Sainsbury's
Research Manager (Nectar Research)
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We’d all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance. That’s waiting for you at Sainsbury’s.
Everything our Nectar team does is powered by data and by strong relationships with some of the UK’s favourite brands. The Nectar360 team develops loyalty programmes, turning insight into something that makes a real difference, across both traditional and digital media. It’s like an agency within a retailer, and retail media is a crucial part of our future. The culture might not be what you expect either, because there’s no setup quite like this one. The team is a real priority, connected to almost everything the business does and playing a key role in driving profitability. It’s a place where you can take risks, learn from them, and be recognised.
About The Team
At Nectar360, we help some of the UK's best-loved brands understand their customers better and make smarter commercial decisions. Powered by the scale and strength of Nectar, one of the UK's largest loyalty programmes, our Data & Insights offer combines customer understanding, behavioural data, and research expertise to deliver meaningful impact for clients and stakeholders.
The Nectar Research team sits at the heart of this mission. As a full-service, in-house research function, we bring the voice of the customer directly into decision-making across the breadth of our businesses. Working across a diverse range of projects, from media effectiveness studies to purchase driver analysis, we generate insight that helps shape strategy, improve customer experiences, and unlock commercial opportunities. With access to 10+ million contactable customers, industry-leading research tools, and rich customer data, this is a unique opportunity to join a team that is continually innovating and redefining what modern research can achieve.
More about the role
We're looking for a Research Manager to join the Nectar Research team and play a key role in delivering high-quality research for Nectar360, Sainsbury's and our partners. You'll take ownership of end-to-end research projects, leading everything from research design and methodology selection through to questionnaire development, project management, quality assurance, insight generation, and client debriefs.
This is a highly varied role where no two projects are the same. You'll work across a broad mix of research approaches, helping stakeholders answer important business questions and turning data into compelling stories that influence decisions. Alongside delivering projects, you'll contribute to the team's innovation agenda, exploring new methodologies, technologies and ways of working, including how AI can enhance the research process. You'll also lead in proposal development, build deep internal and external relationships to find new ways to support our clients, and share your expertise across the wider team.
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Working closely with analysts, insight specialists and commercial stakeholders, you'll be expected to combine research findings with behavioural and customer data to uncover deeper insight and, ultimately, drive tangible business impact. The work you deliver will directly influence how clients think about their customers, products and strategies, and in no time at all, you'll be able to see the impact of your work on the shelf.
More about you
You'll bring hands-on experience of managing research projects from start to finish and be comfortable selecting and applying different research methodologies to answer a range of business questions. You'll know how to identify the most appropriate method, interpret findings, and communicate clear recommendations to stakeholders.
You'll be hand-on delivering quantitative research yourself, in collaboration with the rest of our team, and you'll manage qualitative research through our expect and trusted partners who act as part of our team.
You'll be naturally curious and enjoy turning complex information into actionable insight. You're confident presenting research outputs, facilitating discussions, and challenging thinking where appropriate to achieve the best outcomes. You'll also be interested in how technology and AI can improve research delivery, quality and innovation.
You'll be a great partner and salesperson, have experience developing client relationships, generating leads, writing proposals, and converting these into revenue-driving work.
We're open to candidates from a variety of backgrounds. Whether you've developed your expertise within a research agency, consultancy, client-side research team or another insight-focused environment, you'll be passionate about understanding people and using evidence-based insight to drive better decisions.
Essential criteria
- Demonstrable experience managing research projects through all stages of the research lifecycle, from sales, design and methodology selection to reporting and stakeholder presentation.
- Proven ability to apply and explain multiple research methodologies, including qualitative and quantitative approaches, to address business objectives.
- Deep hands-on quantitative research experience, using advanced methodologies like Max Diff, Conjoint, Key Driver Analyses and more, over and above basic surveying.
- Experience analysing and synthesising data from multiple sources to generate clear insights, recommendations and business actions.
- Ability to clearly'storytell' research findings and recommendations to stakeholders, adapting communication style to suit different audiences.
- Evidence of using new technologies, tools or AI-enabled approaches to improve research delivery, efficiency, innovation or insight generation.
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We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer, so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new - whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them:
- Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to get 10% off at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat after 4 weeks. This increases to 15% off at Sainsbury’s every Friday and Saturday and 15% off at Argos every pay day.
- We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover.
- You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related target bonus of up to 10% of salary (which may vary for Nectar360), depending on how we perform.
Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance and you can buy additional holiday. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, pay advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an employee assistance programme.
Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave.
Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).
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