Insight Manager – Small Businesses

New government funded initiative helping support and promote small businesses seeks an experienced insights manager to join the team. You will be part of a wider research team, and responsible for leading on SME data and insight requirements across the organisation from the initial analysis to the embedding of the recommendations. The team uses their extensive industry and subject matter knowledge to guide the organisation’s use of data and analysis to drive strategic and commercial decision-making, including direct consultancy as part of the service. The team curates the latest insights using a bespoke knowledge sharing platform.

As the Insight Manager – Small Business you will play an important role, applying specialist research skills to enhance and develop a detailed understanding of the small business environment and ensuring that this insight is effectively shared and fed into the wider business strategy. The role will support the execution of the insight and research strategy and use a range of resources to identify new insights.

You will be at the centre of, and responsible for building and sharing knowledge and market intelligence about SMEs and micro businesses to help understand how to best support small businesses. You will also support the development and maintenance of marketing collateral and propositions specific to small business audiences as well as providing trend analysis and regular insight updates.

You will use a wide range of free and paid-for market data, primary research and the use of new data and analytical techniques to enhance our audience/consumer understanding and ensure it is used effectively to achieve our corporate objectives. The intelligence and insight required will major on desk/secondary research as well as utilising our own proprietary data to provide up to date intelligence in response to internal and service provision partner requirements. You will also support the Senior Insight Manager and Head of Insight to form strong partnerships and identify collaborative insight opportunities, for example with partners with common audiences and markets.

Key tasks

• You will champion the voice of the small business and ensure that their needs are factored into business strategy, marketing and activity around trade programmes. 
• Provide assistance to the wider business in developing strategies, campaigns and activities that are effectively targeted and tailored to the intended audience using what we already know, what we can gain from suppliers and partners and by conducting new primary and secondary research as required. 
• Provide the business with strategic analysis on the challenges and opportunities for small businesses, ensuring that the organisation is well equipped with robust data, knowledge, and market intelligence on the subject. 
• Liaise with a range of internal and external teams to scope out research briefs, define the output required, conduct the research, and present the information in high quality outputs.
• Manage and deliver up-to-date and messaging documents and strategic insight. 
• Lead on the delivery of high value research requests and briefings or internal clients, in-market teams, Comms and Public Affairs teams and wider stakeholder network.
• Promote knowledge management and easy dissemination of insights across the company, including being part of the team managing the Insight knowledge portal and taking a lead role on the creation and maintenance of specific small business related ‘knowledge zone’ and developing Power BI dashboards to aid self-service. Proactively seeking and sharing new external insights and reports on an ongoing basis. 
• Lead on the development and content of research led ‘thought leadership’ reports on small businesses. 
• Help to identify and manage existing, and new, information and data sources that support our knowledge of our business audiences.
• Develop strong stakeholder management skills internally with key team members but also with partners and the wider small business community.

The ideal candidate will have primary and secondary research skills including business insights and market analysis, some of which will have ideally been gained in the small business industry, if not related areas such as b2b, local government, training or education.

• Excellent communication skills, verbal and written; proficient in editing and presenting complex data clearly and simply in the form of reports or presentations.
• Effective stakeholder management skills
• Able to organise and analyse varied data sources and identify the most important sources of evidence; understanding of statistical techniques would be a benefit. 
• Wide range of experience of using market research and analytical packages for example SPSS, Q, social media and other analytical tools alongside data visualisation for example Power BI.
• Good understanding of MRS standards, quality control processes, GDPR and data protection obligations.