Upwork ($UPWK) is the world’s work marketplace. We help connect companies large and small with top independent talent from around the world. Simply put, our mission is to create economic opportunities so people have better lives.

Every year, more than $2 billion of work is done through Upwork by skilled independent professionals who want the freedom of working anytime, anywhere.

As a Senior Manager, User Research on the User Research team, you will drive research for one of our company’s top strategic pillars! By owning key research workstreams, you will have the opportunity to generate insights that help reinvent how companies and talent connect and work together. You will bring the power of insights to design and business decisions. You will be empowered by a strong design and research culture to conduct research that results in products, messages, and experiences that help millions of users collaborate with distributed teams!

Your Responsibilities:

• Lead the research strategy for several work-streams within one of the company’s top priority pillars
• Manage a team of 4-7 researchers - coach, mentor, and support them in their work and in their professional growth
• Shape learning objectives and prioritize opportunities in partnership with Design, Product, Analytics, Marketing, and Engineering teams
• Understand and incorporate sophisticated technical and business requirements into research
• Bring the power of insight to every important business and design decision, and solve sophisticated problems in partnership with a variety of cross-functional peers, including Data Scientists, Economists, Policy specialists, and Communication strategists
• Develop research practices that account for the dynamics of a dual-sided marketplace and network effects, and meet the needs of a fast-paced environment
• Identify relevant metrics for reporting on progress relative to goals
• Define and launch UX metrics and develop programs for measuring and monitoring the end-to-end user experience
• Streamline research operations in collaboration with Design Ops, Customer Services, and Analytics
• Increase user empathy across the organization. Be the subject matter authority and advocate for our customers’ needs
• Be a role model for sustainable ways of working and for inclusive behaviors, in line with our company values

What it takes to catch our eye:

• Proven experience as a User Research Manager in a fast-paced company
• Experience hiring, growing and retaining high-performing researchers
• Excellent scoping and project management skills
• Demonstrable ability to balance multiple priorities yielding positive results
• Proven experience with Qual, Quant, and mixed methods, and the effective sequencing of attitudinal and behavioral studies
• Working knowledge and passion for statistics and the principles of experiment design
• Track record of translating business needs into research questions, and insights into business impact
• Experience conducting research in B2B, B2C, C2B, and C2C, or at least two of these models
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, and extensive experience partnering seamlessly with cross-functional partners
• Experience telling stories that resonate, using words, visuals, and data, as needed
• A self-starter, “tinker” attitude that proactively drives explorations
• Proven high bar for quality and attention to detail
• ***Portfolio is required***

Come change how the world works.

At Upwork, you’ll shape talent solutions for how the world works today. We are a remote-first organization working together to create exciting remote work opportunities for a global community of professionals.  While we have physical offices in San Francisco and Chicago, currently we also support hiring of corporate full-time employees in 15 states in the United States. Please speak with a member of our recruitment team to determine whether you are located in a state in which we are hiring corporate full-time employees. 

Our vibrant culture is built on shared values and our mission to create economic opportunities so that people have better lives. We foster amazing teams, put our community first, and have a bias toward action. We encourage everyone to bring their whole selves to work and grow together through development opportunities, mentorship, and employee resource groups. Oh yeah, we’ve also got amazing benefits.

Check out our Life at Upwork page to learn more about the employee experience.   

Upwork is proudly committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we never discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

#LI-JS1

#LI-remote