Company Description

Epsilon is the leader in outcome-based marketing. We enable marketing that’s built on proof, not promises. Through Epsilon PeopleCloud, the marketing platform for personalizing consumer journeys with performance transparency, Epsilon helps marketers anticipate, activate and prove measurable business outcomes. Powered by CORE ID®, the most accurate and stable identity management platform representing 200+ million people, Epsilon’s award-winning data and technology is rooted in privacy by design and underpinned by powerful AI. With more than 50 years of experience in personalization and performance working with the world’s top brands, agencies and publishers, Epsilon is a trusted partner leading CRM, digital media, loyalty and email programs. Positioned at the core of Publicis Groupe, Epsilon is a global company with over 8,000 employees in over 40 offices around the world. For more information, visit epsilon.com. Follow us on Twitter at @EpsilonMktg.

Job Description

EVP (Employee Value Proposition)

Epsilon is seeking a Director of Research & CXi to lead our research practice across primary and secondary research.   This person will be tip of the spear for driving Epsilon’s multi-billion dollar growth and our clients’ business objectives equally with ownership of scaling Epsilon’s customer experience research practice.  This is a diverse position that is responsible for growing our research partner base, establishing the research strategic agenda, modernizing our go to market, and executing data-driven research for internal Epsilon needs and client projects.  This position will report into the SVP of CRM and Loyalty|CX Strategic Consulting. 

Come join our amazing team and work alongside some of the best and brightest CX practitioners in the business. You'll find startup-like scrum teams, opportunities to collaborate, consumer-style innovation, and the opportunity to enable great experiences to millions of consumers. Your work will matter - at scale.

Sample Projects

·       Conduct research to create personas, attitudinal segments, and journey maps for a retail bank

·       Identify experience gaps and needs in path to purchase for DTC insurance carrier

·       Create, disseminate, and deliver recurring industry and competitive reviews for executives in a Quick Serve Restaurant chain

·       Partner with Loyalty Strategists to assess and score loyalty programs and CX for a specialty retailer

·       Partner with Loyalty Strategists to identify and test loyalty program earn and burn features and benefits using Epsilon consumer data and 3rd party online communities for qual

·       Compile loyalty, marketing, and promotional trends from a variety of free and paid sources on a recurring basis and disseminate findings to broad stakeholder base

·       Create a research plan to identify, design, test, validate, and pilot a new direct to consumer value prop for a CPG firm across quant and qual

Key Responsibilities

• Scope and run projects with respect to resources, approach, methods, deliverables, and external partnerships across small, medium, and large research engagements

·       Develop and deliver proposals, statements of work, client facing pitches, and relevant case studies for research initiatives that are vertically and client relevant

• Partner with internal clients to define research needs/goals and develop the appropriate methodologies and client facing proposals
• Conduct secondary research on industries, companies, marketing, loyalty, CRM, and other functional subjects with, analysis, and synthesis of business “so what” actionable takeaways
• Lead and implement qualitative and quantitative primary research using proven and innovative methodologies and techniques in partnership with Epsilon research vendors/partners or on own.

·       Use Epsilon 1P and 3P consumer data in combination with primary and secondary research to articulate powerful and impactful stories for our clients and internal stakeholders

• Lead the research of new business concepts, new products / services, new technologies, new data and AI/ML methods, and stays on the cutting-edge of innovation across relevant industries.
• Work with our digital team to mine social listening data for actionable brand and consumer insights – elevating key trends and issues to cross-functional groups.
• Disseminate research findings to various teams through communication assets such as reports, presentations, user journey maps, design principles, frameworks, workflows, day-in-the-life scenarios, and use case summaries

·       Responsible for keeping key stakeholders updated on market trends and competitor-related happenings around topics of interest.    

·       Apply business-oriented perspective to all conclusions and deliverables, drawing out the 'so what, now what' for stakeholders.  Use visuals to explain complex research methodologies and findings in actionable, digestible manner for executive audiences

Qualifications and Experience

• Ensure quality of research work, drive research excellence as well as research team compliance with relevant regulations and best practices
• Ability to lead research engagements end-end (plan, design, execute and communicate both strategic and tactical direction)
• Strong knowledge of qualitative and quantitative primary and secondary research methodologies and their application, especially human-centered and design thinking methods
• Ability to answer business questions, drive strategic planning, provide input into personas, identify and size addressable audiences, uncover key product and marketing needs, and inform/execute journey mapping
• Have a broad knowledge in primary marketing research (e.g. branding, consumer attitudes and needs, innovation) and the related quantitative methodologies (e.g. Conjoint, MaxDiff, TURF, Key Driver, Segmentation, Van Westendorp etc.)
• Experience leading and executing research activities across phases including but not limited to qualitative and quantitative data gathering, contextual inquiry, ethnography, empathy exercises, co-design sessions, synthesis methods, usability evaluations, text analytics, VOC programs, and A/B testing
• Significant subject matter expertise and experience with quant and qual human-centered design and design thinking methods
• Strong knowledge of statistics and research study design
• Experience representing primary and secondary research findings with executive leadership
• Experience working on multiple fast-paced research projects across marketing, product, and business use cases
• Ability to work successfully with constraints (industry-specific regulations, limited resources), adapt and quickly find successful work-arounds when necessary to meet project goals
• Experience managing 3rd-party vendor relationships and successful engagements with vendors
• Comfortable operating with and being effective despite ambiguity
• Bring a strong "clients first mentality" with high level of customer service
• B.A./B.S. required. M.A./M.S. in Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Human Factors, Cognitive or Experimental Psychology, Sociology, Design, Business or a related degree. M.A./M.S preferred
• Minimum of 7+ years of research experience

Nice to Have - Qualifications and Experience

• Experience conducting ethnography, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, contextual field visits, workflow analysis, surveys, usability testing and human factors studies
• Experience working with agile design and development teams
• Experience applying research to complex martech products and platforms in a technology context

·       Cognitive /behavioral research and behavioral sciences background

• Experience contributing to or leading the growth and maturation of a user research practice in a technology organization
• Proven track record influencing product direction and strategy with actionable insights
• Bring proven strategies to successfully land and expand big enterprise accounts.

Additional Information

Great People, Deserve Great Benefits
We know that we have some of the brightest and most talented associates in the world, and we believe in rewarding them accordingly. If you work here, expect competitive pay, comprehensive health coverage, and endless opportunities to advance your career.

Epsilon is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  Epsilon’s policy is not to discriminate against any applicant or employee based on actual or perceived race, age, sex or gender (including pregnancy), marital status, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, mental or physical disability, religion, creed, color, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression (including transgender status), veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local law. Epsilon also prohibits harassment of applicants and employees based on any of these protected categories.

Epsilon will provide accommodations to applicants needing accommodations to complete the application process.