Design Research Manager

Newell is a leading $10B global consumer products organization with over 29,000 employees and more than 100 beloved brands. Newell's vision is to become a consumer led, innovation powerhouse and growth engine that is a force for good and an amazing place to work, grow and thrive! We are on a journey to accelerate brand growth by unlocking powerful consumer insights that generate disruptive and high incremental innovations.

The Field Research Specialist will engage with and observe key stakeholders (choosers, users and patrons) in the field. They will identify frustrations, unmet needs, and opportunities to inform and enhance our innovation pipeline. By asking the right questions, listening empathetically, observing, they will find a range of insights to bring back to the product development teams. Their depth of knowledge in our existing product portfolio and near term funnel will inform those insights.

The Field Research Specialist will work with cross functional partners (Consumer Insights, Marketing, R&D) to plan and execute all aspects of field research visits. They will primarily spend their time in the field at commercial facilities interacting with choosers, users, and patrons to uncover key insights to fuel future product development activities. When not in the field, they will be planning for their next visit, and be analyzing, synthesizing, and sharing out results from their previous one. Their insights, learnings, and observations will be shared out to cross functional partners to build the future of our product development roadmap.

The Field Research Specialist will coordinate with cross functional partners to develop their network across many types of commercial facilities such as hotels, hospitals, schools, airports, stadiums, distribution centers, office buildings, and more. They will develop a deep knowledge of our core product categories (Washroom, Cleaning, Refuse, Material Handling, Safety, Foodservice).

Travel is expected to ramp to 50% - 60% of their time.

RESPONSIBILITIES :

Field research

-Execute field research trips at our core verticals.

-Perform interviews with key facility choosers, end users, and patrons.

-Observe with empathy, seek to understand process, challenges, frustrations, inefficiencies known and unknown.

-Share potential product or feature solutions to understand how they are received and utilized

-Seed pre-production samples for use/feedback and coordinate field testing to validate production readiness. Expedite NPD feedback to inform potential disaster avoidance or product refinement.

Analysis, Synthesis, and Share Out

-Ability to bring back key findings to the organization to support funnel development.

-Findings may be opportunities for new spaces, new products, new product features. May be insights, frustrations, unmet needs.

-Use data driven methods to sort through findings and determine the most critical findings.

-Employ vivid imagery and video to allow the organization to "be in the field" with you and relay key information

Planning

-Utilize your own or our internal network to arrange field research visits and lay out field research cadence.

-Meet with core team to build the plan for research visits.

-Align schedules with internal partners for visits and individuals on site

Research

-Conducts desk research on project initiatives.

-Studies key verticals to understand choosers and end users.

-Analyze existing product offering both internal and competitive

Product Knowledge

-In depth knowledge of our existing product catalog - basic functions, features, claims, cost structure.

-In depth knowledge of competitor product offerings.

-Familiarity with new product development funnel - what is coming next.

-Familiarity with our key strategic category targets.

QUALIFICATIONS:

-Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Statistics, Industrial Design, Interaction Design, Anthropology, Human Factor or related field

-10+ years' experience in design research, user experience research or consumer insights

-Deep curiosity of product development

-Experience gathering the voice of the customer - generating user insights, translating insights into feature requirements, conducting rigorous evaluations, and communicating findings to stakeholders

-Expertise in using qualitative research methodologies

-Demonstrated ability to design and moderate cross functional workshops and user studies

-Demonstrated ability to visualize and present rich research data simply and clearly through storytelling, visuals, and mental models

-Exceptional oral, written and interpersonal communication skills including the ability to work with internal and external stakeholders

-Ability to excel in a fast paced agile environment, adapts to shifting urgencies, manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines

-Ability to evaluate processes and recommend changes which result in a greater opportunity for goal achievement, enhanced usage or increased efficiency

-Ability to travel for research activities

_Newell Brands (NASDAQ: NWL) is a leading global consumer goods company with a strong portfolio of well-known brands, including Rubbermaid, Sharpie, Graco, Coleman, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Yankee Candle, Paper Mate, FoodSaver, Dymo, EXPO, Elmer's, Oster, NUK, Spontex and Campingaz. We are focused on delighting consumers by lighting up everyday moments. Newell Brands and its subsidiaries are Equal Opportunity Employers and comply with applicable employment laws. EOE/M/F/Vet/Disabled are encouraged to apply.