Market Research Manager - Digital Technology - Centre for Innovation-00369405

Job Title: Market Research Manager - Digital Technology - Centre for Innovation

Location: Ireland

Overview of the Centre for Innovation:

A living, breathing innovation hub as an accelerator to help Accenture and its clients unlock value by design.

Our design-led, multidiscipline Centre for Innovation will research, incubate and pilot new and emerging digital technologies. Opportunities will focus on building the future in real time, partnering with clients across multiple industries and bringing together distinct skillsets to create true acceleration at scale.

Operating across all stages of the innovation spectrum, the working environment will be open and interactive. An experimentation culture combined with a disruptive brief will ensure that together we make major societal impacts.

Join us on this journey and be part of creating, building and influencing the Centre for Innovation’s future. We are looking for the people who are:

• Motivated by an open ended problem
• Passionate about reshaping the future
• Driven by embracing the unknown

Overall purpose of job:

The role we are looking to fill is Digital Research Manager, based in Accenture’s new Centre for Innovation, Dublin.

Accenture’s global Digital research team encompasses the following business areas:  Analytics, Mobility, Accenture Interactive, as well as cross-Digital topics and themes (e.g., IoT, digital channels, etc.).  The critical focus for the Digital Research Manager will be to support the growth of the overall Digital business research agenda, globally, and to fulfill growing needs as related to the area of Analytics within the global Digital practice.

The role requires a significant amount of proactivity and creativity, bringing new ideas for research projects to the attention of key stakeholders in the Digital and Technology businesses.  Responsibilities will include “selling” research projects, managing them from end to end, and delegating at least parts of them to more junior researchers.

The role combines an understanding of Digital content sources, primary and secondary research techniques, and subject matter with knowledge of Accenture and the marketplace to ensure the team’s delivery of high value research results (i.e., highly synthesized, packaged findings derived from existing information and data sources).

Working in close collaboration with colleagues in the Centre for Innovation, the Digital Research Manager would be expected to help develop new insights and innovative solutions that serve Accenture’s clients globally.

On any given day, this researcher will be exposed to related topics and trends but will also be asked to support X-Digital themes, such as Digital strategy, Digital delivery, competitor research and/or strategic market analysis.  He/she will also become knowledgeable about newer/emerging areas of digital and analytics technology, such as cognitive computing, machine learning, etc.,  and support market sizing/forecasting, buyer values, opportunity assessments and competitor assessment for Digital/Analytics leadership..

Key Responsibilities/Accountabilities:

• Establishing and executing the overall global Digital research strategy, working closely with other members of the global Digital research team, and supporting the global Analytics research agenda
• Building effective relationships with clients in the Practice and their support functions (Marketing, Sales, Operations, etc.) both in the Dublin Centre for Innovation and beyond, to ensure sponsorship and utilization of research services 
• Supporting Accenture clients and business development teams with varying types of analysis: company profiles, market segment profiles, analysis of Accenture competitors, ecosystem analysis, issue-based research, data-driven research, financial analysis, business capability-related research
• Building digital research assets that differentiate Accenture Research in the market
• Representing Accenture Research in client-facing situations, for instance in proposals, workshops and live presentations which will be part of the regular activities in the Centre for Innovation
• Deepening and refining our expertise in the digital sources and subject matter (issues and trends) that are relevant
• Identifying new sources of relevant content and contribute to evaluations of external content for acquisition
• Helping develop more junior researchers to position them to meet client demand
• Actively contributing to Accenture both locally and globally. Taking part in team building activities, supporting the Centre for Innovation leadership, your local Accenture Research lead and the global Digital research team (e.g., contributing to team training, sharing your knowledge and actively participating in other team events).

Requirements:

Experience -

• Deep knowledge of the digital landscape and related technology and trends with ideally market research experience or a demonstrated equivalent skill.  Candidates preferably from a consulting environment, IT analyst firm, digital agency, communications provider or high tech industry. Working experience collaborating in a team of research professionals, coaching/managing of team members would be a plus.
• Working closely to position and/or sell research services/deliverables with senior executive customers/clients.
• Experience of writing reports, thought leadership, and presentations for delivery to internal and external audience
• Experience of forecasting or statistical analysis would be of significant benefit, in addition to use of advanced tools to do so
• A proven track record of market and competitor intelligence projects in the Analytics area would be a definite advantage.

Additional:

• Knowledge of X-Digital and Analytics-related topics and Accenture offerings: Knowledge of Digital transformation effects, impact of digital disruption, Analytics/Big Data/Advanced Analytics market knowledge. Understanding of Accenture’s Digital Business organization structure, business areas, and key go-to-market offerings where analytics plays a critical part.  Familiar with external market analysis and trends in these key areas and related technologies, especially as they relate to Advanced Analytics tools and services & Big Data, along with competitor positioning and offerings.
• Understanding and awareness of the dynamics of the enterprise Digital and IT industry, its history, and key stakeholders
• Foundational knowledge of some segments within the advanced technology & architecture space a plus, for example: Wearable Computing, Industrial Internet/IoT, Cognitive Computing, Open Source Innovation, Data Modernization, Information Architecture
• Research skills: able to properly scope work, develop research proposals, and deliver high value, high-end research to Accenture and its clients.  Understands various primary and secondary research methodologies and techniques, including when and how to apply them.
• Strong written and oral communications skills, including the ability to understand and define clearly the research requirements and expectations of the customer. Experience in marketing and selling a service to a specified customer group.
• Analytical ability: we want researchers who have demonstrated ability to turn large data sets into insights and can draw out the implications of the research they do and tell a compelling, business-focused story about the data that is relevant to Accenture’s business and clients.
• Personal credibility: to be successful in this role you need to be able to build a strong working relationship with some of the most senior executives in the practice and Accenture’s clients and hold your own with them in discussions about the industry. So you will be confident, outgoing, able to talk knowledgeably about your subject; but never arrogant. You also need to be able to work collaboratively with others both in person and remotely.
• Strong skills with productivity tools such as PowerPoint, Word and Excel as well as knowledge of visualization tools such as Tableau
• Last but not least, a strong experience of working on international research projects within multicultural teams is a must, as this role involves a critical dimension of contributing to global Digital research projects and cross-pollinating with colleagues from all over the world. Proven ability to manage multiple researchers on cross-border/cross-team research projects – including end-to-end project management skills (e.g. scoping, budgeting, selling, staffing, QA, etc.)

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree. 
• A post-graduate degree/qualification in engineering, technology, business or marketing is also a plus

About Accenture Research:

Accenture researchers provide data, analysis and insights to Accenture, working closely with the senior executives in each of the industries, geographies and businesses. We work in four main areas:-

New business opportunities: helping Accenture understand markets and companies and identifying ways in which we can help clients become high-performance businesses and governments. A typical analysis might be an in-depth company profile to look at a company’s financial and strategic health or an overview of a sector of the market to identify trends or assess the impact of regulation, mergers and other landmark events.

Working directly with clients: a portion of our research is on client engagements where we work alongside our colleagues from the practice to provide research and industry expertise. Typical work with our clients might be to benchmark a capability or function; to provide best practice in an industry or project future trends and their likely impact on the business.

Developing points of view: Accenture is seeking to continue to build on its thought leadership programme, developing original, cutting-edge points of view to use with clients, the media and in conferences. The Digital research Manager will be expected to contribute digital analysis, insight and perspective to these projects.

Support to Accenture Growth & Strategy: Accenture Research is part of the Growth & Strategy unit which is dedicated to the formulation and implementation of Accenture’s Strategy. Typical work includes analysis of competitors’ moves, market trends and impacts for Accenture.