Director, Content Insights

Job Description

Overview and Responsibilities

The MTV Entertainment Group consists of media/content brands in the entertainment, music & youth space, including MTV, VH1, Logo, CMT, Comedy Central, TV Land, Paramount Network, Smithsonian and Pop TV. The Research and Insights Department is responsible for developing a deep understanding of audiences' attitudes and behaviors, as well as general cultural trends, in order to inform the organization's strategic decision-making. Within this broader Research department sits the Unscripted Content Insights team, and this team is currently looking for someone to fill a Director position! The ideal candidate is an experienced Media Research professional with a deep knowledge and real passion for media, entertainment and consumer insight. You are primarily responsible for monitoring the health of key unscripted series within the MTV Entertainment family and testing ideas for potential new content. You are also responsible for monitoring general audience/cultural trends in an effort to keep the organization ahead of the curve as it relates to the content we build.

The Director role will focus on conducting research and developing audience insights through a variety of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Reporting into the VP, the Director will help lead the design, implementation and analysis of custom research to inform Press, Programming, Development, Marketing, and Social Media strategy for unscripted content within the MTV Entertainment Group. While this role will work across the brands in the MTV Entertainment Group portfolio, it will focus on MTV and VH1. You will primarily work on research projects across linear, social and digital platforms, as well as some more long-term strategic projects related to our audience and their connection to our brands.

Specific responsibilities
• Conceptualize and conduct proprietary quantitative and qualitative studies focused on targeted audience needs (e.g. show concept/pilot testing, series maintenance, creative testing, consumer deep-dives) as well as more general cultural trends, resulting in strategic reports for key partners
• Partner with the Linear and Digital Development teams to improve multi-platform performance of key franchises as well as identify potential programming ideas/white space opportunities in both the traditional TV space and digital content space
• Collaborate with analytics teams to deliver show recaps, discern ratings and make the connection to audience insights
• Effectively handle external vendors by monitoring key timelines and details, including recruitment of respondents, development of research instruments, analysis of data, and delivery of a report with relevant findings
• Develop a strong working relationship with colleagues across multiple teams within the organization; enthusiastically seek out projects from key internal clients while also balancing ad-hoc requests
• Partner with leadership to handle workflow and priorities
• Manage and mentor more junior team members

Basic Qualifications
• At least 7+ years of related research experience, including Marketing, Creative and Content Research, in the Entertainment/Media industry
• Bachelor degree or higher
• Background in designing, executing, and analyzing qualitative research, such as focus groups, in-depth interviews, media diaries, and other qualitative methods to go beyond the obvious to build rich insight
• Strong experience in quantitative research, including survey design, creative question writing, sample design, and analysis

Additional Qualifications
• Familiarity and/or proficiency with Nielsen ratings data, YouGov, MRI, YPulse, E-Poll, Gartner is a plus
• Demonstration of innovative thinking in terms of research methodologies
• Ability to turn complex insights into clear, easy-to-understand, and visually compelling deliverables (e.g., presentations, one-sheets, weekly newsletters, etc.) that tell thematic, cohesive stories vs. just reporting facts and figures
• Ability to use multiple data streams (e.g., custom research, syndicated research, secondary resources, ratings data, digital analytics, etc.) to effectively communicate holistic insights to the business
• Interest in tracking/analyzing cultural trends
• Experienced presenter who is comfortable presenting to partners and senior staff; proven ability to internalize data and easily speak to it when presenting
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail, with strong analytic and project management abilities
• Highly organized, collaborative self-starter with the ability to work under pressure, set priorities, balance multiple small and large-scale projects and meet tight deadlines
• Excellent interpersonal skills which will enable candidate to interact with a wide range of personalities and establish effective relationships at all levels of the organization
• Experience managing and developing 1-2 direct reports
• Ability to moderate focus groups and/or interviews is a plus
• Love of all things television & pop culture

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-gq6566-18-191-254-0-42 in your application.