Role Description
Narrative is seeking a Senior Director/Managing Director to lead our growing Insights practice. This senior leader will drive the design, delivery, and commercialization of Narrative’s flagship research products across financial services and/or health care, manage and expand key client relationships, and spearhead business development efforts.
This role blends deep quantitative and qualitative research expertise with strong commercial instincts, client-facing leadership, and the ability to translate complex data into strategic, persuasive narratives. The Senior Director/Managing Director will partner across the firm to ensure research excellence, mentor and scale the Insights team, and represent Narrative as a thought leader across priority sectors.
Typical Responsibilities
Client Leadership & Business Development
- Serve as the senior client advisor for major accounts.
- Lead business development for Narrative’s flagship research offerings.
- Build and maintain senior-level client relationships.
- Collaborate with sector, PR, and public affairs leads to integrate research into broader campaigns, thought leadership, and reputation strategies.
Research & Product Leadership
- Oversee the design and execution of complex quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method studies—from methodological architecture to final storytelling.
- Drive the evolution and differentiation of Narrative’s research products, including new measurement models, advanced analytics, and AIenabled insight generation.
- Ensure methodological rigor, data integrity, and strategic relevance across all research engagements.
- Lead the synthesis of insights into compelling narratives, advising clients on strategy, positioning, messaging, and campaign effectiveness.
- Guide measurement frameworks for major campaigns, including KPIs, dashboards, and performance insights.
Team Leadership & Practice Building
- Mentor and develop a high-performing team of researchers, analysts, and project managers.
- Establish best practices, operational systems, and quality standards for the Insights function.
- Represent the practice internally and externally.
- Model collaboration, intellectual curiosity, and humility in your approach.
The Ideal Candidate:
Experience & Expertise
- 10+ years of experience in polling, market research, public opinion, analytics, or insights consulting.
- Significant experience
in
financial services and/or health care.
- Expertise in both quantitative and qualitative methods, including survey design, segmentation, message testing, focus groups, IDIs, and advanced analytics.
- Demonstrate success in commercializing research products.
Leadership & Influence
- Proven track record of senior client service, with the ability to advise C-suite or SVP-level stakeholders.
- Strong business development instincts—able to craft compelling proposals, identify new opportunities, and close new work.
- Executive-level communication skills.
Strategic & Operational Strength
- Deep fluency in public affairs, reputation management, issue advocacy, or campaigns.
- Strong project and team leadership skills, with experience building or scaling a research operation.
- Curiosity and adaptability to emerging methodologies, including the use of Generative AI in research and insight development.
About Narrative:
Narrative is a strategic communications firm solving today’s most demanding reputational and public affairs challenges. We leverage best practices in business, politics, and journalism to manage multi-faceted communications campaigns. Narrative’s differentiating strength is its team and culture. Our bipartisan team of professionals operates in a highly collaborative environment where we support and value our clients and each other.
That commitment is reflected in Narrative, having been recognized four years in a row as one of PR Week’s Best Places to Work and as one of PRNews’Agency Elite Top 100. Narrative offers a competitive 401k matching program and work-from-home flexibility on Fridays and around major holidays.