Posted September 20, 2022

Qualitative Know-It-All

Smarty Pants  | Jonesborough, TN, US

The Know-It-All role is typically characterized by:
Research Project-Based
o Leading small- to mid-scale projects with a large degree of autonomy:
• Ensuring creation of timelines, research assets, workflow plans, etc.
• Drafting project pricing estimates and monitoring to ensure project profitability
• Developing (or ensuring the development of) various project documents (screeners, guides, research activities, etc.)
• Moderating in-person and remote 1:1's, groups and/or communities
• Serving as a key quality control person throughout project lifecycle
• Analyzing and reviewing data to pull key themes, insights and develop storylines for learnings
• Adding value/implications/opportunities to others' deliverables
• Authoring and/or finalizing high-quality, story-driven reports and deliverables
• Writing (or finalizing) toplines and full report outlines
• Supervising junior colleagues in project support and logistics tasks
o Work on larger, more strategic projects in partnership with senior leaders

Research Client-Based
o Supporting new business development by scoping and contributing to the proposal process
o Leading the daily communications with clients related to project process/status, etc.
o Confidently presenting research findings to clients - in person or remotely

Organizational
o Leading, training and mentoring junior colleagues - reviewing and providing constructive feedback on draft deliverables
o Shepherding project team members to work in unison to successfully complete initiatives
o Providing greater internal guidance across the organization, sharing broadly, in 1:1 and small group settings

Smarty Pants only hires leaders and leaders-in-training. This position is for the former – a strong leader and business mentor to clients and supporting team members.

This role is dedicated to the management and execution of primary qualitative research projects and mentorship of junior colleagues who support those initiatives.

More specifically, candidates for this position must:
* Must hold a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field – with good grades and/or demonstrated high academic achievement
* Must have a minimum of five years of relevant work experience
* Must be bright - academically and socially, naturally curious about people, and highly skilled at applying that curiosity in a commercial context
* Must have a passion for market research and a strong understanding of quantitative and/or hybrid methods and how to execute them
* Must have strong people intuition and use great judgement in a professional context
* Must be a strong relationship builder (with colleagues and clients)
* Must have strong attention to detail, possess strong time management and organizational skills
* Must be able to autonomously assess importance of tasks and prioritize, pivot and “juggle” accordingly
* Must proactively plan and ensure completion of full research projects while effectively balancing project needs with accuracy and speed and effectively balancing personal and team members’ time, efficiency and well-being
* Must be able to independently manage processes and logistics of smaller scale custom research projects and consistently produce research documents that are thorough, polished and close to client-ready
* Must be able to personally execute quantitative and/or hybrid fieldwork
* Must be able to lead clients in service of successful project planning and execution
* Must produce strong analytic thinking and writing evidenced by deliverables featuring strong insights, implications and opportunities
* Must be an adept, proactive communicator across audiences who is confident in sharing ideas and recommendations – internally and externally, verbally and in writing
* Must be able to successfully supervise others who support primary research processes and deliverables and effectively mentor more junior colleagues
* Must be a polished and confident presenter
* Must be able to effectively create visually compelling, well-written documents in Word, PPT, Excel and be Teams and Google Suite savvy
* Must be “plugged in” to pop culture, brands, trends, social media and current events
* Must be proactive, have a strong drive to consistently exceed expectations and overdeliver, be open to mentorship, and be solutions-focused
* Must have a positive, generous disposition, be a collaborative, supportive colleague and be open-minded, patient, tolerant and empathetic

Smarty Pants is a learning organization. We believe in supporting the next generation of talent to become their best and brightest. Some examples of developmental activities and opportunities at Smarty Pants include:
* Structured performance reviews at six months and annually
* Structured career development sessions with internal coaches
* Regular 1:1s with project and team leaders
* A company “buddy system”
* Smarty Pants University (formal training on methods, leadership, consumer segments, etc.)
* IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity Academy) training throughout the year
* “Brain Food” personal professional development plan (of reading, conference attendance, webinars, etc.)
* Daily feedback and constructive mentorship on opportunities for growth
* Bi-monthly meetings (and an open-door policy) with the company’s “Head of Happiness”
* Participation on at least one Smarty Pants committee (e.g., giving, welcoming, methods, IDEA, etc.)
* Boundless leadership opportunities (on teams, across the organization, with clients)
* A flexible advancement plan that is based on employee growth rather than time or formulas

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