questionnaire and discussion guide development, data analysis and storytelling.  

• Projects may include audience, landscape, and brand studies, with methods such as concept/creative testing, messaging/positioning evaluation, play testing, and segmentation.  

• Translate research data into clear, actionable insights and recommendations through visual, creative, and story-driven reports. 

• Troubleshoot any complicated issues that arise in an efficient and effective manner.  

• Identify and develop research opportunities for new and existing clients. Cultivate and foster deep client relationships to successfully execute projects and drive overall business.  

• Serve as a trusted partner to clients, fully understanding their business objectives and strategically strengthening the relationship. 

• Help lead and develop a team, giving meaningful feedback on all aspects of a project and training analysts and managers across methodologies.  

• Drive successful project execution, collaborating with senior team members and providing oversight to junior team members in coordinating logistics with internal and external operations teams (programming, fieldwork, facilities, moderators, data processing) and partnering with these teams to drive projects forward on stringent timelines. 

Who We're Looking For

• Experience – We’d love for you to have 7+ years’ experience working in consumer research, or in an analyst/strategy role at a media/technology/gaming/sports company (ideally some combination thereof, but supplier side experience is a must).  

• Your degree(s) – Ideally looking for a B.A./B.S. degree in areas such as Social Sciences, Business, Marketing, Market Research, Statistics, Economics or a related field. Additional degrees are welcome! 

• Passion – An enthusiasm for research, data driven approaches, and strategic thinking. You live and breathe all things sports and gaming and enjoy staying up to date on industry trends and developments. Small talking or deep diving on these topics fuels you. 

• Research practitioner – In-depth understanding and experience with a range of complex qualitative and quantitative research methodologies.  Moderation experience is a plus!   

• Client-centric – Proven experience nurturing and building relationships with clients, understan