Major League Soccer’s Strategy and Business Intelligence group is tasked with supporting strategic decision making and resource allocation across the League – with a focus on driving fan growth, revenue capture, and operating efficiencies – by providing impactful data driven insights, analysis, and recommendations.

The group is seeking a Director, Fan & Market Insights who will support League and Club strategy through exploratory foundational consumer research. This individual should have experience in developing surveys, conducting quantitative analysis, crafting insights and optimizing syndicated research tools.  The Director will be inquisitive, ready to take initiative, and capable of independently driving individual work streams. We are looking for an individual who will think creatively to evolve research design to deepen our knowledge and insights across markets, leagues and fans.   

The ideal candidate has a deep interest and curiosity in consumer behaviors and the analytical background to interpret and develop new insights that will be shared across the organization.

• Drive end to end process for Major League Soccer’s annual Club Brand Health Tracker, including a deep understanding of research methodology, analyzing and preparing presentation materials with alignment with key collaborators, and presenting to senior leaders across the League, Club and Partners that drives organization action and impact.
• Manage key market research vendor relationships to ensure high quality execution, effective reporting, and timely delivery of projects
• Implement custom research studies (e.g. Segmentation) to deliver insights on current and future consumers of soccer
• Conduct quantitative analysis to identify drivers across large behavioral and attitudinal datasets to deliver insights and recommendations to support strategic decision making
• Perform analysis of data available through syndicated research platforms and techniques like segmentation and conjoint analysis
• Develop new methods and techniques to enhance the group’s ability to understand the fan and their consumption behaviors
• Collaborate with Business Insights and Analytics to uncover deeper insights from survey data using their capabilities in Data Science techniques.
• Develop insights that are tailored to the needs of key stakeholders as business partners.
• Assist and collaborate on any Strategy & Business Intelligence department initiatives or special projects.
• Interpret and apply syndicated data to further support custom primary studies and provide broader insights to internal business team members.
• Lead other ad hoc projects or analysis as needed.
• Additional responsibilities as assigned.

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 8+ years’ experience in market research and strategic insights creation
• Deep experience in quantitative consumer-based research
• Experience with syndicated data platforms (e.g., Nielsen, YouGov), including sourcing, managing, and collaborating with 3rd party research and insights vendors
• Client-side market research experience preferred

Required Skills

• Superior project management skills with the ability to multi-task and meet deadlines with minimal supervision
• Strong analytical skills and demonstrated ability to draw conclusions and extract meaningful insights from data
• High degree of intellectual curiosity and creative insight
• Strong presentation skills and comfortability with presenting to senior audiences
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively communicate, both written and verbally
• Excellent market research survey writing skills
• Ability to work effectively in a fast paced, team environment
• Demonstrated decision making and problem-solving skills
• Broad understanding of the sports and entertainment industry
• Expert experience with Excel, SPSS and PowerPoint

Desired Skills

• Experience working with an agency or strategy consulting firm
• Experience with data visualization software tools, e.g., Microsoft Power BI

Total Rewards

Starting Base Salary: $115,000.00 – $150,000.00. MLS/SUM base salaries are contingent upon several factors including individual qualifications, market financials, and operational business needs.

We are committed to providing a Total Rewards package that attracts, supports, engages, and retains talent through the following:

• Benefits – comprehensive and competitive medical, dental, and vision benefits, as well as a suite of programs to promote well-being including a $500 Wellness Reimbursement. A generous PTO offering, and hybrid Office/Remote Work Schedule are also offered to promote Work-Life balance!
• Career & Professional Development – on the job training, feedback, and on-going educational opportunities to continue your personal and professional development.
• Employee Engagement – office perks, discounts and employee events that go “beyond the traditional paycheck” to make you feel a part of our team and inspire you to elevate the Game.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.