Consumer Insights Researcher, Brand Health Salt Lake City, UT

The Consumer Insights Researcher plays a pivotal role in understanding the motivations, barriers, and decision-making patterns of prospective students and other priority audiences. As part of WGU’s marketing research team, this role combines primary research, secondary data, and competitive intelligence to create a holistic, actionable view of students’ and other stakeholders’ needs. The insights generated inform brand strategy, messaging, market expansion, product and program development, and cross-organizational decision making that drives WGU’s growth. This role partners deeply with marketing, brand, web, analytics, and senior stakeholders across the university.

Responsibilities

• Customer & Audience Insights
  • Bring quantitative and qualitative insights into daily decision-making across the organization.
  • Design and execute research initiatives using multiple methods (e.g., surveys, interviews, observations, UX research, secondary data, syndicated sources).
  • Triangulate insights from varied data sources to build holistic stories and strategic recommendations.
  • Identify emerging trends, unmet needs, and segmentation opportunities to guide marketing, brand, and enrollment strategies.
• Market Research & Competitive Intelligence
  • Support and occasionally lead research projects that assess market conditions, competitor positioning, and category trends.
  • Collaborate with internal and external research partners to execute high-quality studies that address specific business questions.
  • Connect research initiatives across teams to avoid duplication, increase efficiency, and maximize impact.
  • Translate findings into data-driven recommendations for growth, differentiation, and prioritization.
• Brand & Messaging Partnership
  • Work closely with the marketing, brand, and communication teams to inform brand positioning and campaign strategy.
  • Transform research findings into compelling narratives using clear storytelling, data visualization, and business-relevant framing.
  • Provide evidence-based guidance on messaging, creative concepts, and go-to-market decisions.
• Cross-Organizational Collaboration
  • Build strong relationships across marketing, enrollment, academic programs, and strategy teams.
  • Help stakeholders turn ambiguous questions into structured research plans.
  • Communicate project progress and outcomes clearly, aligning with partners at each stage.
  • Facilitate broader organizational understanding and adoption of insights.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, research, analytics, social science, or related field.
• Experience: 2+ years of experience in market research, especially in competitive analysis and brand health consumer insights, or experience management.
• Experience in lieu of education: Experience with Brand Health study execution, survey, reporting, including brand consideration, awareness, equity, relevance, perception, preference.

Qualifications

• Strong command of consumer insights, research design, and data interpretation.
• Proficiency in qualitative and quantitative methods; ability to triangulate multiple data sources.
• Ability to synthesize complex information into clear, actionable insights.
• Comfort collaborating with senior stakeholders and presenting findings to non-research and non-technical audiences.
• Excellent communication, storytelling, and visualization skills.
• Strong project management and prioritization capability within a cross-functional environment.
• Familiarity with competitive intelligence tools, primary data collection platforms (e.g., Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, UserTesting), secondary data sources, and syndicated research is a plus.
• Ability to travel occasionally to support marketing initiatives or university events.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in marketing, business, communications, social science, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in market research, consumer insights, or audience strategy roles.
• Experience in higher education, adult learning, or mission-driven organizations.

Schedule

This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours). This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including required attendance at designated company summits (typically one to two per year). Additional travel may include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed.

Pay

A reasonable estimate of the current salary range is $82,700.00 - $124,000.00. The salary range takes into account a wide range of factors including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case.

Benefits

• Eligible for bonuses.
• Medical, dental, vision, telehealth, and mental healthcare.
• Health savings account and flexible spending account.
• Basic and voluntary life insurance.
• Disability coverage.
• Accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages.
• Legal and identity theft coverage.
• Retirement savings plan.
• Wellbeing program.
• Discounted WGU tuition.
• Flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual.
• Flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual.
• 11 paid holidays.
• Up to 12 weeks of parental leave.