Working as a senior leader of the Consumer Insights team, the Director of Product Insights will act as a strategic business partner for the brand teams across the Inspire portfolio. This role is the subject matter expert (SME) for all things related to the menu and product testing, validation, and tracking and influences brand strategy and decision-making throughout the product development process. This role will lead a team of research professionals who work closely with the Culinary and Brand Marketing teams to deliver insights and recommendations that inform the innovation pipeline for Inspire Brand's portfolio of brands. The Director of Product Insights represents the "voice of the consumer" and acts as a thought-leader in product testing design and approach. This person will be experienced in identifying research methodologies, executing product testing, and turning data into actionable recommendations for maximum impact. This role will also manage vendor relationships with product testing and research partners. This role is based at the Atlanta Headquarters, but is eligible for flexible office hours. Expected travel is 15-20% for research and occasional visits with brand stakeholders in Oklahoma City (Sonic) and Boston (Dunkin').

Responsibilities

• Interface with key brand leaders (VP/CMO) to develop product testing roadmaps and drive organizational priorities
• Manage and optimize the product research processes that inform product ideation, development, and execution. These include product concept screeners, concept tests, CLT taste tests, and buyer reactions studies.
• Conduct ad hoc research and analytics that inform menu design and product optimization (e.g. TURF studies, product improvement focus groups, menu testing)
• Identify and provide actionable insights from industry sources and consumer trends to impact brand strategy and potential product innovation
• Lead, coach, and manage the product insights team to deliver timely product research, project deliverables, insights, and analysis
• Socialize insights across Inspire Brands, making connections between business partners where relevant
• Lead the ongoing reporting and data visualization of product satisfaction and menu awareness
• Lead the vision for the Product Insights organization to add new capabilities based on evolving brand needs while continually scrutinizing and reevaluating best practices across Inspire Brands to ensure content is actionable and relevant

Education and Work Experience

• Minimum 10 years of experience in Market Research, Consumer Insights, or related field
• Bachelor's Degree in Marketing, Business, Statistics, Social Science, or similar
• Preferred: Master's Degree in Market Research or related field

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Significant experience designing and leading both qualitative and quantitative research studies, with expertise in techniques and methodologies
• A passion for solving business problems using data-driven methods and information (data discovery, data visualization, and data mining)
• Experience with survey programming tools such as Qualtrics or Decipher; knowledge of SPSS is a plus
• Ability to synthesize and translate consumer research into strong actionable insights in order to address business challenges
• Proven collaboration, strategic thinking, and leadership skills
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, especially the ability to explain difficult concepts and insights in applicable business terms. Strong ability to summarize insights into (PowerPoint) presentations in clear and understandable calls to action
• Experience leading a team and influencing senior management thinking
• Strong analytical, project and time management skills
• Ability to travel 15-20% of time

Inspire Brands is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes nearly 32,000 Arby's, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin', Jimmy John's, Rusty Taco and SONIC Drive-In restaurants worldwide.

We're made up of some of the world's most iconic restaurant brands, but we're much more than just a restaurant company. We're a team of hundreds of thousands who individually and collectively are changing the way people eat, drink and gather around the table. We know that food is much more than a staple-it's an experience. At Inspire, that's our purpose: to ignite and nourish flavorful experiences.