Sr Qualitative Research Analyst

Overview

As a Senior Research Analyst, you will act as a shared resource, collaborating closely with cross-functional teams such as Experience, Product, Technology, Marketing, and Sales. Your primary focus will be qualitative research methods to help drive customer insights, although fluency in other research methods is strongly preferred.

The Senior Research Analyst will be Mercury’s go-to expert in qualitative research methods, helping to gather direct feedback from agents and customers regarding Mercury plans. The role will also involve sharing best practices as a mentor to other analysts and decision-makers and sometimes managing outside researchers and vendors to conduct the work.

This role is perfect for a highly independent, detail-oriented individual with a strong background in conducting qualitative research, synthesizing data, and delivering actionable insights that drive business decisions. Candidates must be passionate about understanding consumer behavior, uncovering patterns across disparate data sources, and rapidly delivering strategic insights.

Responsibilities

CONDUCT & REPORT ON QUALITATIVE RESEARCH:

• Manage multiple research projects each quarter, including defining objectives, recommending research designs, recruiting participants, conducting research, analyzing results, and report and presentation writing.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to incorporate feedback from agents and customers into problem-solving sessions, product development, digital design, customer journey mapping, and training programs.
• Oversee internal and external researchers in executing research plans. Create presentations and materials (e.g., personas, journey maps, infographics) that utilize insights from the research.

ESTABLISH A SELF-SERVE QUALITATIVE RESEARCH PROCESS:

• Establish an enterprise-wide qualitative research function to support major initiatives and monitor and provide governance for the experience of collecting direct customer input.
• Create an internal “Service” to identify and access customers and agents and help guide the approach to answering topical questions.
• Introduce and conduct informal training on qualitative research techniques to create a more human-centered design process.
• The goals are to facilitate the use of qualitative research in a way that creates desired results with the least bias, is a positive experience for participating customers and agents, and expands, does not restrict, the use of qualitative research at Mercury.

ESTABLISH AN INTAKE PROCESS FOR CONSUMER & AGENT MARKET RESEARCH:

• Establish an intake process for new market research requests at Mercury.
• Collaborate with internal partners on the best means to acquire customer and agent input into the design of products and services and the resolution of key business questions.
• Consult on the research design and selection of vendors or internal resources for executing the research plan.

Qualifications

EXPERIENCE

• Over 5 years of experience in market research, utilizing quantitative and qualitative methods; must include the end-to-end design and moderation of qualitative research such as interviews, focus groups, ethnographies, secondary research reviews, and thematic coding.
• Research experience should encompass working with business (B2B) and consumer audiences (B2C).
• Experience with Insurance agents and Insurance or other highly regulated service industries (e.g., healthcare, investments) is preferred.
• Experience in training and mentoring research professionals is also preferred

EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in psychology, anthropology, design, or a related field.
• Certifications in moderation and customer experience discipline preferred (e.g., RIVA, CCXP)

SKILLS

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present findings clearly and persuasively. 
• Demonstrated ability to create tangible output from qualitative research through personas, journey maps, and other visualization assets for insight sharing and storytelling.
• Proven ability to work independently and across levels and functional groups in all remote settings
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously. 
• Strong proficiency in qualitative analysis tools and software (e.g., NVivo, Atlas.ti, Dedoose). 
• Experience and familiarity with text analytics models and panels is a plus

About the Company

Why choose a career at Mercury?

At Mercury, we have been guided by our purpose to help people reduce risk and overcome unexpected events for more than 60 years. We are one team with a common goal to help others. Everyone needs insurance and we can’t imagine a world without it.

Our team will encourage you to grow, make time to have fun, and work together to make great things happen. We embrace the strengths and values of each team member. We believe in having diverse perspectives where everyone is included, to serve customers from all walks of life.

We care about our people, and we mean it. We reward our talented professionals with a competitive salary, bonus potential, and a variety of benefits to help our team members reach their health, retirement, and professional goals.

Learn more about us here: https://www.mercuryinsurance.com/about/careers

Perks and Benefits

We offer many great benefits, including:

• Competitive compensation
• Flexibility to work from anywhere in the United States for most positions
• Paid time off (vacation time, sick time, 9 paid Company holidays, volunteer hours)
• Incentive bonus programs (potential for holiday bonus, referral bonus, and performance-based bonus)
• Medical, dental, vision, life, and pet insurance
• 401 (k) retirement savings plan with company match
• Engaging work environment
• Promotional opportunities
• Education assistance
• Professional and personal development opportunities
• Company recognition program
• Health and wellbeing resources, including free mental wellbeing therapy/coaching sessions, child and eldercare resources, and more

Mercury Insurance is an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

Pay Range