Position Purpose:

The Director, Research serves as the strategic and operational leader for all research initiatives at WorldatWork. This role drives the vision, methodology, and execution of both market research and topical research efforts to deliver evidence-based insights that inform business decisions, strengthen customer understanding, and advance the total rewards and HR professions.

The leader will oversee a portfolio of qualitative and quantitative research projects—ranging from customer and market intelligence to industry studies that shape thought leadership. The Director partners closely across the organization to translate data into actionable insights and ensures research outputs meet the highest standards of rigor, relevance, and strategic impact.

Primary Responsibilities:

Lead and develop a team of research analysts and external partners to enhance research capabilities.

• Manage research budgets, timelines, and vendor relationships effectively.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with marketing, product, content, events, and other departments to align research projects with business needs.
• Oversee concurrent data collection projects, ensuring proper scheduling, resource allocation, and vendor/partner coordination.
• Lead end-to-end design, execution, and delivery of quantitative and qualitative research studies, including surveys, focus groups, interviews, experimental designs, and mixed-method approaches.
• Translate complex data into compelling narratives for external audiences, including members, partners, sponsors, and the broader HR community.
• Ensure effective presentation of research data, including the conceptualization and design of charts, infographics, and reports.
• Write or oversee the creation of narrative analyses to explain research results for use in reports, briefs, articles, and other content.
• Identify and evaluate funding opportunities from government agencies, private foundations, and academic or research institutions that align with organizational priorities.
• Lead the development, writing, and submission of compelling grant proposals, including research narratives, methodologies, and supporting documentation.
• Collaborate with research, finance, and cross-functional teams to build accurate project budgets and ensure alignment with grant requirements.

Market/CX Research:

• Develop and implement comprehensive market research strategies that align with WorldatWork’s business goals.
• Present actionable insights and recommendations to senior leadership, supporting product development, marketing, and growth strategies.

Topical Research:

• Manage a dynamic topical research program, adapting projects to meet evolving content and delivery needs, while aligning with organizational priorities.
• Partner with internal and external experts (practitioners, consultants, and academics) to extract key findings and real-world applications from research results.
• Lead the creation of derivative content, such as press releases, articles, presentations, and multimedia based on topical research findings.
• Drive the transition from traditional research reporting to interactive, web-native deliverables, including revenue-generating enhancements.

*Provide outstanding customer service both internally and external, while performing other duties as assigned.

*Individuals may perform other duties as assigned, including work in other functional areas to cover absences or relief, to equalize peak work periods, or otherwise to contribute to the organization when needed.

Qualifications:

• MBA or Master’s in a research-related field strongly preferred; bachelor’s degree required.
• 10+ years of experience in research leadership roles, preferably in HR, total rewards, workforce, or professional association environments.
• Proven ability to manage research projects from inception to completion, including scoping, design, execution, quality control, and presentation.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Demonstrated success in leading research teams and delivering meaningful results.
• Strong organizational and time management skills to handle large-scale or competing projects.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to identify key variables, spot patterns, and develop quick, data-driven solutions.
• Expertise in both qualitative and quantitative research methods, with proficiency in relevant data analysis tools.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to translate complex data into clear, actionable insights.
• Strong leadership and project management capabilities.

Preferred Skills:

• Familiarity with total rewards practices and terminology to communicate effectively with professionals in the field.
• Knowledge of emerging tools and methodologies in market research.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Manages Research team

At WorldatWork, we offer a competitive and comprehensive total rewards package. The hiring range for this position is $140,000 to $160,000 plus eligibility for an annual discretionary bonus with a target of 15% of base salary. This position may be worked remotely. The benefits for this position include ongoing professional development training opportunities, health, dental, vision, well-being, health savings, flexible spending, retirement, and annual discretionary bonus. For a further description of our benefits please go to https://worldatwork.org/careers.

Disclaimer - The above information on this job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job. Nothing in the job description constitutes an express or implied contract of employment or warranty of any benefits. Employment at WorldatWork is a voluntary employment-at-will relationship for no definite period of time.