Senior Director, Insights & Research

Role Description :

 Narrative is seeking a Senior 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 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.