Senior Director of Research and Insights

Realtor.com seeks a Senior Director, Research and Insights to help us create and evaluate industry leading real estate websites.  The right candidate has expertise in Human-Centered Design and is comfortable working across the full spectrum of user and consumer research, from uncovering deep insights about behaviors and needs, to testing solutions and optimizing products.  You communicate insights and results to drive action across functions from product to marketing and across multiple lines of business.  Additionally, you are a strong people leader, developing a team of high caliber research professionals and building close, collaborative relationships with key stakeholders.   

As a member of the Research and Insights team, you will work closely with multiple levels of the Product and Marketing organizations, with special focus on leadership of the Product Development organization, product managers, designers, and engineers.  Goals will be to build strong working relationships, establish standard operating procedures for research, prioritize identified research needs, and advocate for our users.

If you have a passion for consumer and product research, and an interest in real estate, let’s talk!

Responsibilities

• Manage a team of researchers and help them grow professionally
• Write SOPs to create common intake/reporting templates, consistent methodologies, recognize efficiency in the research processes, establish swimlanes to clarify roles and responsibilities across functions on projects and define impact metrics.
• Conduct integrated research planning/prioritization across the Product organization and work with Research and Insights team leadership to ensure coordination with Marketing organization projects
• Establish and monitor prioritization calculus and effectiveness/satisfaction metrics for the output of the team
• Build a comprehensive suite of research vendors and tools to optimize the mix of work run internally and externally. 
• Collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data from multiple studies and sources to generate strategic and tactical insights, actionable recommendations, and rich stories about our customers.
• Share research findings through written reports and oral presentations and find creative ways to relentlessly advocate for users.
• Drive activation sessions with stakeholders to ensure that insights are incorporated into both strategy and tactics that drive the RDC business.  

Basic Qualifications

• 10 - 15 years of relevant experience as a key member and leader of a research team.  Experience creating web and mobile software preferred.
• 5+ years people management and team building experience.
• You’re a self-starter, self-managing, and comfortable supporting multiple stakeholders, across multiple lines of business, in multiple offices.
• Experience designing learning plans with stakeholder input and incorporating proactive, strategic projects, ranging from tactical needs through blue-sky, innovative strategy. 
• Demonstrated ability in planning, executing, analyzing and communicating data and insights to drive action.
• Previous experience building and sharing a body of knowledge from a variety of studies over time.  
• Ability to iterate during and between studies to identify, implement, and evaluate changes quickly.
• Ability to think on your feet, adapting sessions on the fly to get the best input from users or stakeholders.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in design, sociology, or research (Human Computer Interaction, Human Factors Engineering, Experimental Psychology, UX/Visual Design, or related degrees preferred).