Senior Director, Research

APCO Insight®, the research, strategy and measurement consultancy within the global advisory and advocacy firm APCO Worldwide, is seeking a Senior Director to develop and lead client accounts. The position may be based in Washington, D.C., Raleigh or Chicago or New York.

The Senior Director will be responsible for leading client accounts, counseling colleagues on research opportunities and contributing to overall direction and success of the firm. More specifically, the ideal candidate will have a track record of success leading strategic research for corporate, brand and marketing communication assignments; developing client relationships; and leading a small team within an insights business. 

While this position is predominantly an opinion research one, APCO Insight’s business employs secondary research techniques, digital and social media research, data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, often blending them together with our traditional opinion research. We take an “insights from everywhere” approach to our work.

This position is hands-on, charged with winning new business, developing and managing client relationships, and leading research assignments. This position is a good fit if you:

• Have 15+ years of experience in the research world helping companies understand stakeholder attitudes and perceptions, the future of issues affecting their business and how these issues and trends are likely to evolve in the future.
• Bring a track record of winning new business and collaborating with colleagues to respond to RFPs, pitch new work and win client assignments.
• Have a roster of clients and are good at cultivating current and prospective client relationships and identifying opportunities to expand these relationships.
• Can design, conduct and manage stakeholder research projects from beginning to end.
• Think big and strategically but also roll-up your sleeves to do the day-to-day work yourself.
• Are a wizard at gathering, analyzing, and synthesizing data into compelling narratives, workshops and presentations.
• Enjoy telling stories about the “why” of people and cultures to inform richer business strategies.
• Can lead educational initiatives to ensure our communications colleagues understand insights-driven strategies and how to work with you to uncover them.
• Can clearly explain complex models and techniques in a way that makes their insights accessible to our colleagues and clients.
• Have experience with social and digital communications research tools, data analytics or the integration of client or third-party data with opinion research data and other innovations in the insights profession. 
• Are a mentor and coach to mid-level and junior research team members.
• Have an entrepreneurial spirit with a desire to grow and shape the research group and build a business.
• Are an evangelizer on the value of high-quality research to potential clients as well as your communications colleagues (i.e., most of APCO that doesn’t sit in our research group).
• Have a background working with strategy & planning professionals or working within a communications or marketing firm.
• Furthermore, the ideal candidate will have experience working on the client side and as a consultant. 

APCO Insight is:

• A team of roughly 30 research-enabled communications professionals across six offices and remote who work among and with APCO’s 900+ communications professionals worldwide.
• Deeply committed to doing high-quality research but also pushing the boundaries of what opinion research, analytics and insights look like. 
• Really good at traditional opinion research (surveys, focus groups, in-depth interviews), and pushing industry boundaries in blending these methods with digital and social research, predictive analytics and secondary research methods.
• A group of specialists in corporate reputation research, issues management, message assessment research, and thought leadership research to help clients show up differently in the marketplace.
• Creating a center of excellence to deliver insights to our colleagues and clients to inform strategy, tactics and execution so our clients can act differently, smarter and with more confidence. 
• Proud of our impressive client roster (Fortune 500, major industry associations, large non-profits, and governments).

Compensation Range:

$150,000-225,000 (depending on geography, expertise, background, experience, etc.)

With our commitment to recruit, hire, promote and retain people who reflect the diverse communities in which we operate, APCO Worldwide ensures our teams bring the best possible expertise and diverse perspectives to our clients. We embrace diversity of identity, exper