Research Director - Audience Insights, Content Insights

About the Role, Mission or Department Overview

The Research Director, Content Insights will have a critical role informing the creation, iteration and measurement of video and video products at the New York Times. You will lead all video measurement research to inform our understanding of how video content performs across platforms, surfaces, and audience segments. You will oversee the end-to-end measurement of video effectiveness, from individual videos to longer-form recurring concepts, and translate data into relevant strategies that inform production, distribution, and editorial decisions. You will also work with product, design, and editorial teams to improve on-platform video experiences.

You will report to the Managing Director, News Products on the Audience Insights Team and will collaborate with partners across the Newsroom. You understand how to blend market research and user research methods and practices into actionable insights for an entire mission.

This is a hybrid role based in our New York City headquarters. You can typically expect to come into the office 3 days per week.

Responsibilities:

• Develop audience research to support the creation and growth of video franchises and recurring shows. Drawing on research methods used by production studios and streaming networks, you'll conduct research that can inform greenlight decisions — including concept testing, pilot testing, audience appetite studies, and competitive landscape analysis.
• Partner with video leadership to evaluate whether a format, host, or editorial premise has the demand to sustain an audience over time. For existing shows, help build longitudinal tracking that monitors audience health: loyalty, satisfaction, and reasons for churn.
• Help build a video performance tracking program grounded in survey-based measurement, tracking metrics like awareness, recall, engagement, and sentiment among defined audience segments over time.
• Working alongside analytics teams, you'll help establish benchmarks, monitor performance across all surfaces where video is published (owned and operated, social, streaming), and develop a consistent cadence of reporting that gives editorial, product, and business stakeholders a reliable read on how our videos are landing with audiences.
• Lead quantitative and qualitative research among target audiences to support video strategy and format development (e.g., format preference studies, thumbnail and title concept tests, viewer satisfaction studies). Partner with video producers and editors to understand their needs and scope appropriate methodologies, from brief development through questionnaire design, survey launch, and insight delivery.
• Manage multiple research projects and ad-hoc requests simultaneously, developing timelines and planning resources.
• Partner or lead research on other editorial projects and franchises, such as newsletters, podcasts, or other emerging products
• Collaborate with research partners, analytics teams, and company partners.
• Identify opportunities to improve the quality, speed, and effect of video measurement, including recommending new vendors, tools, and methodologies.
• Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.

Basic Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in market research, user research, or consumer insights, with an emphasis on multimodal and product research.
• Proficiency in both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and experience with continuous improvement and new ideas.
• Experience leading all facets of a tracking program, including vendor relationships, questionnaire development, data mining, and reporting.
• Fluency in analyzing large datasets, identifying insights, and creating clear reports.
• Experience developing timelines across multiple projects, applying project management skills.
• Experience managing external research partners/vendors.
• Experience with visualization tools and creating compelling presentations.

Preferred Qualifications:

• B.A./B.S. degree.

REQ-020489

Additional Compensation and Benefits

For roles in the U.S., dependent on your role, you may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock. Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s), a company-matching 401(k) plan, employee stock purchase plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs.

For roles outside of the U.S., information on benefits will be provided during the interview process.

The annual base pay range for this role is between: 160000 - 205000 USD