Associate Director, Strategic Research & Insights

Who you are

To advance Understood’s mission and to further our impact, we’re hiring an Associate Director, Strategic Research & Insights, reporting to our Director of Research. You bring deep experience in management consulting, strategic planning, or client-side insights, and you know how to turn complex market data into clear narratives that inform executive decisions. You brief VPs, represent Understood to external partners and funders, and identify where the market is heading—and where Understood should invest its resources.

What you’ll do

• Synthesize complex market data and competitive intelligence into actionable insights, delivering high-level strategic narratives, SWOT analyses, and clear implications for business decision-making.
• Use market trends and consumer insights to recommend resource allocation and organizational priorities.
• Identify “what space” opportunities for growth within the LTD field and adjacent markets by analyzing consumer and product dynamics.
• Collaborate directly with the Partnerships, Giving, and Grants teams to provide the high-level market, literature, and competitive research required to establish new funding channels and build credibility with key funders.
• Serve as a principal authority with external clients of Eco’s “Play for Every Brain” universal design research offering; selling, briefing, and delivering research insights that drive impact and resources.
• Drive impact by briefing partners on high-level research insights and translating complex data into strategic narratives that secure new opportunities and funding.

Must-haves

• 7-10 years of professional experience, high-level management consulting (e.g., McKinsey, Bain, BCG) or a senior role in strategic planning, market intelligence or client-side insights.
• Proven ability to deliver insights and counsel to Directors, VPs, and Executive Leadership Teams (ELT).
• Must demonstrate multi-category expertise and be viewed as a core authority in research and landscape analysis.
• Experience owning material, complex projects that are cross-departmental and external-facing.
• Skill in partnering with more junior researchers to refine raw data and initial insights into executive-level narratives.
• Committed to embodying and being a steward of our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Nice-to-haves

• Advanced degree (MBA or relevant Master’s).
• Experience in the venture capital or social impact investment space.
• Experience in manipulating AI (e.g. Gemini, ChatGPT, Perplexity) to automate areas of the research process
• Background in disability, neurodiversity, or education.