Consumer Insights Researcher

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
 

Grade: Professional 309Pay Range: $82,700.00 - $124,000.00

Job Description

SUMMARY
The Consumer Insights Researcher plays a pivotal role in understanding the motivations, barriers, and decision-making patterns of prospective students and other priority audiences. As part of WGU’s marketing research team, this role combines primary research, secondary data, and competitive intelligence to create a holistic, actionable view of students’ and other stakeholders’ needs. The insights generated inform brand strategy, messaging, market expansion, product and program development, and cross-organizational decision making that drives WGU’s growth.
This role partners deeply with marketing, brand, web, analytics, and senior stakeholders across the university. The ideal candidate is a structured thinker, a strong communicator, and someone who can translate complex data into clear, strategic recommendations.

Primary Responsibilities

Customer & Audience Insights
Bring quantitative and qualitative insights into daily decision-making across the organization.
Design and execute research initiatives using multiple methods (e.g., surveys, interviews, observations, UX research, secondary data, syndicated sources).
Triangulate insights from varied data sources to build holistic stories and strategic recommendations.
Identify emerging trends, unmet needs, and segmentation opportunities to guide marketing, brand, and enrollment strategies.
Performs other job-related duties as assigned.
Market Research & Competitive Intelligence
Support and occasionally lead research projects that assess market conditions, competitor positioning, and category trends.
Collaborate with internal and external research partners to execute high-quality studies that address specific business questions.
Connect research initiatives across teams to avoid duplication, increase efficiency, and maximize impact.
Translate findings into data-driven recommendations for growth, differentiation, and prioritization.
Brand & Messaging Partnership
Work closely with the marketing, brand, and communication teams to inform brand positioning and campaign strategy.
Transform research findings into compelling narratives using clear storytelling, data visualization, and business-relevant framing.
Provide evidence-based guidance on messaging, creative concepts, and go-to-market decisions.
Cross-Organizational Collaboration
Build strong relationships across marketing, enrollment, academic programs, and strategy teams.
Help stakeholders turn ambiguous questions into structured research plans.
Communicate project progress and outcomes clearly, aligning with partners at each stage.
Facilitate broader organizational understanding and adoption of insights.

This job description includes a general representation of job requirements rather than a comprehensive inventory of all required responsibilities or work activities. The contents of this document or related job requirements may change at any time with or without notice.
Qualifications

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Strong command of consumer insights, research design, and data interpretation.
Proficiency in qualitative and quantitative methods; ability to triangulate multiple data sources.
Ability to synthesize complex information into clear, actionable insights.
Comfort collaborating with senior stakeholders and presenting findings to non-research and non-technical audiences.
Excellent communication, storytelling, and visualization skills.
Strong project management and prioritization capability within a cross-functional environment.
Familiarity with competitive intelligence tools, primary data collection platforms (e.g., Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, UserTesting), secondary data sources, and syndicated research is a plus.
Ability to travel occasionally to support marketing initiatives or university events.
 

Requirements.

Education
Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, research, analytics, social science, or related field.
Experience
2+ years of experience in market research, especially in competitive analysis and brand health consumer insights, or experience management. Experience in lieu of education

Experience with Brand Health study execution, survey, reporting. Including, brand consideration, awareness, equity, relevance, perception, preference

Preferred Qualifications
Master’s degree in marketing, business, communications, social science, or related field.
5+ years of experience in market research, consumer insights, or audience strategy roles.
Experience in higher education, adult learning, or mission-driven organizations.

This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including required attendance at designated company summits (typically one to two per year). Additional travel may include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed. Additional travel may be assigned as needed to support business requirements.

Position & Application Details

Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at [email protected].

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.