Sr Specialist - Research Associate

Job Summary:

- Provides a comprehensive and a differentiated perspective on a research issue based on secondary research.

- Understands key elements of management research methodology and is conversant with primary qualitative and quantitative research tools.

- Drafts complex communications aimed at an executive-level audience to communicate research results and enhance Client's image as a thought leader

- Participates as a team member in research projects that further Client's image and expertise in important business topics

- Takes leadership role in design of research activities and approaches

- Manages research project in support of Project lead

- Produces research deliverables such as sections of research reports, case studies, sidebars, and research notes independently

- Collaborates in writing research for significant business publications, such as Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, California Management Review, Outlook, CIO, Strategy & Leadership

Key Responsibilities:

- Participate in the design of research leading to valuable intellectual property and thought leadership for Client's.

- Use deductive or inductive processes to evolve a perspective on a research issue.

- Manage interview research by identifying research respondents, identifying appropriate executives within corporations and coordinating with Client's Senior Executives

- Participate in research and insight generation as a team member

- Manage and participate in all aspects of interviews:

- Track respondents in a contact database

- Schedule and participate in interview research by taking comprehensive notes of interviews

- Research background materials on respondent companies– use the Internet, academic and other published data sources to supplement interview information

- Develop, populate, and analyze statistical databases (using SPSS, SAS, Excel etc.)

- Analyze results – capture, analyze, and draw conclusions from quantitative and qualitative data

- Draft interview summaries, draft and contribute to writing and preparing research notes, articles and research reports

- Manage follow up with respondents – ensure that respondents receive copies of studies they've participated in and that they are included in subsequent mailing lists

- Draft preliminary research findings and case studies intended for a executive-level audience

- Draft presentations (from outline) for client and other executive-level conferences and seminars

- Assist in translating research solutions and ideas into practice

- Learn and apply techniques from scientific papers or other state-of-the-art sources

- Conduct independent research to strengthen knowledge and expertise of both business and technical developments, internal and external to Client's,
especially in the area of globalization and emerging economies

- Draft original research results for review by Senior Research Fellow or Executive Research Fellow

- Author research in collaboration with others for leading business publications, such as Outlook.

Education - Master’s degree in Economics or business management

Work Experience - 3-5 years’ experience conducting primary and secondary business research or other highly relevant experience

Knowledge and Skill Requirements:

- Demonstrated ability to synthesize fragmented information from multiple sources into a coherent summary

- Demonstrated significant ability to communicate persuasively with a C-level executive audience

- Demonstrated ability to develop structured communications

- Knowledge of Microsoft tools

- Demonstrated ability to conduct secondary research

- Demonstrated ability to draft research findings into targeted communication for publication

- Demonstrated ability to work as part of a team to accomplish project goals

- SAS and/or SPSS competence and firm grounding in multivariate statistics

- Exceptional written & verbal communication skills

- Demonstrated ability to write for external publication in major business/academic publications

- Demonstrated ability to conduct and summarize research using published sources at an advanced level

- Strong service orientation & ability to be personally accountable for shared project deadlines & quality standards

- Demonstrated autonomy & creativity in both concept-formation & concrete problem-solving

- Strong interpersonal skills to work with clients & other Accenture personnel in a professional & collaborative manner

- Significant experience and knowledge in quantitative and/or qualitative research methods

- Demonstrated experience managing research processes.