Associate Director, Research & Insights

Job Title

Associate Director, Research & Insights

Job Description

People Inc. is looking for an Associate Director of Research & Insights to lead the research strategy for our Beauty, Style, & Entertainment verticals (Core endemic portfolio: People, Entertainment Weekly, Instyle, Byrdie). Our high‑quality content helps people make decisions, find inspiration, and take action, with first‑party data at the core of everything we do across brands nationwide.

Hybrid 3x a week - (New York)

In-office expectations: This position is hybrid, with the ability to work remotely up to two days per week.

About The Team

Across our brands and platforms People Inc.'s content engages, informs, and entertains over 175 million U.S. consumers each month. Our team helps Beauty, Style & Entertainment brands understand and connect with these consumers, using data to surface insights that inform content, media, and advertising strategies.

Responsibilities

• Team Enablement (60%)
  • People Management
    • Advise and mentor analysts in day‑to‑day work and project management – requires knowledge of media sales/strategic advertising, industry landscape, and audience/content positioning tools (including MRI‑Simmons, comScore, social media measurement, 1P resources, print/magazine resources).
    • Personnel administration – process management, time‑off management, identification of challenges, and escalation of development opportunities.
    • Personnel development – partner with Senior Director for career path growth and support team members in achieving goals.
    • Task Management – manage analyst workflows, monitor capacity, and ensure deliverables are timely and meet strategic objectives of stakeholders.
  • Systems and processes – refine and maintain project trackers, dashboards, report macros, external calendars, etc.
• Individual Contributor (40%)
  • Collateral Creation & Curation – work with the Senior Director to develop and update collateral (category one‑sheets, GTM materials) for B/S/E Sales & Marketing and other corporate divisions.
  • Insights & Analytics – support RFPs and day‑to‑day ad‑hoc requests when analyst bandwidth is stretched or PTO coverage is needed, using 1st and 3rd‑party solutions to deliver insights and strategic recommendations.
  • Expertise in synthesizing large data sets to draw key insights.
  • Expertise in integrating multiple data sources (syndicated, quantitative, qualitative, secondary) to guide business decisions.

Education

College degree required.

Minimum Qualifications and Job Requirements

• Proficiency with at least three of our tools or resources as a direct end user (includes comScore, MRI‑Simmons, Telmar, Looker, Tubular, other social tools).
• Experience directly supporting an Ad Sales and Marketing team(s).
• Experience managing and mentoring analyst teams of three or more.
• Understanding of the digital advertising landscape, products, and trends important to industry media buyers.
• Strong interest in engaging with and understanding key audiences, topics, trends, and events to tie market and world events to audience insights.
• A self‑starter who provides proactive ideas, understands organizational goals, and moves initiatives forward with a proven track record of leading projects from start to finish and delivering business value.
• Excellent communicator with outstanding research storytelling skills, able to draw out key insights and tailor messages for different audiences.
• Strategic thinker with strong analytical and problem‑solving skills.
• Solid grasp of media math, statistics, digital engagement metrics, and research methodologies.

Nice to Have

• Direct Beauty, Style and/or Entertainment category experience.
• Passion for pop culture.

Travel %

5% or less, to support client/business needs.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Company provides equal employment opportunity to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. The Company also provides reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. Accommodation requests can be made by emailing The Company participates in the federal E‑Verify program to confirm the identity and employment authorization of all newly hired employees. For further information about the E‑Verify program, please visit

Pay Range

Salary: New York: $105,000.00 – $125,000.00 (anticipates low and high end of the pay range). Actual pay may vary and may be above or below the range based on location, experience, performance, and other factors. This range is one component of People Inc.'s total compensation package, which may also include annual bonuses, short‑ and long‑term incentives, and benefits such as medical, dental, vision, prescription drug coverage, unlimited paid time off, adoption or surrogate assistance, donation matching, tuition reimbursement, basic life insurance, supplemental insurance, commuter benefits, short‑ and long‑term disability, health savings and flexible spending accounts, family care benefits, a generous 401K with company match, paid holidays, and paid parental leave. Additional voluntary benefits may be offered.