Insight Director (Fixed Term-One Year Contract)

About the role

As an Insight Director, you will take ownership of commercial performance, team wellbeing and development, and client happiness across complex R&D, innovation and full-service insight projects. Acting as a trusted senior advisor to clients, you will confidently discuss business strategy, budgets, research approaches and growth opportunities, while leading high-quality project delivery from proposal through to debrief.

You will be accountable for achieving financial targets, managing a healthy pipeline, ensuring efficient team utilisation, and inspiring colleagues internally and externally through strong leadership, commercial thinking and sector expertise. You will act as an escalation point and have ultimate accountability for your team’s motivation, efficiency, and utilisation.

Responsibilities

• Project management: Accountable for all aspects of projects, working closely with wider project teams to ensure projects follow the Blueprint and are delivered on time and to budget. Manage project teams effectively, ensuring adequate junior and senior support. Responsible for team engagement, motivation, and organisation, as well as accuracy and quality across all research inputs and deliverables (data, reports, presentations, video edits).
• Fieldwork: Ensure fieldwork processes are adhered to and managed smoothly, including detailed testing and checks of research materials (screeners, questionnaires). Oversee key aspects of fieldwork and hosting in person as required.
• Client management: Own and lead complex client accounts as a trusted advisor and expert in R&D and innovation. Demonstrate commercial understanding of clients’ business, drive ROI of research, and develop commercially-focused insight recommendations. Proactively seek client feedback and strengthen relationships with key stakeholders. Act as the key escalation point for conflict management.
• Client/project deliverables: Accountable for high-quality outputs (data, reports) with clear, actionable, and commercially-focused insights. Lead client debriefs independently and seek ways to improve client service and deliverables.
• Commercials, proposals & financials: Accountable for annual financial targets and delivering team/project-level financial goals. Demonstrate commercial thinking to drive gross and net profit while growing existing clients. Write winning proposals with accurate costings, manage project budgets, and ensure accurate financial reporting. Actively manage your pipeline and suggest innovations to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
• Thought leadership & business development: Drive Blue Yonder’s external presence through industry events, conferences, LinkedIn, and internal events. Proactively identify and pursue opportunities to support unmet client needs, cross-sell, and up-sell.
• Team leadership: Be an inspiring leader, accountable for team satisfaction, motivation, retention, feedback, career planning, and culture. Demonstrate excellent delegation, negotiation, and conflict management skills. Handle ambiguity, develop solutions, and maintain a solution-focused approach.

Requirements

• 10+ years’ relevant industry experience, ideally within a full-service agency, consumer insight, product testing, R&D, or innovation research environment.
• A degree in a relevant field (e.g., market research, social sciences, marketing, business) is helpful but not essential.
• Right to work in the UK (proof required at interview).
• Ability to reliably commute or relocate to Leeds, LS15 8GB before starting work.

About You

You are an experienced insight leader with deep expertise in R&D, innovation, product, and consumer research. You combine strategic client counsel with strong commercial judgement, confident project leadership, and the ability to inspire and motivate teams. Comfortable operating in grey areas, you shape solutions, manage senior stakeholders, and translate research into clear, actionable recommendations that drive commercial value for clients.

Pay

Competitive starting salary range of £58,000 to £65,000 based on qualifications and experience.

Benefits

• Flexible working location and hybrid working.
• Support for work-from-home needs.
• 24 days holiday (plus bank holidays) + one additional day per year up to 27 days.
• Extra day off on your birthday.
• Volunteering day every year.
• Company pension scheme.
• Company profit share scheme.
• Fully renovated flexible/hybrid office (2024).
• Bi-annual promotion and salary review windows.
• 2 major company parties a year + monthly socials.
• Structured training throughout the year.

About Blue Yonder, a Curion Company

We specialise in delivering impactful insights to the world’s top CPG companies, helping them develop winning, repeatedly purchased products. Our deep data-driven product insights, sensory expertise, and state-of-the-art consumer centres enable us to uncover responses to critical client objectives. With over five decades of experience in the product testing industry, we guide clients in every stage of their product development, connecting brands to consumers at every step.

An innovator in the industry, we recently developed the Curion Score™, a groundbreaking benchmarking product testing method trusted within the industry. As one of the largest product and consumer insights companies in the U.S. and U.K., we have built a reputation for excellence and trust among leading consumer brands. Our commitment to innovation and expertise makes us a valuable partner for companies looking to develop and launch successful products.