Job Description

As a member of Horizon Next Data Solutions and Insights Team you will be responsible for developing a deep understanding of people, who they are, what matters and motivates them, what shapes and influences their behaviors and decisions, and how most effectively engage with them through media, content, and other brand experiences.

The Assoc. Director, Data Solutions and Insights, is responsible for leveraging both primary and secondary resources to dive deeper into the hearts and minds of consumers to uncover actionable human understanding to drive innovative and breakthrough thinking in our approach to communications and media planning. As an experienced consumer strategy leader you will be responsible for synthesizing and integrating key learnings across research inputs into compelling stories and strategies. You will work closely with Next business solutions leads and draw strategic insights for assigned brands, as well as participate in new business pitches.

Using data in a cohesive and holistic way, the Associate Director Data Solutions and Insights should be experienced and comfortable using a range of different behavioral, syndicated, and spending datasets (including MRI, YouGov, TransUnion, ShareThis, Mastercard, Ibotta and Inscape) to gain understanding and inform thinking. You will play a key role in leveraging Horizon’s Identity framework, called Blu to enable data driven insights and understanding working directly with Marketing Science on different accounts.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide teams with actionable understanding through a deep exploration of people, their behavior, how they experience potential media channels, and how their mindsets and attitudes shape how they perceive and relate to brands and categories (40%)
  • With oversight from NEXT DS&I leadership, independently manage projects and tasks that inform consumer and communications strategy
  • Be a go to source of knowledge in the group with experience leveraging behavioral and syndicated research. Proactively mine all available resources for any information that can lead to a better understanding of the people, brands, and engagement opportunities and drive closer connections between audience, brand, and communication strategies.
  • Use a range of research techniques and data approaches to develop deep dive discoveries into the needs of audiences and understand the attitudinal, behavioral, and experiential aspects of the people’s relationship with brands and the potential engagement channels
  • Work with the BST to develop marketing strategies that align with business objectives
  • Data experience will involve using different data sources, data dictionaries and drive how data is used to uncover insights on client businesses
• Initiate and conduct research to help inform consumer understanding and connections strategy and customize existing research from WHY COE to make actionable for NEXT clients (20%)
  • Utilize Horizon’s proprietary research capabilities and resources to uncover key strategic audience, channel and journey insights that can compliment and extend learning with additional attitudinal data through custom survey work
  • Use existing behavioral data as an important component of understand people along with primary, secondary and social intelligence research help inform strategies and briefs
• Lead development of communication platform / activation brief as required for assigned brands and new business and ensure that resulting actions remain on strategy (20%)
  • Ensure the communication platform / activation brief tells a full story from understanding key challenges/issues/opportunities to how to best connect with the consumer through to the strategic idea
  • Represent and participate in new business pitches

• Initiate and lead in the development of the DS&I group and consumer insights offering (e.g. tool and resource development) (10%)
• Lead internal DS&I overviews and training sessions on DS&I offerings and capabilities (e.g. Intern training, Media 101, brand strategy team leaders) (5%)
• Manage and facilitate internal and client facing ideation sessions (5%)

Knowledge and Skills Required:

• 7+ years’ experience preferably at a media agency, creative agency, brand consultancy or research firm setting in a consumer-focused role (e.g. connections planner, strategic planner, account planner)
• Can tell compelling stories based on data -- digging through data and see the forest for the trees
• Naturally curious about people and their wants, needs, attitudes and behaviors
• Demonstrated ability to generate strategic, innovative and influential understanding from rigorous analysis
• Demonstrated skills in writing including clarity of thinking and making persuasive arguments for strategic recommendations
• A self-starter, with a detail and solutions focused attitude who thrives on project variety and a fast pace, and able to manage multiple projects and priorities
• Experience leveraging and conducting research to uncover new understanding, including syndicated research expertise (e.g. MRI/Simmons, YouGov, TransUnion), quantitative research experience (e.g. writing and developing surveys for online consumer research), and the use and integration of disparate data sets
• Experience presenting to clients in a compelling and persuasive manner
• Experience presenting to prospective clients as part of new business development efforts
• Service orientation with a strong work ethic and high-level of personal accountability

• Great at working in and helping to foster a collaborative team environment

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Horizon Media is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.

Salary Range

$125,000.00 - $150,000.00

A successful applicant’s actual base salary may vary based upon, but not limited to, skill sets, experience and training, licensure/certifications, and equity. As an organization, we take an aptitude and competency-based hiring approach. We provide a competitive total rewards package including a discretionary bonus and a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, retirement savings plans, company paid holidays and unlimited paid time off (PTO), mental health and wellness resources, pet insurance, childcare resources, identity theft insurance, fertility assistance programs, and fitness reimbursement.