Research Manager – Client Side
* Location: London or various offices in major UK cities
* Flexible working – no office mandate
* Excellent benefits
* Work with brands within Retail, Sport & Hospitality
About the role
A global professional services organisation is seeking a Research Manager to deliver high-quality, commercially focused research and insight across the Retail, Sport & Hospitality sectors.
This newly created position sits within a growing Research & Intelligence function, focused on helping client teams understand their markets, spot growth opportunities, and shape strategic engagement plans. The role is primarily desk-based (secondary research), offering the chance to influence commercial decisions, market positioning, and client development at both sector and account level.
The successful candidate will act as a trusted research and insight partner, combining analytical rigour, commercial understanding, and creative thinking to produce actionable intelligence that supports business strategy and client relationships.
Key responsibilities
* Conduct in-depth desk research and analysis on clients, competitors, and market trends across Retail, Sport & Hospitality.
* Produce clear, strategic outputs - such as SWOT or PESTEL analyses - to inform opportunity assessments and business planning.
* Provide targeted insights to support client pitches, account planning, and go-to-market activity.
* Identify and analyse opportunities by assessing client strategies (e.g. M&A, international expansion, diversification) and mapping where the organisation’s expertise can add value.
* Deliver strategic and competitor intelligence, including analysis of account data and benchmarking of competitor service offerings.
* Track and interpret emerging trends - for example, the rise of Agentic AI and its potential impact on consumer engagement, driving opportunities in retail, sport, and hospitality.
* Collaborate with senior stakeholders to develop thought leadership and market commentary on sector themes, sometimes incorporating client interviews or partner input.
* Synthesize complex data and information into clear, commercially relevant insight for senior audiences.
* Support innovation in research delivery, exploring new tools, data sources, and the use of AI to enhance insight generation.
What we’re looking for
The organisation is open to candidates from market research, market intelligence, consulting, or professional services backgrounds who bring strong analytical and commercial skills.
Essential experience
* Around 5+ years’ experience delivering market, client, or competitor research within Retail, FMCG, or Sport sectors.
* Proven ability to conduct desk/secondary research and interpret data from multiple information sources.
* Strong quantitative or mixed-methods research grounding.
* Skilled in synthesising complex information into actionable insight.
* Comfortable managing multiple stakeholders and priorities in a fast-paced environment.
* Confident communicator, able to present findings clearly and persuasively.
* Able to work autonomously while collaborating effectively across teams.
Desirable
* Experience in a professional services, consulting, or corporate strategy environment.
* Experience producing structured strategic analyses (e.g. SWOT, PESTEL) and interpreting financial and corporate information such as annual reports.
* Strong presentation and storytelling skills; ability to influence through insight.
* Proficiency with Excel, PowerPoint, and ideally Power BI or other visualisation tools.
The opportunity
This is an exciting chance to join a high-performing, insight-led team in a global professional services environment, where your research will directly inform client strategy, sector development, and business growth. You’ll work alongside engaged senior stakeholders in a collaborative, forward-thinking culture that values curiosity, initiative, and impact.