Primary Research Analyst- Supervising Associate

Job Description

Job Title: 

Primary Research Analyst

Function:

EY Insights

Job Summary:

The Primary Research Analyst will execute primary research projects, with a focus on survey-based research, to identify insights that power distinctive pieces of thought leadership to help EY shape the global dialogue on topics we study and solve the toughest issues facing our clients, business and society.

As part of the EY Insights, this role will execute primary research projects to support EY’s Tier 1 thought leadership content – a curated set of high impact pieces aligned to EY’s strategic themes that provide a differentiated and innovative point of view on a topic relevant to a broad audience. Topics may be cross-cutting or focused on a specific domain. All work will be done under the guidance of the Primary Research Lead and in collaboration with EY business leaders, EY Knowledge domain analysts, subject matter experts and data specialists in the EY Research Institute, editorial teams and internal/external activation networks.

The Primary Research Analyst will be responsible for analyzing primary data, identifying business-relevant insights, and creating a compelling story and supporting material tailored to external or executive audiences. This person will have expertise in primary research methodology and best practices, with a strong focus on survey-based research. Areas of expertise should include basic and advanced techniques in survey analysis (such as sample weighting, segmentation, and regression), experience with appropriate analytics tools and software, interpretation of data and distillation of insights, survey data visualization best practices, and storytelling with data. Experience with quantitative and qualitative secondary research desirable but not required. The Primary Research Analyst will be part of a center-of-excellence team dedicated to primary research and will leverage expertise and tools across their team and the EY Insights to deliver high quality insights and output.

This position requires the ability to combine strong analytical skills, a strategic mindset, and a commercial perspective driven by an understanding of both clients’ experiences and broader marketplace forces. Collaboration and communication are crucial, as the EY Insights has a key role to play in sharing information across sectors, service lines, accounts and solutions, and using that information to further strengthen the quality of insights produced.

Essential Functions of the Job:

• Partner with the Primary Research Lead, business leaders and subject matter experts to execute primary research studies resulting in business-relevant insights on a variety of topics with the goal of identifying and testing key trends, understanding how existing trends will evolve, or what new trends may emerge.
• Select and execute the optimal analytical approach to meet project objective and deliver differentiated insights that go beyond the obvious.
• Use data to create compelling storylines and communicate them succinctly through data visualizations and PPTs.
• Leverage appropriate tools to automate the production of decks to tailor data and content to specific audiences.
• Rapidly develop an understanding of new project topics and their business/market context to inform analysis, interpretation and delivery of insights.
• Collaborate with members of their team and the EY Insights community to execute analysis, leverage subject matter expertise, identify additional data and tools to enhance output, adopt and share best practices, and deliver high quality insights.
• Work across EY to centralize our survey data and prepare it to be ingested by EY proprietary tools.
• Work in a flexible and agile manner, adjusting the depth or focus of analysis to align with publishing priorities agreed by the Global Editorial Board.
• Leverage EY’s proprietary insights and global network of colleagues to improve and enhance the quality of insights delivered, including interacting with account teams, sector and service line colleagues, domain subject matter experts, Insight teams, clients and external networks.
• Collaborate with editorial and marketing colleagues to help deliver and activate distinctive insights both internally at EY and externally to clients.
• Work with external vendors and collaborators to collect, process, and quality control data.
• Clearly and concisely communicate (both in writing and orally) analytic approaches, novel insights and distinctive points of view on research topics.
• Develop a credible internal brand within EY as subject matter expert on the practices of primary research.
• Innovate on approaches to content development; trial new formats and methodologies; and scale successful proofs of concept.

Analytical/Decision Making Responsibilities:

• Responsible for analyzing and interpreting the results of complex, global, internally- and externally-executed research projects.
• Select and implement the appropriate analytical approach to achieve Tier 1 thought leadership objectives.
• Quality control insights and outputs to ensure accuracy, integrity, and application of best practices in data handling and analysis.
• Bring together a variety of perspectives and sources to develop a compelling, business-relevant point of view.
• Work with subject matter experts to evaluate multiple business drivers and identify the root causes of key trends.

Knowledge and Skills Requirements:

• Expertise in data analysis and interpretation with 3+ years of primary research and analysis activity.
• Survey analysis, interpretation and storytelling
• Experience in survey design, including questionnaire development, logic conditions, setting respondent quotas and screeners
• Experience in survey execution, including monitoring fieldwork and data quality control
• Experience in basic survey analysis techniques including significance testing, crosstabs, and sample weighting
• Experience with advanced survey analytics techniques including segmentation, clustering, regression & driver analysis
• Experience with appropriate statistical analysis tools used in survey analysis such as SPSS, R, or Q
• Ability to critically assess survey results, distil key insights, craft a storyline and create compelling supporting material such as PPT decks
• Intellectual curiosity and a demonstrated ability to rapidly develop an understanding of new content and speak credibly with stakeholders
• Ability to navigate key stakeholders to understand what they are trying to achieve and the insights they hope to surface
• Strong communication, presentation, and storytelling skills, including best practices in survey data visualization

Primary & secondary data analysis

• Experience employing other quantitative & qualitative techniques for primary and secondary research. Examples could include analyzing numerical data sets (e.g. financial performance data), developing or conducting benchmarking exercises, conducting interviews, or analyzing unstructured data to identify insights and trends.
• Experience with python to process survey data for ingestion into EY proprietary tools is desirable, but not required
• Ability to surface the insight that aren't immediately obvious when looking at an issue / market to identify emerging trends