We are recruiting an enthusiastic and driven Associate Director, who thrives on being part of a high-performing team and with a proven, strong track record of working in a research agency in a quantitative role.

Overview of the successful candidate

You must possess experience in building great relationships with clients beyond the transactional, demonstrating a genuine interest in them and their business issues.

You need to bring with you good knowledge and experience of CX frameworks and tools and, ideally, experience across a range of industries and types of work.

A passion for uncovering insight and always thinking “so what? What should the client do with this insight? What impact would it have on the client’s business?”

You will lead by example, be a role model who is easy to work with, is prepared to get their hands dirty, has time for and enjoys coaching others.

Specific skills we are looking for a candidate to:

Contribute to and support the Service Line Head in building expertise and service excellence – support pitches, execute and deliver with excellence in a profitable manner. Maintain close relationships with clients to maximise retention and enhance the possibility of winning new business Monitor client satisfaction, identify improvement areas and take appropriate action. Collaborate effectively with other Service Lines in key pitches and new business development. Prepare winning proposals; continuously produce and upgrade the high standards of outputs to clients. Review project design and give professional advice to clients to ensure the most cost-effective and appropriate methodology and techniques are used. Lead the team to provide professional and precise all-around service in project design, supervision, and analysis to ensure meaningful and value-added findings are generated from projects. Prepare reports and write conclusions with strategic and actionable recommendations. Deliver debriefs and presentations to clients, tailoring their approach to different audiences. Streamline/ establish best practices to increase the efficiency of work processes for the team. Identify and develop talents and their career path; motivate staff with appropriate incentives, recognition, and training.

Requirements for the role

Knowledge and Technical Skills:

At least 10 years relevant research experience at agency or client-side, with 4 years of management experience, including P&L ownership. Strong leadership and ability to motivate and develop teams with mixed personalities and cultures. A proven track record of supervising a sizable team, commercial flair, and well-developed clientele.

People Skills:

Excellent leadership skills and the ability to engender trust and respect from colleagues and clients alike. Culturally sensitive, and the ability to relate to people at all levels across internally and externally. A curious nature and the ability to solve problems in an innovative manner. Excellent communication skills with proficiency in written and spoken English. Mandarin is desirable but not compulsory. Good time management skills, able to work under pressure and deadlines. Superior presentation and negotiation skills. Good planning and prioritisation skills. Commitment to delivering results and being customer-focused.